After Clyde Edwards-Helaire was ruled out of Sunday’s loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Kansas City Chiefs relied on Darrel Williams and Derrick Gore to lead the rushing charge. And indeed, they delivered astounding results.
Against a Bengals’ rush defense that allowed 92.1 rushing yards per game (4th in the league pre Week 17), Williams and Gore had 125 rushing yards combined. Williams averaged 6.3 yards per run on 12 carries with two touchdowns, and Gore averaged 12.3 yards per run on his three carries.
Even with Edwards-Helaire out, the Chiefs’ run game looked good with the duo of Williams and Gore. They have been fantastic this season in their production and have shown to be reliable when given the reps.
Darrel Williams
Darrel Williams has been a good backup running back for the Chiefs when Edwards-Helaire was out with an injury. He has been the starter in six games for the Chiefs. Overall, Williams has posted 541 rushing yards on 137 carries, averaging 3.9 yards per run with six touchdowns. On top of that, he’s been a goal-line threat, primarily shown last week against the Bengals, where he plunged in for two one-yard scores.
Williams is a running back used primarily in the inside zone scheme. He has shown to be able to handle contact well, pushing forward through the first level of the defense. Williams also has solid speed and agility, with a solid burst to get to the second level of defenders. He has shown to be able to read both zone and gap blocks solidly, finding holes the Chiefs’ o-line makes for him and attacking them accordingly.
Williams is just 37 yards shy of breaking 1,000 total scrimmage yards on the season. He can surely do it this week, and if he’s starting or not in Week 18, he’ll shine no matter what.
Derrick Gore
Along with Williams, Derrick Gore has also been a solid backup RB in the rushing attack. On 44 carries, Gore has 226 yards and 2 touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per run. Not only that, Gore has been doing a solid job getting yards after contact, netting 114 yards after contact.
Opposite of Williams, Gore is a running back who can be used on both the outside and inside zone rushing schemes. He has good acceleration, which makes him able to bounce to the outside. Gore has also been shown to read blocks well like Williams and can take his fair share of contact before he goes down, showing good competitiveness. He is a solid backup back who can do well when given the ball.
Even without CEH
This duo has been solid as of late. As I said above, Williams and Gore had 125 rushing yards combined (Williams: 88, Gore: 37) last week against the Bengals. The week before, against the Steelers, once Helaire had to exit the game, both of them had a solid day as well; they both combined for 98 yards, averaging over four yards per run. So, these two can provide an effective rushing attack to open up much more within the offense, even without Helaire.
How do you feel about the Chiefs’ run game with Darrel Williams and Derrick Gore leading the charge? Leave a comment down below to join the discussion. Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic day!