Patrick Mahomes is often the best player on the field, but he wasn’t even the best performer on his own offense in the Kansas City Chiefs’ season-opening victory against the Denver Broncos on Monday night.
And it wasn’t even close, as new running back Kenneth Walker III stole the show and dominated the 31-10 victory.
The duo will be back on the primetime stage when the Chiefs host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night.
Walker signed a three-year, $43.1 million free agent deal with Kansas City in March after being named Super Bowl MVP for the Seattle Seahawks the previous month.
Walker looked intent on earning all his cash in one game as he rushed for a career-best 173 yards and scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). His touchdown run was a 60-yard jaunt on fourth-and-inches.
Mahomes was mighty impressed. He hasn’t seen a Kansas City running back reach 1,000 yards in a season since his first season in the NFL (2017), when he was a backup to Alex Smith. That campaign saw Kareem Hunt rush for 1,327 yards.
“It’s just a special ability to run the ball tough between the tackles and then, when he does bounce it, he has the speed to go all the way,” Mahomes said of Walker. “Once he gets the edge, he’s gone.”
Walker carried the ball 23 times and also caught three passes for 18 yards.
“For him to play the way he did, I thought it was spectacular,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “It was something you hope for, and you got to see it, where he was the main guy.”
Mahomes made his return from a major left knee injury sustained in mid-December. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 184 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for Kansas City (1-0).
“I didn’t play my best, but we were still able to go out there and beat a really good team,” Mahomes said.
The Colts (0-1) face quite a challenge after struggling on both sides of the ball in a season-opening 41-23 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Indianapolis was outgained 506-251 and didn’t record a single tackle for loss or pass breakup.
“Definitely an eye-opener, definitely a wakeup call,” Colts standout running back Jonathan Taylor said. “Like, ‘Hey, season’s here.'”
Colts coach Shane Steichen said the pummeling would provide extra motivation against Kansas City.
“I feel really good,” Steichen said. “Obviously last week was not what we wanted, but it’s a new week. I think our guys are in a good headspace right now. … You got to wash (off) that stuff that happened the week before.”
Quarterback Daniel Jones will look to bounce back after posting his lowest passing-yards total (166) in his 13 full contests for the Colts.
Last season, Jones sustained a hairline fracture of his left fibula during a 23-20 overtime loss to the Chiefs in Week 12 and then saw his season end when he tore his right Achilles in Week 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After connecting on 19 of 31 passes for one touchdown and one interception on Sunday, Jones feels the Colts will deliver an upgraded performance.
“We’re excited for it. This is a great opportunity for us,” Jones said. “We know we’ve got to clean some things up. We’re confident we can do it and confident we can show who we are.”
Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo might be under the most pressure after last week’s subpar effort.
“It always starts with me, and we have to do a better job,” Anarumo said. “I have to do a better job getting the guys ready to go.”
Kansas City placed linebacker Cooper McDonald (right knee) on injured reserve. He was injured Monday against Denver. Offensive tackle Josh Simmons (back) and defensive back Chamarri Conner (knee) missed practice on Wednesday.
For the Colts, backup quarterback Anthony Richardson (groin) and backup wide receiver Ashton Dulin (ankle) sat out.
Kansas City scored the final 14 points over the fourth quarter and overtime to rally from an 11-point deficit in its win over Indianapolis last November.