GLENDALE, Ariz. -- For one game, at least, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs provided a definitive answer about how effective their passing game would be without Tyreek Hill: dangerous as ever.
Mahomes went 30-of-39 for 360 yards and five touchdowns as the Chiefs started their season with a 44-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
"Guys were just ready to go,'' Mahomes said. "They were excited to get out there and show what we had. Everybody's asked us the questions of what this offense, what this team's going to look like. We've always believed that we were going to go out there and put on a show and I thought guys did that.
"So to go out there and win a game against a really good football team and get the win decisively, it's a good start.''
Mahomes spread the ball to nine different players, with tight end Travis Kelce leading the Chiefs with 121 yards on eight catches. Kelce's 9-yard catch in the first quarter went for the Chiefs' first touchdown. Four players had a touchdown reception, including two by running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
Mahomes said he expected to get many receivers involved this season as the Chiefs cover for the loss of Hill, who was traded to the Miami Dolphins.
"With the amount of tight ends, running backs and receivers that we have, it's going to be everyone,'' Mahomes said. "It's going to be a lot of guys catching passes. It's going to be running the football, it's going to be throwing the football. It's going to be the short game. It's going to be the deep passes.
"I think that makes this a hard offense to stop.''
Mahomes had his left, non-throwing wrist taped early in the game after taking a fall. He said it didn't affect his play.
"It's sore now, for sure,'' he said. "We went and looked at it and got all the X-rays and stuff like that. Everything looks good. We're happy with that.''
Kelce said he initially wondered after the Chiefs traded Hill how well the offense might operate. He said what he has seen from the Chiefs in training camp and the preseason led him to believe they would have a lot of days like this one.
"Once I saw how hard guys were working, their attention to details, how Pat keeps progressing as a quarterback, right now we're in a good kind of routine where we just keep getting better,'' Kelce said. "You can feel that from the day we started.''
Mahomes took over as the Chiefs' starting quarterback in 2018 and has had big games to begin the season ever since. In each of his five openers he has thrown at least three touchdown passes. Coach Andy Reid said he couldn't give explain why Mahomes plays well to begin a season.
"I think he does pretty good all the time,'' Reid said.
Added Mahomes: "It's Coach Reid getting more weeks to game-plan. I mean, that's always a good thing for me because he's getting guys kind of running wide open. But then I think it's (also) how we do training camp.
"It prepares you to be ready Week 1. Coach has a great game plan in, you have guys flying around that are ready to go, ready to play a game and not be at practice against each other. We've done a great job of just executing in Week 1.''