The Kansas City Chiefs started fast and never looked back, cruising to a season-opening 44-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon in Glendale, Arizona. Patrick Mahomes threw for five touchdowns and 360 yards, including two to running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, for the defending AFC West champions.
Kansas City scored on the opening drive of the game, with a 9-yard touchdown strike from Mahomes to Travis Kelce capping an 11-play, 75-yard jaunt. The lead doubled on a 3-yard shovel pass to Edwards-Helaire from Mahomes, who was playing for the first time as a pro against his college coach, Arizona’s Kliff Kingsbury.
By halftime, the score had ballooned to 23-7, with the overmatched Arizona defense finding no answers against a Chiefs offense playing for the first time without Tyreek Hill, traded to Miami in the offseason. By the fourth quarter, Kansas City had Cardinals fan streaming for the exits, with the home team down 37-7.
Kyler Murray, the former Oklahoma quarterback, and backbone of Kingsbury’s hopes of success in the Arizona desert, was 22 of 34 for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Arizona did play without arguably its top two players, with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins suspended for six games due to a drug policy violation. Defensive lineman J.J. Watt sat out with a lingering calf injury.
Kansas City has a quick turnaround to the home opener, hosting the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night at 7 o’clock in the debut of NFL action on Amazon Prime Video’s streaming service.
Other final scores from the first weekend of NFL season (September 11-12, 2022):
New Orleans 27, Atlanta 26
Seattle 17, Denver 16
Cleveland 26, Carolina 24
Chicago 19, San Francisco 10
Pittsburgh 23, Cincinnati 20 (OT)
Philadelphia 38, Detroit 35
Indianapolis 20, Houston 20 (OT)
Miami 20, New England 7
Baltimore 24, NY Jets 9
Washington 28, Jacksonville 22
LA Chargers 24, Las Vegas 19
Minnesota 23, Green Bay 7
NY Giants 21, Tennessee 20
Tampa Bay 19, Dallas 3
