Walker stars in Chiefs debut while scrambling Mahomes shows work 'paid off'

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- During player introductions Monday night, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes entered the field jumping and screaming as fans inside Arrowhead cheered his return from a nine-month injury rehab. Meanwhile, running back Kenneth Walker III, making his Kansas City debut, just jogged onto the field without any celebration. Together, Mahomes and Walker were effective with their legs to power the Chiefs to a season-opening 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos. In their first game together, Mahomes, a two-time league MVP, and Walker, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, produced plenty of highlights, making sure Kansas City never trailed. Mahomes gave the ball to Walker, the Chiefs' biggest offseason acquisition, early and often to reach the red zone on the offense's opening drive. Mahomes' toughness and athleticism were on display on his 10th snap, as he scrambled out of the pocket and dove -- while being hit by two defenders -- to reach the end zone to score a 15-yard touchdown. His top speed during that scramble reached 15.8 mph, which was 2.5 mph faster than his average speed on rushing attempts last season, according to Next Gen Stats. "Going for the end zone, it kind of gave me that confidence that I can go out there and be myself," said Mahomes, who underwent surgery in December to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. "I just wanted to play. I had done so much rehab and so much work to put myself in this position. I just wanted to get out there and play. This is what you do it for. "That was definitely the moment physically to say all this work has paid off. I didn't feel anything." Much of the burden to uplift the offense was taken off of Mahomes because Walker's speed and ball-carrying abilities quite literally carried the unit. Walker ran through, around and outran the Broncos for a career-high 173 rushing yards, the most by any Chiefs player since 2018, when Mahomes became the team's starter. Walker also became just the third player since 2000 to have at least 100 rushing yards in his Chiefs debut, joining running back Kareem Hunt (148 yards in 2017) and Clyde Edwards-Helaire (138 yards in 2020), according to ESPN Research. "It means a lot," Walker said of his strong first impression with the Chiefs. "I see the O-line, the way they work in the weight room and the classroom. We showed it in practice, from OTAs to training camp. We just had to come out here and execute and show it." Besides it being Mahomes' first start since his injury, another reason the Chiefs had more designed runs (31) than passing attempts (27) was because Kahlil Benson, an undrafted rookie right tackle from Indiana, made his NFL debut at left tackle in place of Josh Simmons, who missed the game with a lower back injury. Benson became the first undrafted rookie on offense to start in Week 1 for coach Andy Reid, whose Kansas City tenure began in 2013. Through 26 touches, Walker finished with 191 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. "You never know, going in, how many times you're going to give him the ball," Reid said of Walker. "For him to play the way he did, I thought it was spectacular. It was something you hope for -- and you got to see it, where he was the main guy." Walker converted four short-yardage situations, too, including his best highlight, a 60-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-inches early in the third quarter. "He's phenomenal, man," Benson said of Walker, who last season helped the Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl. "I can't say enough about that guy. He's a hell of a runner and we had a lot of fun." Much of Walker's production was generated after contact. He created 101 rushing yards over expected against the Broncos, the most by a Chiefs running back since at least 2018, according to Next Gen Stats. Walker also forced 14 missed tackles, the most by any Chiefs player in a game during that span. After halftime, Mahomes performed better, as he was able to find his passing rhythm. He completed seven of his nine attempts for 122 yards in the second half. "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." At the top of Mahomes' list of teammates was Walker. "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. "Once he gets the edge, he's gone."