Around the AFC West: How the Chiefs rivals look after Week 1

Kansas City Chiefs

The reigning champs took the field for Thursday Night Football to open the season. This was billed as Deshaun Watson vs. Patrick Mahomes, a rematch of the Divisional Round of the playoffs, and a chance for the Houston Texans to redeem themselves after getting blown out having been up 24-0.

The Chiefs opened the game by revealing their Super Bowl LIV banner and with moments of protest from both teams. Kickoff finally occurred and, after a few hiccups, the Chiefs proved why they were the reigning champs.

The Texans sold out to protect against giving up big plays which allowed Patrick Mahomes to pick apart the Texans’ defense for short yardage plays. Mahomes was great, but the story of the game was not him.

Instead, the story of the Chiefs dominant win over the Texans was the emergence of the rookie class. Of course, everyone had hyped Clyde Edwards-Helaire throughout the offseason as the perfect fit for the Chiefs offense and it turns out, that buzz was spot-on. CEH had a phenomenal rookie debut racking up 138 yards and his first career NFL touchdown. He provided the ground game that had been lacking last year and we didn’t even see him participate in the passing game. This kid is going to be fun.

On top of that, we saw rookie fourth round corner L’Jarius Sneed start outside and, after blowing a tackle on a Houston touchdown, bounced back and he showed why he started. He broke up a number of passes and grabbed his first NFL interception after Tyrann Mathieu forced pressure on Deshaun Watson.

Rookie punter Tommy Townsend showed why cutting Dustin Colquitt was the right move. He placed some great punts in his debut while defensive end Mike Danna played a number of meaningful snaps. This class definitely looks like it can be productive, and the Chiefs are off to a great start of the #RunItBack tour.

The Chiefs suffered too many injuries at positions that didn’t need losses. Possibly the biggest loss is Charvarius Ward. Ward left the game with a hand injury that was later revealed to be a fracture. Ward is scheduled to have surgery. Following that surgery, a determination will be made as to how much time he will miss. Most recent reports make it seem like time missed will be short. I hope he ends up playing with a club like Kendall Fuller last year.

Khalen Saunders also went down with a dislocated elbow. Saunders has been active on Twitter and it sounds like his injury could have been a lot worse. Finally, Alex Okafor left the game with a slight hamstring strain. Given that it is classified as slight, I hope he is able to come back quickly. Monday’s press conference also noted that Austin Reiter has a sore knee.

Next week, the Chiefs travel to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers. The Chargers have been plagued by injuries losing Derwin James and Drue Tranquill while simultaneously struggling to keep their offensive line healthy. On top of that, Tyrod Taylor is an average quarterback at best. The Chiefs should not have much trouble beating the Chargers in their house.

Game time is 3:25 p.m. Sunday.