The Kansas City Chiefs started off the 2026 NFL season the right way with a 31-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Week 1 on “Monday Night Football.”

They came out of the gate with fire and a mission. The Chiefs were on a six-game losing skid heading into this Week 1 game. They spent the offseason listening to wild disrespect after the worst season of the Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes era. Now, they’re on top of the AFC West after a win over the Broncos. They’re back on track and have a lot of impressive performances to thank for it.

With that in mind, let’s break down the winners and losers from the win.

Winner: RB Kenneth Walker III

The reigning Super Bowl MVP looked like a league MVP in his debut for Kansas City. Walker finished the game with 23 carries for 173 yards and one touchdown. That’s a career high. He also had 3 receptions on 6 targets for 18 yards and one touchdown. He outgained the entire Denver Broncos’ offense by 14 yards. His performance is the type that the Chiefs haven’t had at the running back position in a LONG time. The last ball-carrier for Kansas City to go over 140 rushing yards? Clyde Edwards-Helaire in his rookie season against the Buffalo Bills. At the 12:43 mark in the third quarter, he had 127 rushing yards from under-center carries. According to ESPN’s Benjamin Solak, that’s the most under-center rushing yards by a Chiefs running back in the past decade.

Winner: OT Kahlil Benson

Heading into Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, there were a lot of skeptics about Andy Reid’s decision to start the UDFA rookie tackle. At halftime, Benson had pitched a shutout against Nik Bonitto. Lisa Salters asked Andy Reid about it, and he said: “Don’t put the jinx on him. He’s working his tail off. He’s a young guy; things are going to happen, but he’s working.” He continued working through the second half and looked pretty dang good doing it. It’s hard to be anything but impressed with Benson’s NFL debut.

Winner: TE Travis Kelce

Kelce moved into second place all-time in NFL history in receiving yards by a tight end on Monday. He surpassed former Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten and trails only former Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez. He proved he still has it with three catches for 73 yards on the day, but it was also a reminder that he’s one of the greatest to ever play the game. The other reason he’s a big winner? He’s got some friends who can make his life easier in the ground game. Kenneth Walker, of course, but also Emmett Johnson. If the passing game comes alive in the wide receiver room, Kelce will certainly be a happy camper throughout 2026.

Winner: QB Patrick Mahomes

Look, Patrick Mahomes didn’t have the greatest game throwing the ball. He looked like a player coming off an injury who hadn’t played real football in nine months. You could tell he didn’t play a single preseason game before this. His timing and chemistry with his receivers looked a bit off. I think he’s a winner here for two reasons. Firstly, because he looked comfortable playing physical football in his return from injury. He didn’t shy away from running or contact. That’s a big indicator that he’s over the injury. The second part of this: He finally has an elite running game to support him. This is the first time that he’s had a 200-yard rushing performance on offense. Mahomes doesn’t need to simply rely on his talent to carry this offense anymore. That’s a scary thing to behold.

Winner: DC Steve Spagnuolo

Spagnuolo admitted himself heading into this game that it might take the first four weeks of the season for the defense to truly gel. It didn’t even take a drive for his defense to notch its first interception of the season. Even after rookie CB Mansoor Delane went out with an injury, the defense looked fast, physical, and they had answers. They had coverage answers; they had pass rush answers. At one point, they had nine consecutive third-down stops against Denver. Bo Nix didn’t look comfortable at any point. That’s a scary thing for the rest of the NFL to consider.

Loser: OT Josh Simmons

I don’t take any pride in calling an injured player a loser, but Kahlil Benson’s hot start might give Andy Reid something to think about when Simmons is healthy. If Benson keeps playing well, do you disrupt that to insert Simmons into the lineup? Obviously, we’ve got to see where things go from here with Simmons’ health and Benson’s performance. Simmons has hardly been reliable through his first two seasons with the team. Week 1 has at least opened the door to this type of conversation and decision for Kansas City.

Loser: STC Dave Toub

Dave Toub’s unit carries a bad reputation for costly penalties over the past several seasons, and that still looked to be the case vs. the Broncos. The Chiefs were penalized six times for 45 yards on Monday night. Four of those penalties came on special teams. That includes one penalty that backed the team up on the 2-yard line. Patrick Mahomes threw an interception on the ensuing play. The Chiefs simply can’t afford for special teams penalties like this to persist, but it feels like a systemic problem.

Loser: WR Xavier Worthy

Worthy didn’t exactly impress in the first game of the 2026 NFL season. He had three receptions on six targets for 18 yards. He had a long gain of nine yards. But the big problem is that he didn’t get a chance to really show off his speed. He wasn’t targeted in the deep passing game. His catch-and-run plays were not particularly good. The aforementioned interception was a miscommunication between Mahomes and Worthy. Maybe things will get better later in the season, but this was certainly not the start that Worthy wanted in what should be a bounceback year after an injury-riddled campaign