Kansas City Chiefs' rookie running back Kareem Hunt made his presence felt yet again on Sunday as the Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers to remain unbeaten.
Hunt rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown on just 17 carries, averaging 10.1 yards per run. Much of it wasn't easy, either, as the rookie tailback is quickly becoming synonymous with broken tackles and hard-earned yards after contact.
"I just always never let the first person bring me down," Hunt said. "I know I have to make at least one guy miss, and if I do that, it's usually a big gain. You know the line can't block them all, so pretty much it's just a mindset not to go down."
That mindset has Hunt running into the record books.
Kansas City's third round pick out of the University of Toledo has amassed the third-most rushing yards - a league-leading 401 - through a player's first three games, trailing only Cadillac Williams in 2005 (434) and Alan Ameche in 1955 (410).
He's just the ninth player since 1950 to notch 100-plus yards from scrimmage in each of his first three NFL games, and after his 69-yard dash to the end zone that essentially ended Sunday's game, he's the only player in NFL history with a score of at least 50 yards in each of his first three professional games.
Though despite all that, Hunt isn't getting wrapped up in his own success.
"I just want to help my team win," Hunt said. "The offensive line stuck with it and kept fighting until the very end and made a great lane for me on that last run, and I was just able to hit and take it to the house."
As impressive as Hunt's game-icing touchdown run was, it probably shouldn't have happened.
With just two minutes remaining in the game and Los Angeles out of timeouts, Kansas City just needed a single first down to effectively end the game.
"I probably should have taken a knee at the two-yard-line," Hunt said. "That's hard to do, and that's what (Running Backs Coach Eric Bieniemy) told me, especially when you get all that open field and just want to run all the way to the end zone. It's just a great feeling being able to end the game like that with what was pretty much a walk off touchdown."
In addition to helping foster his early success, Hunt credits Bieniemy with keeping him grounded through what's been a wild three weeks for the rookie.
"You just can't be a one-time thing, you can't make it bigger than what it is," Hunt said of Bieniemy's advice. "Our coach, he makes sure you're humble - he's going to bring you down if you're not. He's just a great coach and doing a great job of pushing me and helping me get better."
Through three weeks, so far, so good.
