Lou Anarumo is about to see a Chiefs offense that doesn’t look much like the one he’s spent years scheming against.
Kansas City and Indianapolis meet Sunday, and the matchup brings Anarumo back against Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs attack he has frustrated plenty of times before. But this version of Kansas City comes with a different feel, and Week 1 offered a clear hint of what that means.
The Chiefs leaned on Kenneth Walker III in a way that changed the tone of their offense against the Denver Broncos. Walker ripped off 173 rushing yards, averaging 7.5 yards per carry and posting a 52.2 rushing success rate. Those numbers are eye-popping on their own, and they also pointed to something Kansas City hasn’t had much of in recent memory: consistent chunk gains on the ground.
Walker’s day wasn’t just about what Denver failed to do. Yes, the Broncos missed plenty of tackles.
But Walker also showed the kind of patience that turns a decent lane into a big gain. He could wait, press the play, then cut back or bounce outside when defenders got too aggressive.
When the hole was there, he made it count.
Ryan Paganetti noted that Walker finished with 101 rushing yards over expected, a number he said was more than double that of any other running back in Week 1.
That kind of production matters even more because Kansas City looked more physical and more straightforward as an offense. The Chiefs got explosive plays and stayed on schedule, and that gives Anarumo a different problem to solve than the one he’s usually faced with Mahomes and Reid.
For Indianapolis, the timing is awkward. The Colts’ defense was already shaky in its 2026 season opener against the Baltimore Ravens, and the biggest issue was easy to spot: explosive plays. Baltimore rolled up more than 500 yards and scored 41 points, with the Colts struggling badly to keep the Ravens from hitting big gains.
The run defense took the worst of it. Derrick Henry finished with 144 rushing yards, and 110 of those came before contact, according to Next Gen Stats.
Henry was hit at the line of scrimmage on just 8.3 percent of his carries, his lowest rate since joining Baltimore. In all, the Ravens piled up more than 200 rushing yards, and Indianapolis allowed a 20 percent explosive play rate, which ranked among the top three marks in Week 1.
That matters because the Colts are now staring at another offense built to punish missed tackles and soft fits. Kansas City’s new ground emphasis is a tough follow-up after trying to deal with Henry, especially with a younger group on Anarumo’s defense still trying to settle in.
If Indianapolis cleans up the tackling and fills the gaps better, the Colts can at least make this a fight. If not, Walker has the kind of skill set that can turn Sunday into a long afternoon for Anarumo’s defense.
In Other News...
NFL Sends Chiefs Fans A Clear Message On That Mahomes Hit
The NFLs latest review gave Chiefs fans a familiar kind of frustration, as the league looked at the hit Denver edge rusher Nik Bonitto landed on Patrick Mahomes and decided no fine was coming. Mahomes had just let go of a short throw when he was contacted around the head and neck area, the sort of play that usually draws immediate attention in a league that has spent years trying to protect quarterbacks.
Instead, the league determined the contact was legal, leaving Kansas City with more questions than relief about how that sequence was handled. The postgame discipline elsewhere from the game did come down on Chiefs guard Trey Smith and Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton, who were both fined for separate violations, but the Mahomes hit itself was left untouched. [Read more 🡒]
NBC Is Leaning Into Chiefs Hate Before Sunday Night
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Glaser appears in a Chiefs jersey with Taylors husband on the back, while Swifts Ready for It? plays underneath, turning the spot into a blend of football, pop culture and the sort of outside-the-lines teasing Kansas City has learned to live with. It is less a game preview than a reminder that the Chiefs have become one of the leagues most watched and most reacted-to teams, which is exactly the kind of backdrop NBC seems eager to lean into for prime time. [Read more 🡒]
Patrick Mahomes Had Chiefs Fans Doing A Double Take Before Kickoff
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The liquid turned out to be pickle juice, a hydration method the Chiefs have used for years as part of their effort to help prevent cramps. For a fan base that has seen just about everything from Mahomes, it was still enough to cause a double take, even if the explanation was a lot more ordinary than the reaction. [Read more 🡒]