Kenneth Walker III stars in debut as Chiefs rout Broncos

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) So many people seemed to be focused on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and how the two-time MVP's surgically repaired left knee would hold up in Kansas City's season opener against the Denver Broncos, that they forgot all about Kenneth Walker III.

The reigning Super Bowl MVP won't be surprising anyone else anytime soon.

Walker ran for 173 yards and scored two touchdowns in his Chiefs debut, helping to take some of the pressure off Mahomes in his first game back, and Kansas City exacted some revenge on Denver for stealing its AFC West crown with a 31-10 victory Monday night.

Walker carried 23 times to finish with the most yards rushing by a Chiefs player since Jamaal Charles ran for 226 against the Colts in 2012, the year before Andy Reid became their coach. The ex-Seahawks star also had three catches for 18 yards.

“He did a really nice job,” Reid said, “and you never know going in how many times you're going to give him the ball. That's not a calculated thing. You have to be making yards. For him to play the way he did I thought was spectacular.”

Mahomes wasn't a slouch, either. With a brace protecting his left knee, he threw for 184 yards and two scores while also running for another score, helping the Chiefs snap a three-game skid against the rival that ended their nine-year run as division champs.

“They were in the AFC championship game for a reason,” Mahomes said. “For us to go out and win like that, that's the first step. It shows all the work in training camp paid off. But how can we be better?”

Good question.

The Chiefs helped to make Denver positively abysmal on offense in its first game with coordinator Davis Webb calling the plays.

Bo Nix threw for 131 yards with an interception and a lost fumble, and the Broncos finished with 176 yards of offense, all despite the offseason splash they made by trading a package of draft picks to Miami for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

Waddle had one catch for 2 yards. Evan Engram led the Broncos with four catches for 43 yards and their lone TD.

“As a whole offense, a whole team, we just didn’t play really good,” Nix said.

“Obviously not a good evening," Broncos coach Sean Payton added.

The looming question, even after Mahomes participated in the entire offseason program and every practice of training camp, was how his knee would hold up nine months to the day since he was hurt in a game against the Chargers.

He erased any doubts when he capped the Chiefs' opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown run.

“Once you put him in the game,” Reid said, “he's going to play, and you better be confident in that.”

It was Walker who did most of the running, though. The Super Bowl MVP for Seattle, who signed a three-year, $43.05 million deal in free agency, had 14 carries for 89 yards in the first half alone, along with a couple of catches out of the backfield.

Even when the Broncos tied the game on Nix's 19-yard touchdown pass to Engram, Walker assumed a heavy load as the Chiefs pieced together a 10-play, 80-yard drive late in the half. It ended when Mahomes found Rashee Rice, fresh off a knee injury of his own, and he caromed off a couple of Broncos defenders and into the end zone to make it 14-7 at the break.

Then it was Walker's turn to bounce off a defender, turning a fourth-and-1 carry into a 60-yard TD run to start the third quarter.

“I knew they were going to crash in. When they crashed in, I bounced out,” Walker said, “and I was off to the races from there.”

The teams traded field goals later in the quarter thanks to big plays by each side: Brandon Jones picked off Mahomes deep in Chiefs territory, setting up Wil Lutz's chip shot, and Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for 59 yards to set up Harrison Butker's answer.

Nix's fumble on the ensuing possession allowed the Chiefs to put the game away.

Mahomes hit rookie running back Emmett Johnson on third down for a 26-yard gain, setting up first-and-goal at the Denver 2. And in the kind of creative - dare say, fun? - play that was reminiscent of the Chiefs' banner years, Mahomes lined up in a three-point stance alongside backup QB Justin Fields, took the snap and shoveled the ball to Walker, who scooted untouched for the score.

It was a play that Reid and his staff found in some black-and-white footage from the 1930s, and it worked flawlessly.

“It was hard to see,” Walker said of the film, “but we worked it over and over in practice. We felt it was going to work and it did.”

Taylor Swift chose Arrowhead Stadium over the Emmy Awards to cheer on Kelce. The pop star married the Chiefs tight end on July 3. Swift, who watched alongside Tom Cruise, had been nominated for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for “The Eras Tour: The Final Show,” but the category winner - “The Muppet Show” - had been announced earlier this month.

Broncos: WR Marvin Mims left briefly with a hip injury but returned.

Chiefs: CB Mansoor Delane landed on his right shoulder after an interception on the third play of the game. The No. 6 pick in the NFL draft was helped to the locker room and did not return. ... LB Cooper McDonald (knee) left in the first half and did not return.

Denver plays its home opener against Jacksonville on Sunday.

Kansas City hosts Indianapolis on Sunday night.

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