Kareem Hunt bails out the Kansas City Chiefs offense

The Kansas City Chiefs jumped out to an early lead over the L.A. Chargers on Sunday, but then the offense came to a screeching halt for most of the game. It looked like the Chiefs were going to just squeak out a 17-10 win when suddenly rookie Kareem Hunt broke another huge touchdown play, this time a 69 yard run that would put the game out of reach. Until that long run at the end of the game the Chiefs had just 242 total yards on offense. Kareem Hunt’s big run bailed out the Chiefs both on the scoreboard and from having to answer questions about an abysmal offensive performance.

First things first, the Chiefs got the win. That is all that really matters. They went on the road and beat a division rival to improve their overall record on the season to 3-0. Not every win in the NFL is pretty. The New England Patriots were a couple of plays away from losing their second home game of the season to the Houston Texans. Another AFC favorite, the Pittsburgh Steelers, dropped their first game of the season to the lowly Chicago Bears. I could keep going, but you get the picture. I appreciate this win and believe the Chiefs have earned the right to be considered the best team in the NFL based on their early season resume. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t admit just how bad the offense was for most of this game.

If you take away Kareem Hunt’s big run at the end of the game the Chiefs are left with 50 plays for 242 yards. That’s a measly 4.8 yards per play. The Chiefs entered Sunday’s game leading the NFL with a whopping 7.6 yards per play. Hunt’s long run brought their average for Sunday up to a solid 6.1 yards per play. Really though, Hunt was the heart and soul of the Chiefs offense this game even before his long run. On Hunt’s other 17 touches before the long run he was still averaging 6.7 yards per touch.

Basically, Kareem Hunt was incredibly productive Sunday and the rest of the offense…..well was not. Check out the yards per play numbers for when Hunt touched the ball and all the other offensive plays.

Hunt touches (18): 10.2 yards per play
All other offensive plays (33): 3.9 yards per play

So was this game an anomaly or should we be concerned about the rest of the offense going forward? Also, just how good can Kareem Hunt be going forward?

Let’s dig a little deeper.