The Kansas City Chiefs couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2026 season from running back Kenneth Walker III.
In his Week 1 debut against the Denver Broncos, Walker racked up 191 total yards and two touchdowns, — which included a 60-yard TD run. He followed that up with 178 total yards against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2. 80 of those yards came starting with just 5:27 left to play in regulation.
Kansas City Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker III Leads NFL in 2 Mind-Blowing Stats
Walker has been running the ball with an impressive combination of speed an power. According to Chiefs reporter Matt McMullen, Walker leads the NFL in missed tackles throughout the first two weeks of the season with 23. In addition to that, his 243 yards-after-contact lead the league by 86 yards. Walker is also averaging an incredible 5.17 yards on average after contact.
He’s averaging 5.17 yards (!!) on average after contact.
Walker sealed the win for the Chiefs over the Colts on Sunday night with a 22-yard reception from out of the backfield. He finished the game with 117 rushing yards on 24 carries and 61 receiving yards on six receptions. Walker leads all NFL running backs in rushing yards with 290, which is 78 more than second place Derrick Henry.
Kenneth Walker III Is Opening up the Chiefs’ Offense
Kansas City threw the ball a lot more in Week 2, thanks in large part to Walker’s big Week 1 performance. With Indianapolis’ defense locked in on Walker, quarterback Patrick Mahomes was able to spread the ball around and have a big game, throwing for 382 yards and three touchdowns on the night.
Even with the Colts focused on Walker, he was still very productive. That is going to put the Chiefs’ future opponents in a tough bind. After Sunday night’s win, coach Andy Reid expressed how impressed he was with Walker’s performance against a good Colts’ front seven, which allowed him to mix up his play calling a bit.
“They packed five guys in there, three over the guard and center,” Reid said of Indianapolis’ defense. “The two bigs on the outside, they’re strong. That’s a good front. So we knew it was going to be tough (to run the ball), but we had a good mix going. We got a few screens off, a couple nakeds (bootlegs) off, and play-actions. Then we ran the ball efficiently enough. He (Walker) got over 100 yards, but he had to earn every bit of it.”
Kenneth Walker Is Dominating NFL in 2 Mind-Blowing Categories