Kenneth Walker III, Patrick Mahomes lead Chiefs' win vs. Broncos - ESPN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — During player introductions Monday night, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes entered the field jumping and screaming as fans inside Arrowhead cheered his return from a nine-month injury rehab. Meanwhile, running back Kenneth Walker III, making his Kansas City debut, just jogged onto the field without any celebration.

Together, Mahomes and Walker were effective with their legs to power the Chiefs to a season-opening 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos.

In their first game together, Mahomes, a two-time league MVP, and Walker, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, produced plenty of highlights, making sure Kansas City never trailed. Mahomes gave the ball to Walker, the Chiefs' biggest offseason acquisition, early and often to reach the red zone on the offense's opening drive.

Mahomes' toughness and athleticism were on display on his 10th snap, as he scrambled out of the pocket and dove — while being hit by two defenders — to reach the end zone to score a 15-yard touchdown. His top speed during that scramble reached 15.8 mph, which was 2.5 mph faster than his average speed on rushing attempts last season, according to Next Gen Stats.

«Going for the end zone, it kind of gave me that confidence that I can go out there and be myself,» said Mahomes, who underwent surgery in December to repair a torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. «I just wanted to play. I had done so much rehab and so much work to put myself in this position. I just wanted to get out there and play. This is what you do it for.

»That was definitely the moment physically to say all this work has paid off. I didn't feel anything."

Much of the burden to uplift the offense was taken off of Mahomes because Walker's speed and ball-carrying abilities quite