#2: Denver sings the “Charles in Charge” theme song after this game
This is one of the few Jamaal Charles performances that I was unable to watch live. I lived in Tokyo at the time and had no access to NFL games. The Chiefs were just starting to rebuild during the Scott Pioli/Todd Haley era in 2009. They had a new quarterback and a third round running back who showed flashes the year prior.
No one really knew before ’09 whether Charles was big enough to be the main guy in the backfield. He rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2009 and finished the season with four straight 100+ yard games. However, this was this game that established Jamaal Charles as a true number one running back and a premier star in the NFL.
Charles gashed Denver’s defense all game long to average over 10 yards per carry. Ripping off big runs of 52, 33, 30, and 56 yards, Charles ran for an incredible 259 yards on 25 carries. That still stands as a Chiefs’ game record and is only 37 yards away from Adrian Peterson’s NFL record of 296 yards in a game. Charles hit his 259th yard midway through the fourth quarter so he had a reasonable shot at the record. He decided, however, that he was done for the day and on the Chiefs’ final drive did not play a snap. Charles believed in helping his team win more than any individual success.