Walker runs for 173 yards as Chiefs rout Broncos 31-10

Kenneth Walker III ran for 173 yards and scored two touchdowns in his Kansas City debut, helping the Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos 31-10 on Monday night. The Chiefs snapped a three-game skid against the rival that ended their nine-year run as division champs.

Walker carried 23 times and finished with the most yards rushing by a Chiefs player since Jamaal Charles ran for 226 against the Colts in 2012, the year before Andy Reid became their coach. The ex-Seahawks star also had three catches for 18 yards.

“He did a really nice job,” Reid said, “and you never know going in how many times you’re going to give him the ball. That’s not a calculated thing. You have to be making yards. For him to play the way he did I thought was spectacular.”

Patrick Mahomes, playing with a brace on his surgically repaired left knee, threw for 184 yards and two scores while also running for another score.

“They were in the AFC championship game for a reason,” Mahomes said. “For us to go out and win like that, that’s the first step. It shows all the work in training camp paid off. But how can we be better?”

The Chiefs made Denver “positively abysmal” on offense in its first game with coordinator Davis Webb calling the plays. Bo Nix threw for 131 yards with an interception and a lost fumble, and the Broncos finished with 176 yards of offense, despite the offseason trade that sent a package of draft picks to Miami for wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.

Waddle had one catch for 2 yards. Evan Engram led the Broncos with four catches for 43 yards and their lone TD.

“As a whole offense, a whole team, we just didn’t play really good,” Nix said.

“Obviously not a good evening,” Broncos coach Sean Payton added.

Mahomes erased doubts about his knee when he capped the Chiefs’ opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown run.

“Once you put him in the game,” Reid said, “he’s going to play, and you better be confident in that.”

Walker had 14 carries for 89 yards in the first half alone, along with a couple of catches out of the backfield. The reigning Super Bowl MVP signed a three-year, $43.05 million deal in free agency.

After the Broncos tied the game on Nix’s 19-yard touchdown pass to Engram, the Chiefs pieced together a 10-play, 80-yard drive late in the half. Mahomes found Rashee Rice, fresh off a knee injury of his own, and Rice caromed off a couple of Broncos defenders and into the end zone to make it 14-7 at the break.

Walker turned a fourth-and-1 carry into a 60-yard TD run to start the third quarter.

“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.”

The teams traded field goals later in the quarter: Brandon Jones picked off Mahomes deep in Chiefs territory, setting up Wil Lutz’s chip shot, and Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce for 59 yards to set up Harrison Butker’s answer.

Nix’s fumble on the ensuing possession allowed the Chiefs to put the game away. Mahomes hit rookie running back Emmett Johnson on third down for a 26-yard gain, setting up first-and-goal at the Denver 2. Mahomes lined up in a three-point stance alongside backup QB Justin Fields, took the snap and shoveled the ball to Walker, who scooted untouched for the score. Reid said he and his staff found the play in black-and-white footage from the 1930s.

“It was hard to see,” Walker said of the film, “but we worked it over and over in practice. We felt it was going to work and it did.”

Taylor Swift chose Arrowhead Stadium over the Emmy Awards to cheer on Kelce. The pop star married the Chiefs tight end on July 3. Swift, who watched alongside Tom Cruise, had been nominated for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for “The Eras Tour: The Final Show.”

Broncos: WR Marvin Mims left briefly with a hip injury but returned.

Chiefs: CB Mansoor Delane landed on his right shoulder after an interception on the third play of the game. The No. 6 pick in the NFL draft was helped to the locker room and did not return. LB Cooper McDonald (knee) left in the first half and did not return.

Denver plays its home opener against Jacksonville on Sunday. Kansas City hosts Indianapolis on Sunday night.