Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs opened their 2026 season looking like a team with something to prove, and Kenneth Walker III made sure everyone noticed.
Kansas City missed the playoffs a year ago, but Andy Reid’s group showed zero rust against the Denver Broncos in Week 1, taking down a team that won 14 games and claimed the AFC’s No. 1 seed last season.
Walker made his Chiefs debut in a way nobody in Kansas City will forget anytime soon. The running back rushed for a career-high 173 yards on 23 carries, capped by a 60-yard touchdown run that stood as the night’s signature play.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The reigning Super Bowl MVP also hauled in a touchdown catch, pushing his total to 191 scrimmage yards, another career best, and enough to break Jerry Rice’s 1989 record of 180 scrimmage yards by a reigning Super Bowl MVP in a Week 1 game.
That kind of night doesn’t go unnoticed. Walker was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 1, his first Player of the Week honor since he earned NFC offensive recognition back in Week 3 of 2023.
Mahomes made sure to celebrate the moment himself. After the Chiefs posted the announcement, the quarterback reshared it to his Instagram Story, giving his new backfield partner a public nod.
Mahomes had his own solid opener, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another, but having a weapon like Walker alongside him is exactly what Kansas City needed coming off a playoff miss.
Walker forced 14 missed tackles in the win, more than former Chiefs back Isiah Pacheco managed across all of 2025. He arrived in Kansas City fresh off winning Super Bowl LX MVP with the Seattle Seahawks, signing a three-year, $43 million deal with the Chiefs back in March.
The Chiefs will host the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2 next Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
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