Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier this week I wrote about how Kansas City Chiefs running back Knile Davis could benefit from more carries against San Diego.
In his lone start of the season, Davis didn’t disappoint.
With Jamaal Charles inactive due to head coach Andy Reid wanting to rest his starters, Davis was the feature back. While his stat line isn’t incredibly impressive, Davis showed glimpses of the talent that warranted a third round selection in last year’s draft. He carried the ball 27 times for 81 yards and two scores.
Possibly the biggest takeaway from Davis’ performance was his ability to hold onto the ball while being Kansas City’s bell-cow against the Chargers.
Scrutinized for his fumbling frequency—especially after putting the ball on the ground twice against the Indianapolis Colts last weekend—Davis ran hard and held onto the ball.
Knile Davis runs tough. I’ve said it all year…if he can get the fumbling thing under control, the #Chiefs really have something there.
— RIP Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) December 29, 2013
While Davis’ expanded role won’t be a normality going into the playoffs, he did prove that when Charles needs a break—or the Chiefs need a change of pace—that they can trust Davis to get the job done.
Charles is asked to do so much in Reid’s offense that it’s inevitable that he will need a breather. Now that Davis proved he can handle the football, his talent can speak for itself.
Next week against the Colts, however, Davis might not be needed.
When the Colts and Chiefs faced off last weekend, Indianapolis couldn’t stop Charles. Charles carried the ball 13 times for 106 yards and a touchdown, a whopping 8.2 yards per carry. If the trend continues in the wild card round of the playoffs, Davis might not be the beneficiary of a lot of carries.
It must be a sigh of relief to Reid, and the Chiefs fan base though, that Davis proved he can handle being an NFL ball-carrier.