The Kansas City Chiefs began their Super Bowl LIV defense with a 34-20 home win over the Houston Texans on Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Chiefs rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire dominated in his debut with 138 rushing yards and one touchdown on 25 carries. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes went 24-of-32 for 211 yards and three scores.

Houston scored the opening touchdown off a David Johnson run in the first quarter, but Kansas City responded with 31 unanswered points.

The game was a rematch of the two sides' AFC divisional-round matchup, which Kansas City won 51-31 after falling behind 24-0 in the second quarter.

Notable Performances

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes: 24-of-32, 211 passing yards, 3 touchdowns

Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire: 25 carries, 138 rushing yards, 1 touchdown

Chiefs WR Sammy Watkins: 7 receptions, 82 receiving yards, 1 touchdown

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce: 6 receptions, 50 receiving yards, 1 touchdown

Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill: 5 receptions, 46 receiving yards, 1 touchdown

Texans QB Deshaun Watson: 20-of-32, 253 passing yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception

Texans RB David Johnson: 11 carries, 77 rushing yards, 1 touchdown; 3 receptions, 32 receiving yards

Texans WR Will Fuller V: 8 receptions, 112 receiving yards

Texans TE Jordan Akins: 2 receptions, 39 receiving yards, 1 touchdown

Clyde Edwards-Helaire Makes Early Statement

The Chiefs offense has been nearly unstoppable over the past two seasons with Mahomes at quarterback, but the addition of Edwards-Helaire has taken the team to even greater heights.

The former LSU star shifted, glided, carved and danced his way through the Texans defense en route to his phenomenal night. A fantastic performance from the Chiefs offensive line undoubtedly helped, but Edwards-Helaire made the most of every single carry.

For example, he showcased his strength and elusiveness on this 18-yard run, a sign of greater things to come:

And then came his 27-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to give Kansas City a 23-7 lead:

Edwards-Helaire dashed through the gaping hole created by Chiefs blockers, evaded Benardrick McKinney, cut past Justin Reid and outran Jacob Martin in his gallop to the end zone.

Next Gen Stats showcased how impressive Edwards-Helaire performed on that run:

The rookie joined some elite company after that rush, per NFL Research:

Football Gameplan's Emory Hunt probably had the best analogy to describe the 5'7" Edwards-Helaire, whose height and shiftiness make him very difficult to take down:

Expect much more of the same volume from Edwards-Helaire going forward, too. As Peter King of NBC Sports noted, it's been clear the Chiefs have big plans for him, especially after Thursday's effort:

And that make the Kansas City offense a complete cheat code:

It's only one game, but the Chiefs look like they can etch their name high on—or on top of—the list of the greatest offenses in league history by season's end after an amazing unit got even better with its new running back.

Texans' Aerial Attack Struggles Sans Hopkins

The Texans pulled off a stunning trade this offseason when they sent superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, a three-time All-Pro and the owner of five 1,000-yard seasons, to the Arizona Cardinals in a move that brought back running back David Johnson, who dominated during the 2016 season but was demoted to third string last year after poor on-field performances.

To Johnson's credit, he was the Houston offense's star Thursday with 109 scrimmage yards and one touchdown on just 14 touches. He looked great on this 19-yard touchdown run to give the Texans the early lead:

However, Houston needed to pass the ball to keep pace with the excellent Chiefs offense, which had no issues running or throwing all night. The Texans simply couldn't do that with their new aerial attack, and it's clear Hopkins was sorely missed.

Houston wide receivers not named Will Fuller V managed to catch just five passes on 11 targets for just 51 yards. The Texans also didn't cross the 33-yard line between their two touchdown drives in the first and fourth quarters. In that interim period, Kansas City scored 31 points.

JJ Zachariason of FanDuel and numberFire provided his take on the Johnson-Hopkins deal relative to the Houston offense's showing Thursday:

And Scott Wapner of CNBC also provided his take on running back value:

Nick Mensio of Rotoworld may have summed up the entirety of the Texans' issues right now, however, with a note on the offensive line:

The blocking needs to improve moving forward, although it's concerning that Houston returned everyone from last season and still has the same issues, with John McClain of the Houston Chronicle providing this tidbit:

The silver lining is that the Texans couldn't have had a much harder opening week against a defending Super Bowl championship team with a fantastic offense and a playmaking defense that features bona fide superstars in Tyrann Mathieu and Chris Jones.

A truncated offseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic also could not have helped the Texans offense sans Hopkins gain chemistry without the star.

It's also just one game, so the offense has time to find its footing.

Still, the early reviews have the offense, unsurprisingly, faring worse without one of the game's best playmakers.

What's Next?

Kansas City will visit an AFC West rival in the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 4:25 p.m. ET. Houston will host the Baltimore Ravens at the same time.