DALLAS — Troy Aikman called the Kansas City Chiefs’ 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. On Thursday, he said he did not see it coming.
Aikman made the comments on his weekly visit with The Musers on Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket. Kansas City played the game with Patrick Mahomes back from knee surgery.
Kenneth Walker III ran 23 times for 173 yards and 1 touchdown in his Kansas City debut at Arrowhead Stadium. He added 3 catches for 18 yards and 1 touchdown. The 173 rushing yards were the most by any player in a game started by Mahomes, NFL.com reported. Denver returned 10 of its 11 defensive starters, according to Aikman.
“Wow, I did not see what happened happening. I mean, I said it during the game,” Aikman said. “I feel like Denver is as loaded as any team. I mean, they’ve got depth. They’ve got everyone back from last year. They had 10 of 11 starters back defensively. Their offensive line, four of the five have played four years together. The center is in his third year. So they’ve all been together for three years, most of them for four. They’ve got more depth at wide receiver than any other team. I just thought they would come out and play really well.”
“And on the other hand, this Kansas City team is different from what we have seen in other years. And it’s not because they ran the football,” Aikman continued. “Defensively, they’re relying on some really young players. I do think they drafted some good players. Time will tell, but it appears that they really made some nice selections. But they’re going to be relying on those guys. So the youth, I thought, would show up, especially in Week 1. And then they started an undrafted free agent rookie at left tackle. And it just went about as well as you could have hoped.”
Monday was Denver’s first game with offensive coordinator Davis Webb calling plays, Pro Football Talk reported. The Broncos finished with 176 yards from scrimmage. Walker had 191 by himself.
Troy Aikman On Andy Reid And Kansas City Chiefs’ Running Game
Kansas City has not had a 1,000-yard rusher since Mahomes became the starter in 2018. The Chiefs signed Walker on March 12 to a three-year, $43.05 million deal, The Associated Press reported. He was the Super Bowl LX MVP with the Seattle Seahawks.
Mahomes started nine months to the day after tearing the ACL and LCL in his left knee on Dec. 14. He went 15-of-27 for 184 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He also ran for a 15-yard touchdown on the opening drive. Aikman said the running game helps the Chiefs’ defense as much as it helps Mahomes.
“And all that we had heard in the offseason was how they wanted to lean more on the running game and the acquisition of Kenneth Walker,” Aikman explained. “But yet, we’ve all been around Andy Reid long enough to know that I’ve seen periodically a game where he will stick with the run, but over the course of a season, and we’ll find out this year, will he run the ball the way that they’ve talked about wanting to do? And they sure did Week 1. And Kenneth Walker looked amazing.”
“And so, you talk about the injury to Patrick, which is a big deal. The fact that he was able to come back off of that surgery and start Week 1 is nothing short of miraculous,” Aikman detailed. “I mean, that was significant. Two ligament tears and then having to wear the brace, and yet he looked really good. But, yeah, the running game will help him, but it’ll also help that offensive line, and it helps the defense, which people don’t tend to talk about as much. When you’re running the ball the way that they did in that game Monday night, it just helps everybody.”
“It’s a lot like what Cowboys fans saw Sunday night from the Giants,” Aikman noted. “When you’re running the ball and converting on third downs and maintaining possession, that allows your defense to rest and they don’t have to play as many plays and your quarterback doesn’t have to do as much. I mean, it just helps everyone. So I’m excited for what that looked like for Kansas City and whether or not, I guess that’s something we’ll be looking at throughout the year as to whether or not Andy Reid sticks with the running game. They’re not going to run it that well every week, but I’m excited for what they got, and it was a lot better than what I anticipated.”
Kansas City ran 38 times for 220 yards. It was the third-most rushing yards for an Andy Reid team in Kansas City, according to Pro Football Talk.
Troy Aikman On Seattle Seahawks After Kenneth Walker III
Seattle opened with a 13-10 win over the New England Patriots on Sept. 9 at Lumen Field. Sam Darnold left on the first drive with what the team called a soft-tissue injury in his glute, and Seattle has ruled him out for Sunday’s game at Arizona.
The Seahawks drafted Jadarian Price out of Notre Dame with the No. 32 overall pick in April. Price played high school football in Denison. Aikman, who played at UCLA from 1986 to 1988, said he followed Zach Charbonnet once Charbonnet transferred there from Michigan.
“He’s a special player because he’s tough and he runs hard and then he has tremendous speed, so he’s always a home run threat every time he has the ball,” Aikman said of Walker. “I haven’t looked at seeing who Seattle replaced him with, but I know Zach Charbonnet, who is … those two pretty much split carries. Kenneth Walker has never been the guy who’s carried the entire load. And then when Charbonnet got hurt last year heading into the postseason, that’s when Kenneth Walker got all the work, and he took advantage of it. He had a great postseason. He was a Super Bowl MVP. And then it carried over into this year, too.”
“But I really like Zach Charbonnet as well. He was a transfer kid from Michigan to UCLA,” Aikman continued. “So I followed him once he got on campus there at UCLA. And he’s as tough as they come, too. So my guess is they got somebody that they’re splitting carries with in Seattle and hoping that Sam Darnold, I haven’t heard the status on him as we go into this week. But hopefully he’s going to be okay and get back on the field soon.”
Kansas City hosts the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football at 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC. Seattle plays at Arizona at 3:25 p.m. CT on Fox.
