The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off their 2026 campaign in fashion tonight, trampling the reigning AFC West champion Denver Broncos 31-10 in a blowout victory. It was a dominant effort from Andy Reid's squad, which looks poised to bounce back from last year's poor 6-11 finish.Entering the contest, the talk of the town was about quarterback Patrick Mahomes' highly anticipated return from a torn ACL and LCL he suffered last season. The future Hall of Famer didn't quite look like his dominant self despite bouncing back from a meager 2-for-10 passing to open the game. However, the real star of the show behind offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy's new scheme was newly acquired tailback Kenneth Walker III. Although everyone knew it would take Mahomes a while to settle into the offense given that he didn't see any live action this preseason, K.C. wouldn't have scored many points if it weren't for Walker's contributions. He finished the night with an incredible 7.5 yards per carry, toting 23 carries for 173 rushing yards and one touchdown. "K9" added three catches and 18 receiving yards and accounted for one of Mahomes' two touchdown passes as well.As Mahomes continues to adapt to the game post-ACL surgery, it is apparent that the Chiefs are prioritizing the run game with this current group. This might be the first time in the past decade that we can say Kansas City is actually a run-first team.The New Chiefs Offense Leans on the RunEver since Mahomes took over as Kansas City's full-time starter in 2018, the Chiefs have operated as a quarterback-driven, pass-heavy offense. That may no longer be the case now that Walker is in the picture. In his debut in the red and gold, he tallied the most rushing yards a player has in a Chiefs uniform since Jamaal Charles in 2012, and the most in his five-year NFL career.The front office signed the Super Bowl LX MVP to a three-year contract that could total up to $45 million with incentives. Although that is a lot of money to invest in the sport's most injury-prone position, early indications suggest that the Chiefs actually got him at incredible value. All night long, Walker displayed the burst and explosiveness that made him such a dangerous weapon in Seattle. The best example of this came when he took a handoff 60 yards to the house to extend K.C.'s lead to 21-7 in the third quarter.— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2026Walker's final numbers may have something to do with the game script and how the passing attack struggled for the better part of two quarters. Regardless, Denver was having trouble stopping him even when it knew Walker was touching the ball — and that's a sign you have a special player on your hands.After a 2025 campaign in which the Chiefs finished in the bottom half of the league in rushing yards and yards per attempt, they could have one of the better ground games this year if Walker maintains this pace. The Chiefs even saw some positives from fifth-round rookie Emmett Johnson in his first professional contest, as he recorded eight carries for 24 yards.It's unreasonable to expect Walker to post 200 yards from scrimmage every night, and there will undoubtedly come a point when Mahomes shakes off his rust and looks like his vintage self. However, the signing of Walker has turned Kansas City into a more run-first, ball-control team. That will not only make the Chiefs a more dynamic and unpredictable offense, but could also lengthen Mahomes' career by not having him drop back 50 times a night like he used to.Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news and updates throughout the game and after the action has concluded.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow