KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Running back Kenneth Walker III stole the show in his Kansas City debut as the Chiefs dominated the Denver Broncos 31-10 on Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Walker, who signed with the Chiefs after winning the Super Bowl MVP with the Seattle Seahawks in February, rushed for 173 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns.
Walker made it easy for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who played his first game since knee surgery in December. Mahomes proved early that his knee was sound, rushing four times for 27 yards and a touchdown. He finished 15 of 27 passing for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
It was a bad night all around for the defending AFC West champion Broncos, who were outgained 392-177 in total yards, including 220-62 on the ground. Quarterback Bo Nix was only 17 for 28 for 131 yards and had two turnovers.
What does Kenneth Walker III’s monster Chiefs debut mean for the offense and their aspirations this season?
One of the biggest criticisms of the Chiefs offense last season was that the team didn’t do enough to help Mahomes.
That led to an offseason in which — mostly — all the team did to upgrade offensively was bring in Walker as a costly free agent.
Through one week, it looks like a genius move. If Walker stays healthy, he could end up being enough to completely change what this offense looks like.
The Chiefs made Walker their three-down workhorse back Monday, and he delivered in nearly every way imaginable. He broke two 20-plus-yard runs; Chiefs running backs had just one all of last season.
He was effective in the pass game. He was good in short yardage and also broke nine tackles in the first half alone, per NFL’s Next Gen Stats.
But perhaps more than anything else, Walker allowed the Chiefs to establish a physical mentality, with the offensive line getting downhill to take over the game from the early stages.
Add all that to what we’ve seen Mahomes do previously? Yes, Walker has to stay healthy, but it’s difficult not to dream of an entirely different Chiefs offense being unlocked thanks to his presence.
Broncos’ splashy new addition a non-factor
As Jaylen Waddle slammed the brakes on a comeback route during Denver’s second drive, three Chiefs defenders shaded in his direction, determined not to let the Broncos’ dangerous new receiver cause damage after the catch. That attention let tight end Evan Engram come open across the front of the end zone and Nix hit him for a 19-yard touchdown pass that tied the game.
It was an illustration of the problems Waddle can create even when he’s not the target on a given play. The Broncos on Monday, though, could have used more of the impact Waddle makes when he actually has the ball in his hands. He finished with only one catch on three targets for 2 yards. He had a costly drop on a third down in the third quarter as the Broncos were trying to cut into Kansas City’s two-touchdown lead.
None of this is to suggest Waddle was anything close to the issue for Denver during an abysmal performance in the opener. Nix was sacked four times. He fumbled three times, losing a ball late in the third quarter on a play that all but sealed Denver’s fate. He threw an interception on his first pass attempt of the game when he tried to force a ball to receiver Courtland Sutton — another absent performer Monday — despite rookie cornerback Mansoor Delane giving Nix nowhere to throw. Davis Webb, in first game as play caller, let the pass-run balance get out of whack in the first half.
But on a night when Walker, the Chiefs’ splashy offseason acquisition, was a difference-maker at every turn, the muted Waddle debut stood out.
What was the biggest reason for the Broncos’ defensive flop and can it be easily fixed?
Walker ran for 103 yards against the Broncos in the 2024 season opener, gashing Denver for more than 80 yards in the third quarter alone.
That can now be chalked up as a strong defensive effort for the Broncos compared to what they mustered against Walker on Monday night. A microcosm of the failure came on a fourth-and-1 play early in the third quarter. The Chiefs, leading 14-7, had a fourth-and-1 at their own 40-yard line. Get a stop and Denver would be set up in good position to drive for a tying score. The Broncos blitzed up the middle, linebacker Alex Singleton trying to burst inside to blow up the play. With one swift cut, Walker bounced outside and outran the Broncos defense on a 60-yard run that took all the air out of the Broncos. Safety Brandon Jones was in position to tackle Walker inside the 10-yard line, but his attempt to bring the physical running back down barely made an impact.
Dreadful tackling was a theme all night for the Broncos. That can be corrected. But Denver is going to have to adjust to a new normal that coordinator Vance Joseph has been talking about all offseason. The Broncos have piled up 131 sacks the past two seasons. Teams are countering, as the Chiefs did Monday, with heavier run packages, misdirection and quick passes as a way to mitigate the pressure. When the Broncos did have chances for a longer rush Monday, they didn’t capitalize, whiffing on multiple attempts to bring down Mahomes before he ran for a 15-yard touchdown on the opening drive.
This is still a defense loaded with talented, winning players at all three levels. That hasn’t changed with one bad performance. But the Broncos better get things corrected quick with the powerful offense ahead during this first month of the schedule.
How do you assess Mahomes’ first game back from knee surgery?
It wasn’t great by his standards, but it also didn’t have to be, given how Walker and the team’s defense performed.
Mahomes was still good during a few clutch moments. That included willing himself to a 15-yard scramble touchdown run while still feeling out exactly how he was going to maneuver against live competition with his surgically repaired knee.
He’ll have to be better from here forward, though. Mahomes had a bad miscommunication with receiver Xavier Worthy that ended with an ugly interception in the third quarter. He also showed a tendency to get happy feet in clean pockets, which has been one of his top bugaboos from previous seasons.
Mahomes finished with 184 passing yards, but even that’s inflated a bit, as 59 of those yards came on a short pass to tight end Travis Kelce that turned into a big gain after he broke a tackle.
The biggest hope for the Chiefs, though? It’s that Walker (and rookie Emmett Johnson) were so impressive against the Broncos that defenses will have to bring defenders up to stop them in the run game. If that happens, it would allow for greater downfield openings when the Chiefs chuck it more in future weeks.
