The Kansas City Chiefs beat the 31-10 on Monday Night Football at Arrowhead Stadium. It was Week 1 of the 2026 season, and Kansas City never trailed after the first quarter.
, in his Chiefs debut, rushed for 173 yards and scored twice. Patrick Mahomes, back from December knee surgery, threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. Kansas City finished with 220 rushing yards and 392 total yards. Denver managed 176.
Kenneth Walker III carried 23 times and added three catches for 18 yards. The play that broke Denver came early in the third quarter on fourth-and-1. He saw the Broncos crash inside, bounced outside, and went 60 yards for a touchdown that made it 21-7.
“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.”
Andy Reid said the workload was not mapped out in advance.
“You never know, going in, how many times you’re going to give him the ball,” Reid said. “For him to play the way he did, I thought it was spectacular.”
Walker later scored on a 2-yard catch in the first minute of the fourth quarter to make it 31-10.
Patrick Mahomes wore a brace on his left knee after tearing the ACL and LCL last December. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 184 yards and two scores. His first touchdown was a 15-yard scramble in the opening quarter.
“Going for the end zone, it kind of gave me that confidence that I can go out there and be myself,” Mahomes said. “That was definitely the moment, physically, to say all this work has paid off. I didn’t feel anything.”
Just before halftime, he hit Rashee Rice for a 13-yard touchdown. The passing game was rusty early, and he threw an interception, but the run game carried the night.
“I didn’t play my best, but we were still able to go out there and beat a really good team pretty well,” Mahomes said. “The guys around me stepped up.”
Bo Nix was sacked on the first snap and intercepted two plays later. He answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Evan Engram that tied the game at 7-7. After that, Denver stalled. Nix finished 17 of 28 for 131 yards with an interception and a lost fumble. Offseason addition Jaylen Waddle barely factored.
“As a whole offense, a whole team, we just didn’t play really good,” Nix said. Sean Payton kept it short: “Obviously not a good evening.”
The Chiefs are 1-0. The Broncos are 0-1. Kansas City snapped a three-game skid against Denver and got an early answer after the Broncos took the AFC West last season.
