Kansas City Chiefs destroy New England Patriots in opener

What are the implications for the Denver Broncos as the Kansas City Chiefs went on the road and dethroned the New England Patriots?

As Denver Broncos fans, was there really any preferred outcome to the NFL season opener involving the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots?

Well, the Chiefs went on the road and absolutely put it on Tom Brady and the Patriots, winning 42-27 and dethroning the reigning champions.

Is this cause for concern? Is it cause for celebration?

There’s plenty to get to involving this game, but the most important news of the evening was not the fact that the Chiefs won the game, it’s that they lost star safety Eric Berry, possibly for the entire season:

Berry was looking like his usual dominant self prior to the injury, and this is really one player the Chiefs can’t afford to lose over the long haul of the season. This is still a very talented defense, but Berry is basically the equivalent of Von Miller in Kansas City. He’s the heart and soul of the team, at least on that side of the ball.

Even as Broncos fans, we hate to see this type of injury happen in the NFL at all, much less to a player like Berry, who is one of the most respected among his peers in the league.

I think we speak for everyone in saying we wish Berry a speedy recovery, and perhaps some good news from the tests being done on Friday.

While the Berry injury is hanging a dark cloud over the result, the Chiefs went in and did something that’s only been done once since 2001, and that’s go into New England and overcome a 10-point deficit to win.

How did the Chiefs do it?

Well, rookie running back Kareem Hunt was electric, setting an NFL record for yards from scrimmage in a debut, and he did it with just 22 total touches. Hunt racked up three touchdowns with 148 rushing yards and 98 receiving yards.

Not bad.

Alex Smith wasn’t bad either, throwing four touchdown passes and looking like a completely different quarterback, getting the ball downfield and making some really nice plays. Most impressive, though, was the fact that Smith had three drives of 90 or more yards resulting in touchdowns.

He did that one time all of last season.

It was an impressive output by the Chiefs, who look like the favorites once again to repeat as division champions in the AFC West. The Broncos are going to have to work hard to take this team down.

More from Predominantly Orange

• Broncos chances of landing Sean Payton dwindling, but not gone
• Denver Broncos dream coaching staff for DeMeco Ryans
• Denver Broncos: “Sleeper” David Shaw checks every box
• The Broncos’ coaching search likely has not gone to plan
• Special Chiefs Suck Offer: Bet $5, Win $150 if Joe Burrow Passes for ONE YARD vs KC

On the other side, the Patriots looked flat out bad, specifically on the defensive side of the football.

Alex Smith was sacked three times in this game, once getting tripped up by the turf monster. The Patriots weren’t getting a consistent enough pass rush on Smith in this game at all, and their secondary made one of the most unacceptable errors of the game, letting Tyreek Hill run wild and free for his longest play of the game.

It should be no surprise that the Patriots’ pass rush struggled, as they lost some key members of a unit that last year was ranked at the top of the league in total defense.

On one hand, this is about as clear a sign as you will get that there could be a changing of the guard in the AFC. The Patriots look like a completely different team and they are banged up with Julian Edelman out for the season and Danny Amendola suffering a concussion last night.

On the other hand, the Chiefs look like a very scary team, and the Broncos have their work cut out for them. It’s going to be a very interesting season.