The knee held. Nine months after Patrick Mahomes tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee against the Los Angeles Chargers, he tucked the ball on the opening drive at Arrowhead Stadium and ran it in from 15 yards out.

Mahomes finished 15-of-27 for 184 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception, and added 23 yards on seven carries. His scoring throws went to Rashee Rice just before halftime and to running back Kenneth Walker III in the second half.

“It went really well. I mean, I didn’t expect to run it that early, but I was able to use my legs early in the game,” Mahomes told reporters after the game.

Kenneth Walker III steals the show

The offseason acquisition Mahomes has been calling “K9” ran the ball 23 times for 173 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown run in the second half, and added three catches for 18 yards along with a receiving score.

Read also: Man United fans hit back at 685 season-ticket bans before City derby

Walker, signed by Kansas City after being named Super Bowl MVP for the Seattle Seahawks last season, finished with 191 yards from scrimmage.

“I’ve been saying it all off-season, man. ‘K9’ is going to make a difference. That offensive line and ‘K9’, they took over the game,” Mahomes said.

Kansas City ran 38 times for 220 yards and threw only 27 passes, letting the ground game carry the workload as its quarterback worked back into game rhythm.

Denver muted by Chiefs defense

Denver arrived at Arrowhead as reigning division champions, having taken the AFC West from Kansas City last season and ended a run of nine straight division titles for the Chiefs. Monday looked nothing like that.

Read also: Howard Webb pulls VAR pair from weekend duty over Haaland derby error

Bo Nix went 17-of-28 for 131 yards with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Evan Engram. He threw an interception to cornerback Mansoor Delane on Denver’s opening drive, lost a fumble that Chris Jones recovered, and was sacked four times.

Kansas City had missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2014, finishing 6-11 after Mahomes went down in a Week 15 defeat at SoFi Stadium on December 14, 2025.

The Chiefs host the Indianapolis Colts on NBC’s Sunday Night Football on September 20 at 8:20 p.m. ET.

Read also: Piers Morgan reignites explosive women's sport debate as Olympic rules shift dramatically

Read also: Garcia calls out De La Hoya after Benn KO: 'Where's your maturity?'