Kenneth Walker III has changed the Chiefs’ math, and Mahomes is suddenly making defenses pay

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The results have looked a whole lot like they used to for the Kansas City Chiefs.

They've piled up a bunch of yards, made the plays that mattered the most in the final seconds, and ultimately they've come out on top the first two weeks of the season.

How they've done it is what's been different.

These are not the high-flying, throw-it-every-down Chiefs that set the NFL ablaze early in quarterback Patrick Mahomes' career, but rather a balanced attack that has seen Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III surpass all expectations both on the ground and through the air, and forced opposing defenses to honor the run against them for the first time in years.

Walker followed his big debut against the Broncos with 117 yards rushing on Sunday night against Indianapolis, making him the first Chiefs player since Larry Johnson in 2005 with consecutive games of at least 175 yards from scrimmage.

That opened up the field for Mahomes, who dominated the Colts for 382 yards and three touchdowns passing in a 33-30 overtime win.

“Defenses have to account for that," Mahomes said of the Chiefs' ground game. “If not, we're going to run the ball for 200 yards, or whatever we did the week before, and so you want to be able to do it all, and we showcased (Sunday) that we can throw the ball downfield. We can play action. We can do that stuff. And we can still run the ball.”

The proof of its success has been in the numbers.

After nearly a decade near the top of the NFL in total offense, the Chiefs slipped to 21st while going 6-11 last season, averaging just over 320 yards per game.

But on Sunday night, they finished with more than 500 yards for the first time since the 2022 season, and they're averaging an NFL-best 457.5 yards through the first two weeks.

“I mean, guys are playing their tails off for the guys next to them. That's why I love this team right now,” said Travis Kelce, who had nine catches for 101 yards and a score against the Colts. “We're in a zone right now where everyone is feeding off each other.”

The Chiefs may not have a true No. 1 wide receiver on the roster, but they make up for it with an abundance of options, and that has made them difficult to cover. Seven different players caught at least two passes against Indianapolis, and the three touchdown passes thrown by Mahomes went to three different players.

Take away two clutch kicks by Harrison Butker in overtime, including the winner from 40 yards with no time left, and special teams were largely a disaster for the second straight week. Not only did the Chiefs look confused on several kickoff returns that scooted into the end zone for touchbacks that gave them the ball at the 20, they also struggled to cover their own kickoffs.

Tyquan Thornton may not catch a lot of passes, but the speedy wide receiver has an uncanny ability for coming up with big plays when the Chiefs need them. Against the Colts, he hauled in a 45-yard pass on third-and-11 that kept alive a touchdown drive, and he added a 30-yard catch on third-and-12 in overtime that helped to set up the first of their two field goals.

Noah Gray is counting nearly $7 million against the salary cap this season, which is more than Walker, Kelce and a host of players on rookie contracts. Yet the veteran tight end has just one catch for 5 yards through the first two games of the season.

The Chiefs played without left tackle Josh Simmons (back) and safety Chamarri Conner (knee) for the second straight week. First-round pick Mansoor Delane suited up against the Colts after leaving the opener against Denver in the first quarter with a shoulder injury, but the cornerback never entered the game, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said later he would have only been used in an emergency.

8-0 — Mahomes improved to 10-2 in overtime games but is perfect in eight regular-season OT games. That streak allowed him to pass Jake Plummer for the longest by a starting QB at any point in their careers since overtime was introduced in 1974.

After opening the season with back-to-back primetime home games, the Chiefs hit the road Sunday to play an afternoon matchup in Miami. Kansas City has won five straight over the Dolphins going back 15 years.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws a touchdown pass to wide receiver Xavier Worthy during the first half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III (9) is upended by Indianapolis Colts safety Cam Bynum (0) as Colts linebacker Jaylon Carlies (57) watches during overtime of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) and running back Kenneth Walker III (9) walk off the field after an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Kansas City, Mo., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are climbing with markets worldwide on Monday after oil prices and yields in the bond market gave back some of their jumps from last week.

The S&P 500 rose 1.3% and pulled within 0.6% of its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 308 points, or 0.6%, as of 12:44 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2% higher.

They got help from the price for a barrel of Brent oil falling 4.3% to $99.38. While that’s still much higher than its roughly $72 price from earlier this summer, it’s down from the nearly $110 it touched last week.

Oil prices are swinging up and down as some crude from the Middle East is able to sail through the Strait of Hormuz, though nowhere nearly as much as the industry and customers would like because of the war with Iran. Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson said another leg higher in prices for oil, gasoline and other refined products is the main risk he sees in the near term that could keep the U.S. stock market from rising to his forecasted target for the year’s end.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline across the United States has already climbed to nearly $4.48, according to AAA. That's up from less than $4.32 just a week earlier and from $3.18 a year ago.

Monday’s pullback in oil prices helped lower the pressure coming from the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.95% from 5.01% late Friday after it crossed above the 5% threshold last week for the first time in three years.

Yields have been on the rise because of worries about inflation, big debt loads for governments worldwide and other factors. That hurts the economy because high yields make it more expensive not only for the U.S. government to borrow money to pay its bills but also for households and businesses.

Worries remain about how much oil is available for customers worldwide, ING commodities strategists Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson wrote in a commentary on Monday. However, they said profit-taking by investors after the recent jump in oil prices, together with hopes for constructive discussions at this week’s U.N. General Assembly and at a meeting between China’s and the United States’ leaders, helped improve optimism.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters following talks Sunday with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in New York that the U.S. had “a very successful engagement” with the Chinese side. Bessent said talks with China touched on trade and AI. China and the United States have been discussing reciprocal tariff reductions on $30 billion worth of goods from each side.

In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry on Monday confirmed that Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the United States between Sept. 23 and 25. Experts and policymakers believe trade, tariffs, and AI safety are likely among the topics to be on the agenda. The war in Iran and developments in the Middle East and ties between China and Iran could also be discussed.

On Wall Street, stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry continued to stabilize following their worldwide slide at the start of last week. Leaders of the AI industry have recently warned a slowdown is needed in the industry’s development for the safety of humanity.

Advanced Micro Devices rallied 9.3% and could finish the day with a total market value above $1 trillion, while Nvidia added 1.8%.

Stocks enmeshed in the cryptocurrency industry, meanwhile, rallied after bitcoin's price rose back above $85,000 and returned to where it was in January. Coinbase Global jumped 4.6%, and Robinhood Markets rose 4.2%.

Stock indexes around the world also climbed thanks to the easing of oil prices and bond yields. Indexes gained 0.9% in France, 1.2% in Hong Kong and 1.6% in South Korea.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) in the foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work in the foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) in the foreign exchange dealing room at the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)