KC Chiefs vs. Cardinals predictions: AA staff picks for Week 1

The Arrowhead Addict staff writers offer up their predictions for Sunday’s tilt between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Arizona Cardinals.

The Kansas City Chiefs travel to the Grand Canyon State to begin their 2022 campaign at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. That is where they hope to ultimately finish this season, as that is also the location where Super Bowl LVII will take place, but between now and then, the Chiefs have a lot of work to do.

Kicking off the season on the road is never optimal, but 50% of teams must do it. The Chiefs are 4-0 in season openers with quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the helm, and this will be the first time that Mahomes will square off against Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. It’ll be sunny and 96 degrees at kickoff, so hopefully the Chiefs will have plenty of high-quality-H2O on hand.

Here’s how the Arrowhead Addict staff thinks things will go down in the desert:

Patrick Allen

I think the Chiefs will come out early this season and go scorched earth on their first few opponents. The difference between this year and last year and this year is that defenses don’t really know what to expect from the new-look KC offense, and Reid and Mahomes will use that to their advantage. Think about it. The Chiefs should have struggled early on offense in 2018. They had a QB in Mahomes taking over as the starter with only one game of NFL action under his belt. Instead, the Chiefs scored 38, 42, 38, and 27 points in their first four games. Defenses eventually adjusted to cause the Chiefs some problems, especially last year. This year, however, Reid and Mahomes have a clean slate and it may take teams a while to figure it out.
Chiefs 35, Cardinals 27s

Cameron Black

The defenses of both teams are going to be put through the wringer on Sunday, and we will see immediately if the Chiefs’ defense has improved from last year. This will be a real duel of quarterbacks with Mahomes versus the electric Kyler Murray, but I do think if the Chiefs’ defense can keep Murray and Hollywood Brown contained, the Chiefs win.
Chiefs 30, Cardinals 27

Matt Conner

The Cardinals are asking a lot of production out of aging players and that’s never a winning formula in today’s NFL (save for Tom Brady). Besides, Andy Reid loses season-opening games as often as he does games after a bye.
Chiefs 30, Cardinals 18

Josh Fann

Arizona has a lot of talent for sure, but I don’t trust Kliff Kingsbury and it doesn’t appear Kyler Murray does either. The Cardinals had a weird offseason and I just don’t like the vibe surrounding them. Chiefs win comfortably.
Chiefs 34, Cardinals 17

Bransen Gibson

Spoiler alert: I will pick the Chiefs to win every single week this season. That’s not to say they will win every game, but this team is talented enough to have a good chance of winning every time they take the field.
Chiefs 27, Cardinals 21

Lyle Graversen

The Chiefs and Cardinals both have some impressive offensive firepower, but unproven defenses. Fortunately for KC, I think the Chiefs are the slightly better team on both sides of the ball. The Cardinals are known for starting the season hot, so don’t be surprised if they give the Chiefs a real test early, but as the game goes by the Chiefs are able to put them away.
Chiefs 34, Cardinals 27

Zach Gunter

While I understand that this game will not be a cakewalk for Kansas City, after looking deeper into the situation Arizona is in, I’m not nearly as nervous. The Cardinals are looking at a very injured offense and a defense that lost Jordan Hicks and Chandler Jones. I expect them to rely upon the legs of James Conner and Kyler Murray to get the job done. It will be a battle if the Chiefs’ run defense is as lackluster as they were last season, but I expect Kansas City to leave Glendale with a win.
Chiefs 42, Cardinals 17

Anthony Hatton

I think the offense will put up points right away. Kansas City’s defense is faster and more athletic, and Chris Jones has some help. They will have some plays where they look out of sync because of their youth and amount of new faces. Kyler Murray will be playing from behind and give a great comeback effort when he finds the weak spots to attack. It just won’t be enough. I’m anticipating one of the higher-scoring matchups in Week 1.
Chiefs 34, Cardinals 24

Sterling Holmes

The Cardinals are explosive but it feels like the rift between the front office, Kingsbury, and Kyler is more explosive. While the talent is undeniable, it feels like they beat themselves more than they step up to the competition. Mahomes has been hearing the chatter all off-season and I fully expect him and the Chiefs to come out swinging with this new look offense. With the Chiefs athleticism on defense, they can alleviate some of the mismatches Kyler can provide with his legs.
Chiefs 34, Cardinals 26

Scott Loring

This is one of those games that is expected to be a barnburner, and then both teams forget to bring the matches. I think both offenses will struggle more than expected, and the Chiefs will lean into their run game a little more than we’re used to in order to beat the Cardinals unconventionally. George Karlaftis gets his first NFL sack.
Chiefs 24, Cardinals 13

Ellen Mathis

With the long list of Cardinal injuries, and the Chiefs being historically very good in Week 1, I see this being a win for a Chiefs team that is facing a pretty demanding start to their season. The Chiefs will make mistakes so it won’t be as clean a game as we would like to see, but you have to iron out those wrinkles now if you hope to be playing in January. This team just makes less mistakes and is led by a better quarterback and a better head coach.
Chiefs 31, Cardinals 17

Greg Morse

We finally see what the new Chiefense can do and I think they’ll dominate a Deandre Hopkins-less Cardinals offense. On the other side, the Chiefs offense will prove they’ll be fine without Tyreek Hill when they light up the injury-riddled Cardinals D.
Chiefs 31, Cardinals 10

Charles Robinson

The Cardinals come in to this one battered, bruised, and quite frankly – looking a little over the hill. The Chiefs, conversely, come in fully healthy. Andy Reid (8-1 in season openers with KC) should have the team ready to go, and Patrick Mahomes (4-0 in season openers) seems primed to spread the ball around the field and confuse a depleted Cardinals defense.
Chiefs 33, Cardinals 24

Byron Smith

Cards are missing vital pieces and the Chiefs are at full health. The Chiefs offense appears ready to have a glorious debut, with Justin Watson catching his first touchdown in Red and Gold.
Chiefs 31, Cardinals 17

Lucas Strozinsky

I don’t expect a ton of good defense in this game. The Chiefs will debut a rebuilt defense that is also young, while the Cardinals aren’t exactly loaded on defense and they also have injury concerns on that side of the ball. In the end, I believe that losing Hopkins and Zach Ertz’s injury on offense for Arizona may be enough for Kansas City to get at least one key stop and propel them to another opening-week victory.
Chiefs 34, Cardinals 27

David Thomas

The Cardinals will be without one of their top defenders and I don’t trust their pass defense as a whole already. I believe the strength of the Chiefs’ pass defense will match up well against the Arizona offense.
Chiefs 30, Cardinals 17

Kelly Thompson

Things that have been overstated this offseason: 1) Patrick Mahomes cannot win without Tyreek Hill, 2) The AFCCG proves that folks have figured out the Chiefs’ offense, and 3) The defense is bad.
Things that have been understated this offseason: 1) Patrick Mahomes + Andy Reid are good, and 2) Kyler Murray + Kliff Kingsbury are okay.
Chiefs 34, Cardinals 20

Grant Tuttle

The Chiefs are going to surprise the Cardinals with a new-look offense that will take teams months to figure out. Mahomes will feast and seven different receivers will have touches. Look for Kansas City to roll offensively, but struggle to contain Kyler Murray defensively.
Chiefs 31, Cardinals 27

Farzin Vousoughian

The Chiefs need to set the tone for the season after how things ended in the AFC Championship game. There are more doubters than before as they believe the Tyreek Hill trade is going to heavily impact the offense in a negative way. Don’t be surprised if Patrick Mahomes goes off for 4+ touchdowns to start the season.
Chiefs 45, Cardinals 23