Clyde Edwards-Helaire has stepped up since costly fumble in Week 2

Following Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s fumble against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, many K.C. Chiefs fans on social media were down on him, some wanting him off the team. Patrick Mahomes said after that loss that the team will “need” Edwards-Helaire for the rest of the year and added he will be “an important part” of the team’s offense. That’s what leaders do after a teammate makes a costly error.

The fumble was not the only issue though. Edwards-Helaire posted only two 100-yard games last year and got off to a very slow start this season. Through the first two weeks, Edwards-Helaire ran for only 89 yards and averaged 3.3 yards per carry.

Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire has stepped up for the Chiefs since his fumble issues.

After the fumble and loss, I mentioned that Edwards-Helaire needed to improve and how he would respond from that game would be important. Since then, Edwards-Helaire has responded very well and has silenced many critics in a couple of weeks.

Edwards-Helaire has had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games. He had only two 100-yard rushing games last year, already equating that total from his rookie campaign through four weeks into this season. Edwards-Helaire has never had consecutive games with 100 yards rushing since being drafted out of LSU in 2020.

He’s ran for a total of 202 yards since the fumble in Baltimore, averaging 6.52 yards per carry. In addition, he caught a touchdown pass in each game against the Chargers and Eagles.

Keep in mind that Edwards-Helaire ran the ball just 14 times against the Eagles while splitting carries with Darrel Williams with the latter getting 10 carries. Add in the fact that the Chiefs are a pass-heavy offense, in which a majority of the targets go to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. For Edwards-Helaire to put up these kinds of numbers lately certainly has been impressive.

Yes, since that fumble in Baltimore, he did fumble a week later against the Chargers. But he was not the only player on offense guilty for committing a turnover as the Chiefs had four in that game.

The Chiefs still have 13 games to go and have some catching up to do in the AFC West as they trail all three of their division rivals. But with Edwards-Helaire contributing in a bigger manner to the Chiefs offense, it can only help Kansas City’s offense as the team tries to win its sixth straight division title.