The Kansas City Chiefs would not have escaped with Sunday’s much-needed 23-20 overtime victory over the Indianapolis Colts without a vintage performance by running back Kareem Hunt. Now in his eighth season, Hunt finished the game with 30 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown. He added three receptions for 26 yards in the passing game. Those 33 touches were the most in a game since his rookie season
.“It’s fun,” he said of the opportunity before Tuesday’s practice. “I definitely get to play a lot
of football. That’s what I love to do, so it’s fun.”
But Hunt’s coaches (and his most famous teammate) weren’t willing to allow the 30-year-old back to be so humble.
“I’m proud of him,” said head coach Andy Reid. “He’s upright, which is a positive thing. So he’s doing good. It just shows you what he’s put into it. At that age and at that position, those guys don’t normally hang around very long and be productive like he was this past week.”
“We joke with him,” revealed offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. “30 carries for somebody that is no spring chicken with where he’s at. But he’s so tough. He’s such a valuable part of this offense.”
“He’s a warrior,” declared quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who also turned 30 this season. “He’s someone that truly wants to win. He wants to compete. He wants to be out there for his guys and give everything that he has. I think he’s showed that all season long, but he really showed that this week. I’m sure he wasn’t feeling great running some of those runs back-to-back-to-back, but he was going to do whatever it takes to win — and you need those guys on your team.”
Nagy commended Hunt for rebounding from what easily could have been a defeat-sealing fumble at the Colts’ 12-yard line at the start of the fourth quarter — when Kansas City was trailing 20-9.
“For him to come back the way he did just shows his leadership,” said the coordinator. “I think the guys on the sideline, they were so great with him- and just being there for him.”
On a frustrating day — when the Chiefs didn’t hold a lead until the game’s final play — teammates lifting each other was a common theme.
“Early on,” said Nagy, “it just didn’t go the way we wanted it to go. But the guys stuck together — and then we found a way to win in the end. [It was] all three phases — it was a team game — and that was a part of it. When you lose the ball down there in the red zone, that’s a big play, but the defense stepped up. Everyone stayed together, and then those guys made plays as we moved on.”
Hunt went on to score the team’s only touchdown on the next drive — and eventually touched the ball on six of the offense’s 11 plays in overtime.
“Whenever my number’s called,” he said, “I just try to make the play. So if that’s throwing me the ball or handing it, every opportunity I get, I try to make the most of it.”
After such a taxing outing — and only a few days between games — Hunt knows he may be running on adrenaline in the Thanksgiving Day road matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.
“Most definitely,” he acknowledged. “Especially when you put the pads on and get out there. You try to just forget about it.”
