Will Chiefs miss Kareem Hunt against New England Patriots?

There’s no denying that Kareem Hunt absolutely mauled the New England Patriots each and every time he played them. So what now for K.C.?

The Kansas City Chiefs have done pretty well filling the statistical void left by the release of Kareem Hunt back in early December.

While it’s clear that no current running back has the complete package of Hunt’s overall skill set —one that included incredible balance, vision, strength, agility, and hands—Damien Williams and Spencer Ware have proven very effective when given the lead back role in the past. The Chiefs even thought enough of Williams to sign him to a two-year extension before year’s end.

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However, with the New England Patriots coming up on the calendar, it’s interesting to remember that as good as Hunt was for the Chiefs, he showed up strongest against the biggest competition. While it wasn’t a huge body of work, it was very impressive nonetheless:

1. In the very first game of his professional career, Hunt set records as a rookie running back against the Patriots in primetime. In a season-opening game on the road against the Patriots—a night in which they were being given their Super Bowl rings from the previous winter—Hunt put up 246 yards from scrimmage and 3 touchdowns and stole the spotlight away from anything New England-related.
2. Earlier this year, Hunt put up another 185 yards from scrimmage, once again on the road at New England. The final result was a loss this time around—a last-second field goal gave the Pats a 43-40 victory—but Hunt did his part. He rushed 20 times for 80 yards and had another 5 catches for 105 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Damien Williams is likely going to get the call for Hunt’s snaps and targets in this game as the Chiefs lead back these days, especially given Ware’s health concerns in recent weeks, but neither back is likely to match Hunt’s productivity. That’s not intended as a slight against either; rather it’s the reality that Hunt was a talent that Belichick couldn’t handle no matter what the game plan was coming in.

Fortunately, in this game, the Chiefs are once again fully healthy on offense—including the potential for Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to return at right guard—which means Williams or Ware should get some space to do damage as offenses have to also account for Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins as well. It will be interesting to watch the final numbers out of the backfield on Sunday to see how they measure up with the recent success of Hunt. Even more, here’s hoping the Chiefs realize they can still accomplish their primary goal without him.