The successful kick was no small feat for Butker, who injured his left ankle during the early kickoff of the game. Injuries forced the veteran kicker to miss much of the first half, forcing safety Justin Reid, who connected with an extra points try during preseason, to duty. The lead was also successful, converting his try for a 1-2 extra point while also handling the kickoff for the rest of the game.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Justin Reed. “It took me back to high school…I always wanted to put it on tape to let people know I could really kick. It’s there now and it’s there forever I guess.”

The Chiefs continued the momentum ignited by Butker’s 54-yard shot after halftime, and scored a touchdown on three consecutive possessions while keeping Arizona scoreless early into the fourth quarter. Tight end Jody Fortson, wide receiver Mekor Hardman and tailback Isaiah Pacheco each racked up 488 netting offensive yards and made it into the end zone as part of a 6-6 effort in the red zone. I was in charge of the trip of

“The guys were ready,” Mahomes said. “They were excited to get out there and show what we had. All through the offseason, people have been asking us how this team is going to be. We always believed they were going to go out there and put on a show.I thought they did it.”

Meanwhile, Kansas City’s defense continued to frustrate the Cardinals’ offensive offense throughout the game. Arizona he was just 3/12 on third down and punted five times. To further illustrate the Chiefs’ defensive advantage, Mahomes recorded more passing yards (360) than Arizona’s total yards (282).

The Chiefs also recorded three sacks in the game and repeatedly harassed Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.

Defensive lineman Chris Jones said: “We played well. We missed a lot of chances. But overall I thought we were better as a group.