The Kansas City Chiefs started off the 2022 NFL season with a strong performance in all phases of the game.
Buy Chiefs TicketsPatrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy had the offense looking in midseason form. Steve Spagnuolo’s young defense gave up the fewest points of his Chiefs tenure in a Week 1 opener. Special teams had some gutsy performances in the kicking game with Harrison Butker dealing with a tender ankle.
The injury bug was prevalent, however, with several players getting dinged up and a few exiting the game with injuries. That could come into play in Week 2.
So what else did we learn about the Chiefs in their first action of the 2022 NFL season?
Final Score: Chiefs 44, Cardinals 21
After an offseason marinating in last year’s AFC title game defeat, the Chiefs came out hot against the Cardinals and they didn’t take their foot off the gas until late in the fourth quarter. Kansas City had a lot to prove with its new-look receiver corps and its young defensive secondary, but they met the challenge head-on in Week 1. It’s safe to say that after this performance, no one in their right mind will be left doubting the Chiefs or their quarterback.
Weekly Awards
- Chiefs Wire Game Ball: QB Patrick Mahomes
- Harrison Butker Rookie of the Game: CB Trent McDuffie & RB Isiah Pacheco
- Casey Wiegmann Veteran of the Game: DE Carlos Dunlap
- Jamaal Charles Offensive Player of the Game: TE Travis Kelce
- Bobby Bell Defensive Player of the Game: S Juan Thornhill
- Morten Andersen Special Teams Player of the Game: K Harrison Butker & S Justin Reid
- Otis Taylor Play of the Game: Harrison Butker’s 54-yard one-step field goal on an injured ankle.
- Wesley Roesch Stat of the Game: 32 first downs by the Chiefs’ starting offense.
Quick-hitting observations and analysis
- The offense was humming like a well-tuned machine during the preseason and that continued during the opening week of the season. They had six scoring drives, none totaling more than 11 plays.
- Clyde Edwards-Helaire got involved early and often in Week 1, both in the running game and the passing game. He’s looking a bit sprier than in years past.
- Patrick Mahomes doesn’t seem to be missing Tyreek Hill in the slightest. He finished the day 30-of-39 for 360 yards and five touchdown passes. He also had a 144.2 passer rating on the day.
- A total of nine different receivers caught passes from Mahomes in Week 1, while ten different receivers were targeted. Four different receivers caught touchdown passes.
- Travis Kelce is certainly showing no signs of slowing down. He recorded the 30th 100-yard receiving game of his career on Sunday. Only Rob Gronkowski and Tony Gonzalez have more such games in their career.
- The Chiefs taking Justin Reid’s backup kicker bit seriously came in handy in Week 1. Harrison Butker suffered an ankle injury on a kickoff early. Reid temporarily replaced him going 1-for-2 on extra points and 5-for-6 on touchbacks on kickoffs.
- Jaylen Watson replaced Trent McDuffie after his injury. McDuffie was playing lights out, but Watson didn’t do half bad. He had a pass breakup in his limited snaps, but he did give up a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs will probably need him on a short week.
- George Karlaftis had some big plays in the fourth quarter, including a forced throwaway and a batted pass.
- The backfield looks really deep this season. Edwards-Helaire, Jerick McKinnon and Isiah Pacheco all had big contributions throughout the game. They had four runs of 18 yards or more and two of those came from Pacheco, who finished the day as the team’s leading rusher.
Up next:
It’s a short week of practice for the Kansas City Chiefs at the onset of the season. They’ll be in the 2022 NFL season’s debut of “Thursday Night Football” on Amazon Prime Video streaming. They’ll face the Los Angeles Chargers, who are coming off of a 24-19 win against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1.
