00:00You know, Jacob, every single time I do this, I get slapped in the face.
00:04Every time I bet against Patrick Mahomes, every time I think that they are done,
00:09every time I think that it's just not happening, there he is.
00:13Walker goes for 173, and they really blow out that Bronco team.
00:18How surprised were you?
00:20I was surprised, Sills.
00:21I thought that, you know, I thought the Chiefs would have a chance to look good
00:25at some point early in the season if they committed to the running game,
00:28but I just didn't know that Andy Reid was going to do it.
00:30But that first drive, they made a statement.
00:33They gave Kenneth Walker, I think, somewhere between seven to nine carries
00:36on the very first drive of the game and didn't really let Patrick Mahomes do a lot.
00:40So I thought that was a smart approach from the Chiefs,
00:43but I thought the Broncos were going to be a much tougher test for them.
00:46Denver just looked completely out of sorts on offense.
00:49Bo Nix obviously had a terrible game.
00:51The offensive line in front of him was a lot leakier than I expected.
00:55Their offensive line is typically very good,
00:56but they had some issues allowing pressure over left guard and center.
01:00So something for Sean Payton and Davis Webb to clean up moving forward.
01:03But yeah, coming out of that Chiefs game, I was very impressed with them.
01:07They showed that they can be a playoff contender once again.
01:10And I think the most encouraging thing about this for the Chiefs,
01:12they blew out the Broncos without Mahomes looking great.
01:16I know he showed he was healthy.
01:18He showed he could scramble.
01:19That was fantastic for Chiefs fans.
01:21But I think he was like two of 10 to open the game passing.
01:24So he's still shaking off the rust.
01:26So you have to imagine, again, maybe once we get out of September,
01:29if that rust is gone and Mahomes is back at his peak,
01:32the Chiefs are going to be very,
01:33very hard to beat with that incredible run game.
01:36And they're always quality defense under Steve Spagnuolo.
01:40Would you agree?
01:41One of the big comments though,
01:43heading out of that game would be,
01:45will Andy Reid be committed and stay committed to that run game?
01:49Because that's been one of the things that people have always said about him,
01:52the commitment to the run game.
01:54When you've got a guy like that, I mean,
01:56that just makes a quarterback's life so much easier when you've got a Walker
01:59guy that could put up 173 yards.
02:02I mean,
02:02they outgained the entire Bronco offense in that game on Monday night,
02:06being committed to the run game.
02:08That's going to be the challenge for him.
02:10Won't it?
02:11Absolutely.
02:12Because Andy Reid has always wanted to operate with a pass heavy offense.
02:16He just enjoys that play creativity,
02:18the explosive passing plays.
02:20That's one of the reasons why he and Mahomes have been such a good fit,
02:23because Mahomes is just a next level down the field creator.
02:27And his mobility has always been kind of an underrated asset of his game.
02:31He's not often looking to scramble or do design quarterback runs,
02:34but when he sees those gaps, he can take advantage of them.
02:38So I think it will be challenging for Reid to just say,
02:41Hey, I need to get Kenneth Walker, those 25, 30 touches a game.
02:45I can't really go full into my entire passing playbook,
02:49the entire early part of the season.
02:51But I think the nice thing about this setup is they're going to be able to
02:55lean on Walker early in the season.
02:57And then once Mahomes is back to sort of close to full strength,
03:01then Reid can lean more on the passing game and say, Hey,
03:04we've got to not limit Kenneth Walker's off opportunities,
03:07but make sure he's fresh for the playoffs because that was his key in
03:10Seattle last year.
03:11He split carries with Zach Charbonnet in the regular season.
03:14And then he handled the workload in the playoffs and that helped him become
03:17Superbowl MVP.
03:18So I think the plan for the chief should be go run heavy in the first six to
03:22eight weeks of the season,
03:23go maybe a little bit more pass heavy that last week or the last week to get
03:28Kenneth Walker, some rest, and then, Hey,
03:30be ready for a potential Superbowl run with an explosive all around unit.
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