On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs offense relied on Jamaal Charles and the running game to beat the Seattle Seahawks, who came into the game with the No. 4 rushing defense in the NFL.
Charles finished the game with 20 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Therefore, it shouldn't be a surprise that when looking for three of the best plays from the Chiefs offense, every one of them features Charles and the guys up front paving the way for him.
FIRST PLAY – Charles' 1-yard touchdown in first quarter
It was the culmination of a 15-play, 86-yard drive that lasted more than nine minutes. Charles took the third-and-1 option toss from quarterback Alex Smith for the touchdown.
This was a great play design from Andy Reid and the Chiefs offense.
The play isolated Irvin (No. 51) on the option off the edge, and then it was just a matter of Charles using his speed to beat the Seahawks defenders to the end zone, which is a race Charles will more often than not win.
The Chiefs had two extra offensive linemen on the field in Donald Stephenson, who is lined up next to left tackle Eric Fisher, and also Jeff Linkenbach (No. 74), who is lined up off the right tackle and also makes a key block in ensuring this play does in fact become a one-on-one with Irvin on the outside.
Anthony Sherman also chipped in a block that allowed Charles to get the edge.
SECOND PLAY – Charles' 28-yard run in the second quarter
After the Seahawks responded to the Chiefs' first touchdown by Charles and tied the score 7-7, the Chiefs next drive had consecutive plays of 23, 28, 13 and then 16 yards. The Chiefs went 80 yards on four plays to reclaim the lead at 14-7.
But it was the 28-yard run by Charles, which started with a fake on the De'Anthony Thomas jet sweep, which got the Chiefs into Seahawks territory.
Charles did his thing with the ball in his hands, but he wasn't touched until 25 yards down the field.
Tight end Travis Kelce and right tackle Ryan Harris dealt crushing blocks, which can be seen at the top of the screen. The blocks allowed for additional yardage at the end of this play. THIRD PLAY– Charles' 47-yard run in the fourth quarter
The Chiefs had just fallen behind for the first time in the game after Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson found tight end Tony Moeaki in the corner for the touchdown late in the third quarter.
After leading for most of the game, the Chiefs trailed 20-17. That lead would last just four plays.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Charles ran 47 yards down the field and gave the Chiefs first-and-goal from the 4-yard line.
With quarterback Alex Smith in shotgun, tight end Travis Kelce comes in motion and gets set in an H-back formation off right tackle Ryan Harris.
Kelce would make one of the key blocks on this play on outside linebacker Bruce Irvin (No. 51) as he seals him to the outside. The other key block to get Charles to the second level comes from Harris, who helps create the running lane for Charles by pinning his guy to the inside.
Once Charles gets to the second level, he simply makes things happen.
The jump-cut move Charles makes on Byron Maxwell (No. 41) in the open field is a move very few players can make, and Chiefs fans luckily get to see it often.
This was the biggest play of the game from the Chiefs offense and it came because of a couple of great blocks at the line of scrimmage. Then it was simply a matter of letting a special playmaker do his thing in the open field.
