Running back Kenneth Walker III was a significant offseason addition for the Kansas City Chiefs, and he showed exactly why in his new team's 31-10 season-opening win over the Denver Broncos. The former Seattle Seahawks back, named Super Bowl MVP for his former team's win months ago, stepped up in a major way and took much of the pressure off returning quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Walker's debut, including scoring his first Chiefs touchdown and then a second one, had him and the home fans fired up.
However, his second touchdown also brought some NFL discipline to Walker after the game. According to Spotrac, the league fined the Chiefs' new offensive weapon $8,357 for throwing the football into the stands. Walker finished the game with 23 carries for 173 rushing yards, three receptions for 18 receiving yards, and two touchdowns.
His first-ever Chiefs touchdown came on a running play in the third quarter, and the second came via a toss pass from Mahomes. More news: Dan Orlovsky Called Out Over Controversial Justin Herbert Opinion Walker scored that second touchdown of the game with the Chiefs two yards from the end zone. Mahomes took the snap and then tossed it to Walker, who looked like he might rush to the side of the defense.
Instead, he looked at the defense and found an opening to run up the middle for the touchdown. Once he hopped into the end zone, he flipped the ball into the stands, then jumped up as a teammate lifted him for the TD celebration. "It cost me an $8K fine. ... but this fan's memory was priceless," Walker said regarding a Chiefs fan getting the ball.
A highlight video showed his second touchdown from multiple angles, including him tossing the ball into the stands, and a fan holding the football with a smile. Most likely, there will be many more touchdowns on the way, and some might contend that Walker can handle more $8,357 fines for tossing footballs to fans if he wants to. The Chiefs signed him to a three-year contract worth over $43 million this offseason, adding a major component of their offense for the upcoming season.
In that first game, Mahomes also returned from his brutal season-ending injury, recovery, and rehabilitation. He scored an early rushing touchdown to help the Chiefs win the game, but now he has a very powerful second option in Walker III to also score when close to the goal line. More news: Dan Campbell Assigns Blame After Lions’ Week 2 Loss to Bills For more about the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL, visit Newsweek Sports.
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