The Kansas City Chiefs begin the 2026 regular season 1-0 after taking down the Denver Broncos on Monday night, 31-10.
While all eyes were on Patrick Mahomes as the Chiefs quarterback made his return following a season-ending knee injury in 2025, the attention quickly pivoted to Kansas City's newest weapon. Running back Kenneth Walker III, who signed with the franchise in free agency, stole the show in primetime, rushing for 173 yards and catching three passes for 18 yards. Walker also found the end zone twice.
The Super Bowl LX MVP for Seattle was the key engine to the K.C. offense throughout the night, with the franchise seeing early returns on their $45 million investment.
That said, it was Mahomes who found the end zone first. Oddly enough, given his knee injury, it was the quarterback's mobility that initially flashed. After first-round rookie Mansoor Delane (who left the game with a shoulder injury) picked off Bo Nix on Denver's first possession of the night, Mahomes rushed for a 15-yard score to go up 7-0.
Denver bounced back after the turnover with an immediate 7-play, 68-yard scoring drive of their own, culminating in a Nix touchdown pass to tight end Evan Engram. However, that proved to be their best punch of the night, scoring just a field goal from there on out.
The offense, which is working with a new play-caller in Davis Webb, couldn't find much consistency. Nix completed 17-of-28 for 131 yards, a touchdown, an interception, and a fumble.
After a somewhat slow start through the air, Mahomes finished 15-of-27 for 184 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception to go along with that rushing score. Meanwhile, Travis Kelce caught three passes for 71 yards, which helped him surpass Jason Witten for No. 2 all-time on the NFL's all-time receiving yards list for a tight end.
From here, the Chiefs stick around Arrowhead and gear up to host the Indianapolis Colts on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 2. As for the Broncos, they'll look to pick up the pieces and get into the win column for the first time in 2026 when they head back to Denver, where they'll take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Kenneth Walker III's career night
The Chiefs paid Walker handsomely in free agency, and they made quick work of ushering him into their offense. On the first four plays of the night, Kansas City handed the ball off to its new No. 1 back. While part of that was likely to help Patrick Mahomes ease back into a game flow, they also talked a lot this offseason about reinjecting explosiveness into their offense. They got just that with their new back.
Walker put together not just a stellar debut, but had a career-best night for the Super Bowl LX MVP.
Walker's 173 rushing yards are a new single-game high for him. Not only that, but that rushing total set a franchise record for a debut, besting Kareem Hunt's 148 yards rushing back in 2017. This was also the fourth-highest rushing total in a debut with a new team in NFL history.
Walker himself outgained the entire Broncos offense on Monday night in total scrimmage yards, 191-176.
As a team, Kansas City rushed for 220 yards, which is the most in a game since 2020 and the third-most in a game under Andy Reid.
Patrick Mahomes was good, but not 100% back
It took a minute for Mahomes to get his bearings in his first game back from the ACL and LCL tear. While the Chiefs quarterback ended with a solid stat line and pulled out the win, he wasn't all the way back.
Kansas City clearly wanted to ease him in by leaning on the run game early. The 19 total rushes in the first half were tied for the second most in the Mahomes era. The quarterback was part of that rushing attack, however, calling his own number on a 15-yard touchdown scramble on the team's opening drive. Funny enough, Mahomes' mobility was the first thing to pop, while the passing attack took a little bit longer to get going.
Mahomes began the game a bit sluggish through the air, beginning his day completing just 2-of-12 attempts, but rounded into form as the game went along, which included five straight completions to finish out the first half. In the second half, he completed 7-of-9 for 122 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The downfield passing attack is still lacking, as Mahomes averaged just 4.9 air yards per attempt. That said, the fact that they were still able to score 31 points with their star QB just beginning to scratch the surface is a scary proposition for the rest of the league.
Broncos offense faces questions under Davis Webb
Sean Payton elevated Davis Webb to offensive coordinator this offseason and, in turn, gave him playcalling duties. In his debut, he left little to be desired. Outside of the touchdown drive on Denver's second possession of the night, the offense was silent, managing just three additional points. They punted on five straight possessions after the touchdowns. After that, they kicked a field goal, fumbled, and punted before turning the ball over on downs and then taking a knee to end the game. Woof.
Maybe the toughest moment of the night for the offense came after the defense picked off Mahomes in the third quarter. Denver had first-and-goal from the 5-yard line and, after a slew of errors, settled for a field goal.
On first down, a penalty on Pat Bryant pushed the offense back 10 yards. Then, on second down, the football slipped out of Bo Nix's hand and was nearly recovered by Kansas City. The only reason it wasn't a turnover was that a Chiefs player had touched the ball while out of bounds, ruling the play dead.
That backed Denver to the K.C. 16-yard line, and they eventually had to kick. Instead of being a one-score game, cashing in on the golden opportunity with a touchdown, it merely became a 21-10 Chiefs lead.
Meanwhile, their 176 total yards were the fewest in a game under Payton.
Broncos defense couldn't tackle
One of the main reasons the Chiefs were able to find so much success on the ground was Denver's inability to tackle. The Broncos had a 29.8% missed tackle percentage, which is the third-worst single-game score since 2018, according to Next Gen Stats. Their 248 missed tackle yards allowed were also the most in the site's database.
It wasn't just against the run, however, as Rashee Rice's touchdown (above) was the perfect example of their deficiencies. Mahomes connected with the wideout on a throw at the line of scrimmage; neither of the two Broncos defenders who touched him right when he caught the ball made a serious attempt to take him down. Rice slipped away and scampered towards the end zone.
For a defense that was lauded as one of the best in the NFL last season, the Broncos certainly didn't show it in their 2026 debut.
