The Kansas City Chiefs gave their fans exactly what they wanted in Week 1. Kansas City looked like Super Bowl favorites during their season opener against Denver. But one analyst warned that Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes did not have a great performance despite returning from last season's big injury.

Denny Carter of NBC Sports shared some revealing advanced metrics that show Mahomes did not play well in his season opener.

“Pretty rough outing for Patrick Mahomes last night. He was 12% below his expected completion rate, the worst mark in the league in Week 1,” Carter posted on social media on Tuesday. “His 41% success rate was in line with Kirk Cousins and Daniel Jones.”

Carter's post also includes a graph that shows completion percentage over expectation on one axis. He was the worst quarterback in the NFL in that advanced metric in Week 1.

It also shows that Mahomes had just below a 0.00 EPA per play, which put him in the bottom half of starting quarterbacks.

Mahomes finished 15-of-27 for 184 passing yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He added seven carries for 23 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.

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Fortunately, Kansas City's biggest addition of the offseason massively paid off in Week 1.

Kenneth Walker III was the best player on the field on Monday night. His incredible performance kept Kansas City's offense dangerous even while the passing game was struggling to get started. Walker had 23 carries for 173 rushing yards and a touchdown. He also added three receptions for 18 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air.

It was great to see Walker prove his worth right away in 2026. Now Chiefs fans have to be excited about how the offense could look once Mahomes gets into a better rhythm.

Next up for the Chiefs is a Week 2 matchup against the Colts. That AFC showdown will be on Sunday Night Football and kicks off at 8:20PM ET on September 20th from Arrowhead.