Chiefs vs. Broncos: Examining Post-Game Overreactions, Payton’s Role, and Mahomes' Form

Week 1 is officially in the books after the Kansas City Chiefs took down the Denver Broncos on "Monday Night Football" in convincing fashion, 31-10.

This thumping by K.C. was spearheaded by a stellar debut from running back Kenneth Walker III , who set a career high with 173 rushing yards. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes made his return to the field following his season-ending ACL and LCL tear in 2025 and looked solid in his first game back. As for Denver, it was a rough night no matter which way you sliced it, as the defense struggled mightily while the offense couldn't get much going either.

Of course, given that this was a divisional game in primetime, a lot of eyeballs were on this matchup, which means there are a slew of storylines to come out of the contest. Here, we're going to pick out a handful of narratives from this game and discern fact from fiction, labeling them as either an overreaction or reality.

Sean Payton should reclaim offensive play-calling duties

Overreaction vs. reality : Reality.

Yes, it sounds hasty to rip the play sheet out of Davis Webb's hands after one game, but it's a necessary move for Sean Payton. In truth, it was a curious decision in the first place. The decision to elevate Webb as the offensive coordinator and hand over play-calling duties to him was an effort to keep him in Denver and not see him depart to pursue that opportunity elsewhere. Webb has been with the organization since 2023 and has risen through the ranks under Payton, so it's understandable to want to keep continuity on the coaching staff.

In doing so, however, you take away Payton's superpower.

The veteran head coach has long been praised for his play-calling ability. In fact, he'll probably go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, in part, because of it. So, even if Webb becomes a serviceable play caller after getting some reps under his belt, they are needlessly downgrading.

Denver's 176 total yards from scrimmage were the fewest under Payton. This was also just the second time over his tenure when they played a game without a 20-yard play.

Broncos offense Week 1 vs. Chiefs Stat Rank under Sean Payton

Total yards

176

Worst

Points

10

T-3rd worst

Point differential

-21

4th worst

Payton himself didn't seem to know what to do with himself at times on Monday and didn't seem thrilled with the arrangement when asked about it on the broadcast coming out of halftime.

In reality, Payton will have a longer leash than the one we're suggesting. However, with games against the Jaguars , Rams , 49ers (road), Chargers (road), and Seahawks next up on the docket, Denver's season could go up in flames if they don't turn the corner quickly.

Patrick Mahomes is back to his elite form

Overreaction vs. reality : Overreaction.

Patrick Mahomes KC • QB • #15

CMP% 55.6 YDs 184 TD 2 INT 1 YD/Att 6.81 View Profile

Mahomes got into the win column in his first game back since the knee injury, but the Chiefs quarterback isn't back to his full form quite yet. While there were glimmers, Mahomes still has a bit to go before truly looking like his future Hall of Fame self. Given that they scored 31 points anyway, that's a frightening realization for the rest of the league.

Kansas City tried to work Mahomes back in slowly, handing the ball off to Walker on the first four plays of the night. When he did start to drop back and pass, he was a bit sluggish from the jump. He completed just 2 of 12 to begin the game before finding rhythm and ending the first half on five-straight completions, and proceeded to complete 13 of 15 the rest of the way after that rocky start.

Still, most of his throws were either at the line of scrimmage or in the intermediate part of the field, including both of his touchdown passes, which were each at or behind the LOS. The deep passing game was nonexistent in this matchup, and Mahomes finished the game with a 4.9 air yards per pass attempt average.

> Patrick Mahomes was the only quarterback in Week 1 to not complete a pass over 10 yards downfield (min. 10 attempts) pic.twitter.com/RIKpvc9Opj — Underdog (@Underdog) September 15, 2026

Again, it's widely encouraging that Mahomes didn't exactly put together a Mahomes-like performance and the offense still managed 31 points. He'll only get better from here as he builds strength and faith in that surgically repaired knee.

Kenneth Walker III was NFL's top free agent signing

Overreaction vs. reality : Reality.

Kenneth Walker III KC • RB • #9

Att 23 Yds 173 TD 1 FL 0 View Profile

Some veterans could have something to say about this when it's all said and done (like Isaiah Likely , Mike Evans , Boye Mafe ), but it's hard to argue with this coming out of Week 1. Walker's debut was THAT good.

His 173 rushing yards were the fourth-most in debut with a new team in NFL history, and the most in Chiefs history. Moreover, Walker's 191 yards from scrimmage outgained the ENTIRE Broncos offense on Monday night. While the numbers are sensational, Walker's presence out of the backfield and what that'll mean for the rest of Kansas City's offense is what could take this free agent signing into elite status.

Throughout the offseason, the Chiefs brass had talked about needing more explosiveness in their offense. They got that when they signed him to a three-year, $45 million deal, which made him the highest-paid free agent running back in NFL history ($14.4 million in AAV).

> KENNETH WALKER 60-YARD TD DENvsKC on ESPN Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/FewiswX7K5 — NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2026

On Monday, Walker had two rushes of 25-plus yards. That's more than the entire Chiefs running back room combined last season (1). He's also the first back to rush for 140 yards and score a rushing touchdown in a game since 2017 ( Kareem Hunt ).

His arrival gives Kansas City's offense a layer it hasn't had in quite some time. Over the past few years, Mahomes has been asked to do it all within the offense. Now, he has a back who he can hand it off to who can turn that into a 60-yard touchdown run in a moment's notice. That's massive, especially as he continues to work his way back to full form.

Once he does, the Chiefs' offense will return as one of the scariest units in the league.

Broncos defense is no longer elite

Overreaction vs. reality : Overreaction.

It was not a good showing by the Denver defense whatsoever. According to Next Gen Stats , the Broncos defense missed 28 tackles against the Chiefs and allowed 247 yards after missed tackles, which is the most by any defense in a game since at least 2018. The unit had eight different players miss multiple tackles.

Simply put: They were terrible.

That said, we're going to stop short of decreeing this defense as a has-been. We'll give them the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to this being just a bad night. The Broncos' defense last season was in the top three in the entire league in points per game allowed (18.3), yards per game allowed (278.2), and third-down conversion rate (33.8%). They brought most of their players from that unit back for 2026, which made this showing that much more jarring.

For their sake, they better hope this was a blip, or else their chances of repeating as division champions and making another deep playoff run will be gone in the blink of an eye.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/chiefs-vs-broncos-overreactions-sean-payton-patrick-mahomes/)._