Patrick Mahomes is piling up the kind of numbers that usually make an easy case for team MVP. He’s on pace for more than 4,400 passing yards, 38 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and his 106.2 passer rating would be the third-best mark of his career. By the usual standards, that’s a heater.
And yet, when the Chiefs’ Star columnists and reporters - Sam McDowell, Vahe Gregorian, Pete Sweeney, Pete Grathoff and me - handed out their bye-week awards, Mahomes didn’t land at the top of either ballot.
That honor went unanimously to Kenneth Walker III.
TOP OFFENSIVE PLAYER: RB KENNETH WALKER III
Votes: Kenneth Walker (5)
MVP: WALKER
Votes: Kenneth Walker (5)
It takes a monster start to knock Mahomes off that perch, and Walker has provided exactly that. Through four games, he has 537 rushing yards, the most in the NFL over the first four games since 2016, and his 6.2 yards per carry leads the league. His 76-yard burst against the Las Vegas Raiders last weekend stands as the longest run of the season.
Walker has also been punishing defenders after first contact. His 279 yards after contact lead the NFL and would rank 13th in rushing yards by themselves.
For Kansas City, this is unfamiliar territory. The team hasn’t seen this kind of production from a running back since Kareem Hunt’s rookie season, when Hunt led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards.
The big-play element has been just as striking. Walker has 14 rushing attempts of at least 10 yards in four games. Last season, the Chiefs’ running backs - led by Isiah Pacheco and Hunt - combined for 22 such runs across 30 games.
The explosive runs have been there from the start. Kansas City had three carries of 20 yards or more in 2025 before Walker really took off, one each from Hunt (33 yards), Xavier Worthy (35) and Mahomes (22). Walker already has six, including the 60-yard touchdown that broke open the opener against the Denver Broncos.
His impact has even shown up in the way Mahomes has played. In the games against the Indianapolis Colts and Miami Dolphins, when Walker was “held” to a combined 187 rushing yards, Mahomes turned in his two best outings of the season. He threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns in the overtime win over the Colts, then completed 83.3% of his passes - 20 of 24 - against the Dolphins, the third-best completion rate of his career.
Mahomes also logged his two best passer-rating games in those Walker sub-170-yard performances.
Walker has helped in the passing game, too, catching 12 passes for 84 yards and scoring twice as a receiver.
The only downside for Kansas City is the workload. Walker’s 87 rushing attempts already put him on pace for 370, which would match Christian Okoye in 1989 for the second-most in team history.
That may force Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to find ways to lighten the load and get rookie reserve Emmett Johnson more touches.
For now, though, the verdict is clear. As the Chiefs head into the bye week, Walker’s opening month has outpaced even the loftiest expectations - enough to make him the team’s MVP and top offensive player at the season’s quarter pole.
In Other News...
Jaguars Fans Just Landed Near The Top Of A Surprising NFL List
A Harvard study looking at the political leanings of NFL fan bases turned up an unusual ranking, with the Tennessee Titans at the top of the most Republican-leaning list and the Jacksonville Jaguars right behind them. The Bengals also landed near the top, and the broader finding fit a familiar pattern: fan bases often seem to track the political character of the places they call home.
For Chiefs fans, the more interesting note may be how carefully Patrick Mahomes has handled the subject. In a 2024 interview, the Kansas City quarterback said he avoids endorsing political candidates, instead encouraging voter registration and independent decision-making. It is a reminder that even in a league built on rivalries and regional identity, the politics around the game can still draw attention in unexpected ways. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Are Getting Late Heroics While A Bigger Mahomes Concern Grows
The Chiefs have opened 4-0 with the kind of late-game help that can make a September slump look a lot less alarming, and Kenneth Walker III has been at the center of it. He has found the end zone repeatedly in the closing moments of games, including two touchdowns in the final minutes against the Raiders, giving Kansas City a timely lift as the offense works through some uneven stretches and a few offensive line injuries.
Still, the bigger picture is hard to ignore with an early bye week coming up. The late heroics have piled up in a way that stands out even across the league, but they also underscore how much the Chiefs have leaned on finishing strong rather than controlling games cleanly from the start, which is the part that will matter most as the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Defense Is Giving Kansas City More Hope Than Worry
After four games of the 2026 season, the most encouraging part of Kansas Citys start may be the side of the ball that usually has to carry the load when the offense is still finding its rhythm. The defensive review points to a group that has given the Chiefs real reasons to feel better than they did a few weeks ago, with each level of the unit offering at least some evidence that this group can be steadier than expected.
The interior defensive line has helped set the tone, the edge rushers have supplied pressure, and the linebacker group has given the defense some needed range behind them. There are still questions in the secondary, where the cornerbacks and safeties have had moments that deserve a closer look, but the bigger picture for Kansas City is fairly clear: the defense is providing more hope than worry, even if the season is still early enough for that balance to change quickly. [Read more 🡒]