Kenneth Walker III has changed Kansas City’s math, and Mahomes is suddenly making defences pay

Kenneth Walker III has changed Kansas City’s math, and Mahomes is suddenly making defences pay DAVE SKRETTA KANSAS CITY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO Open this photo in gallery: Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) and running back Kenneth Walker III (9) walk off the field after a win over the Indianapolis Colts in Kansas City, Mo. on Sunday. COLIN E. BRALEY/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. The results have looked a whole lot like they used to for Kansas City. The team has piled up a bunch of yards, made the plays that mattered the most in the final seconds, and ultimately come out on top the first two weeks of the season. How it’s done it is what’s been different. This is not the high-flying, throw-it-every-down Kansas City that set the NFL ablaze early in quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s 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 defences to honour the run against them for the first time in years. Walker followed his big debut against the Broncos with 117 rushing yards on Sunday night against Indianapolis, making him the first K.C. 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. “Defences have to account for that,” Mahomes said of the his team’s 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 offence, Kansas City slipped to 21st while going 6-11 last season, averaging just over 320 yards per game. Open this photo in gallery: Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) scrambles away from pressure during the second half of Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts in Kansas City, Mo. REED HOFFMANN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS But on Sunday night, the team finished with more than 500 yards for the first time since the 2022 season, and is averaging an NFL-best 457.5 yards…