Patrick Mahomes Gets Win In Return: 3 Takeaways As Chiefs Beat Broncos

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: 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.

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.