Kansas City Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt is giving his team exactly what they need exactly when they need it. The team’s 30-24 overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on “Monday Night Football” further illustrated that.
When Hunt heard the play call in the huddle on third-and-one in overtime, he knew exactly what he had to do. Upon rumbling across the goal line for the two-yard game-winning touchdown, Hunt experienced something unlike any other experience in his NFL career.
“I heard the play call and I knew it was only one option to get in there and leave no doubt, and it was like pretty much a walk-off home run,” Hunt told reporters in the locker room after the game. “I don’t think I felt that before. It was fun, man. It was fun. I ain’t been in an overtime game like that close in a long time. And, you know, game-winning TD, I can’t complain.”
Hunt led the team’s rushing attack on Monday night, finishing the game against the Bucs with 106 rushing yards on 27 carries to go along with his game-winning score. It was Hunt’s fourth consecutive game with 20 or more carries – a feat that hasn’t been achieved since Chiefs legend Jamaal Charles did it for Kansas City in the 2009 NFL season.
Hunt is slowly chipping away and rewriting his legacy with the franchise.
“It’s been fun. It’s been fun to watch,” Mahomes said following the game. “I mean, he’s (Kareem Hunt) come in the building – since he’s been here – and he’s just got after it every single day. He works his tail off, he prepares himself for the moment, and then whenever we get down there in like (the) fourth quarter and (at) the end of games, he’s going to make those runs. Five to six yards (or) seven yards, whatever it is and he’s going to finish. When you play that hard the entire game, it wears on the defense. I think guys are proud of the way he’s playing and the way he’s come about his business this year.”
The 29-year-old recorded his tenth career game with 100 or more rushing yards. He has recorded 50 or more rushing yards in each game since returning to the Chiefs this season. He notched his second game of 100 or more rushing yards in that span and his game-winning touchdown was his fifth touchdown of the season. What Mahomes has come to learn about Hunt is that no moment is too big for him, especially when it comes down to crunch time in the fourth quarter.
“He (Kareem Hunt) wants the football,” Mahomes said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, is as the game goes on it’s like he starts feeling it and he starts going. There are certain situations where I might have throws on the outside and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m going to give this guy the football and let him go,’ because when he’s running – even though (it’s) six-yard (or) five-yard carries, they take a toll on the defense.”
Mahomes knows exactly what he’s getting with Hunt when he hands him the football. He knows that Hunt is going to fight for every inch. With fellow running back Isiah Pacheco eyeing a November return, the Chiefs’ backfield could soon be among the deadliest in the NFL.
“I mean, (it was) a great run,” Mahomes said. “I thought the offensive line did a great job – all night, really, but they did a great job on that play and getting that push. Then, Kareem (Hunt), when you get that push, he’s going to follow it in there and get in the endzone. I’m happy for him. For him to bounce back and come back here and then have this great start to the middle of the season here. Whenever we get Isiah (Pacheco) back, it’s going to be a tough tandem for guys to tackle.”
