The Kansas City Chiefs closed Week 1 by turning back the clock. For at least one night, they looked like the AFC West’s dominant force once again.
After missing the playoffs, Kansas City came out of the gates in 2026 with a dominant win over the Denver Broncos, who won 14 games and were the AFC’s No. 1 seed last season. The Chiefs defense caused fits, impressively containing a capable Broncos offense.
Here are my takeaways:
1.
Would the healthy return of Mahomes also mean the return of the Chiefs as the dangerous postseason threat you knew them to be?
Mahomes made that clear from the first drive, taking off from the 15-yard line and diving into the end zone for a touchdown and an early lead on the Broncos. He got up in the end zone, brushed the proverbial dust off his chest and was back at home with the Arrowhead faithful.
Arrowhead Stadium came alive when Mahomes scrambled to find the end zone. (Photo by Aaron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
This was probably Walker’s night, with a 60-yard touchdown on the way to the best rushing game by a Chiefs running back in 14 years in his Kansas City debut – 173 rushing yards and two total touchdowns.
Was it vintage Mahomes? Of course not. He completed two of his first 12 passes for 14 yards but found a spark before halftime and his defense really took care of the rest. Even a bad interception out of his own end zone that set Denver up at the 5-yard line only resulted in a field goal for the Broncos, with the Chiefs defense again stepping up to help him out.
There was punctuation as well – Mahomes found rookie running back Emmett Johnson for 25 yards on a third down, setting up a flip-toss touchdown to Walker for a 31-10 lead to put the game out of reach. Mahomes improved to 8-0 at home against Denver in his career, one of the longest home streaks for any quarterback against any opponent. After his shaky start, Mahomes went 11-for-13 for 145 yards and two touchdowns to pull away.
Exactly one year earlier, the Chiefs had lost at home to the Eagles to fall to 0-2, and they’d dig out of that to be 5-3 before losing eight of their last nine in a wholly disappointing season.
The Chiefs back as a pop-culture phenomenon? Taylor Swift was back in a suite to cheer on her husband, Travis Kelce, on a 59-yard catch that was his longest in five years, and Tom Cruise was sitting next to her, drawing cheers when he was shown on the stadium video boards.
A surprisingly resounding Week 1 divisional win, combined with the Chargers’ wobbly start losing to Arizona, and just like that, the AFC West goes through Kansas City again.
2.
Denver gave up a first-round pick to land receiver Jaylen Waddle from Miami, and the hope in summer was that Bo Nix would have more of a downfield passing game in 2026.
That hadn’t taken shape Monday night, as the Chiefs – despite losing rookie corner Mansoor Delane after one drive – effectively took Waddle and Courtland Sutton out of the game. Midway through the fourth quarter, the two receivers had combined for 13 yards on eight targets.
Bo Nix and the Broncos offense could not solve the Chiefs new-look defense. (Photo by Aaron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Nix threw an interception on the opening drive, and there seemed to be a hesitation to gamble downfield, even with the Chiefs down a corner. A 19-yard touchdown to Evan Engram was the only pass play longer than 13 yards entering the fourth quarter. Nix will get a better feel for Waddle, and they’ll connect as you’d expect.
That didn’t happen when the Broncos needed it to on Monday night, though.
3.
So much of Kansas City’s offseason was about departures in the secondary. Cornerback Trent McDuffie was traded to the Rams for a first-rounder, and fellow corner Jaylen Watson joined him in free agency. Meanwhile, safety Bryan Cook signed with the Bengals.
And yet the Chiefs defense controlled the Broncos the entire game, even losing Delane early. Kristian Fulton stepped up at corner, Nohl Williams had a sack, while L’Jarius Sneed had a great open-field tackle on Waddle on third-and-short.
You go to seven Super Bowls, you’re going to get raided in free agency. For at least one game, though, the Chiefs don’t seem to be worse off at all.
We’ll get to know these new players elevated into major roles, but they made a name for themselves keeping the Broncos in check Monday night.
3 ½. What’s Next?
Denver went 14-3 last year, and its upcoming schedule is daunting enough that it might have four losses by mid-October, without even really playing poorly.
The Broncos’ next five games? Home vs. the Jaguars and Rams, at the 49ers and Chargers, then home against the Seahawks – all 2025 playoff teams expected to do the same this season.
You could argue the Chiefs, even at Arrowhead, were an easier opponent than any of those five. Denver could go from the top seed in the AFC and hosting a conference championship game to being under .500 at Halloween, unless they step up to a wildly difficult level of competition.
Kansas City, meanwhile, will play next Sunday night at home against the Colts, who are 0-1 after a loss on Sunday to the Ravens.
