Patrick Mahomes triumphant on NFL return as Chiefs beat up misfiring Broncos

Kenneth Walker III ran for 173 yards and scored two touchdowns on his Chiefs debut, stealing some of the spotlight from Patrick Mahomes as Kansas City defeated the Denver Broncos 31-10 on Monday night.

The big question, even after Mahomes participated in the entire offseason program and every practice of training camp, was how his surgically repaired left knee would hold up nine months to the day since he tore his ACL. He erased many of those doubts when he capped the Chiefs’ opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown run.

“You see that goalline, you’re a football player and you just try and get in the end zone,” Mahomes said after the game when asked if his time on the sidelines had made him more cautious.

Mahomes didn’t appear to be affected too badly by the knee, or the brace he wore on it, throwing for 184 yards and two scores while running for another to help the Chiefs snap a three-game skid against the Broncos, who ended Kansas City’s nine-year run as division champs last season.

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.

“Against this team, you have to set a tone and [our] offensive line and those running back did that,” said Mahomes.

The Broncos, meanwhile, were abysmal on offense in their 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, 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 two yards and had a costly drop on third down. Evan Engram led the Broncos with four catches for 43 yards and their lone TD.

It was Walker who did most of the running, though. The Super Bowl MVP for Seattle, who signed a three-year, $43.1m 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.

After Mahomes had opened the scoring, the Broncos tied the game on Nix’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Engram, but Walker carried the 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-one carry into a 60-yard TD run to start the third quarter.

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

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 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.