The Kansas City Chiefs had someone in the backfield for the second straight game in the absence of Isiah Pacheco, who was recovering from a broken fibula. After one Football on Sunday evenings While rookie fullback Carson Steele rushed for 72 yards in a win over the Atlanta Falcons, another player managed to stand out in this weekend's win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

In his first game back with the team, his old friend Kareem Hunt came to his aid. Part of that was due to Steele not taking advantage of the team's first possession. Head coach Andy Reid said he doesn't see the rookie any differently now, but the flow of the game shifted to the veteran from that point on.

“Since I played more against Kareem, I just went with the hot hand,” Reid said. “I am not inferior to Carson. He had the fumble, he'll fix it. We are lucky to have three good guys with us. (Samaje) Perine had a touchdown and also a couple of nice runs for us. “We’re in good shape there at that position.”

Steele finished the game with just two carries for six yards and a score, but no receptions in the passing game. Perine (14 rushing yards) was more productive than him, although Hunt stole the show with his performance. In his season debut on Sunday, the 29-year-old rushed the ball 14 times. That was nine more times than the next closest player, and his 69 rushing yards surpassed all Chiefs ball carriers by 57.

Hunt also had 16 receiving yards on the afternoon. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is happy to have his friend back in the game, especially if it helps smooth things over in an offense without Pacheco.

“I thought he did a great job,” Mahomes said. “For someone to get into an offense – I know it's an offense he's been in, but an offense he hasn't played in years – to be able to play the football hard, Getting some well-deserved yards (and) catching It was nice to see (Brett) Veach building a great running backcourt (and) that we can get guys to step up and make plays while Isiah isn't here.

Mahomes believes the best is yet to come for Hunt, whose tenacious running style helps set the tone.

“He’s always been a guy that runs hard,” Mahomes said. “He's hard to fight and you could see that. He's going to make sure he finishes every single run and falls forward and I think that was good to see. I think he'll get more and more comfortable as the year goes on and he'll play a role in our offense.”

Accordingly rbsdm.com (Hello, irony), the Chiefs averaged 0.01 EPA per play when Hunt got the ball on the ground. For reference, Chargers halfbacks JK Dobbins (-0.47) and Gus Edwards (-0.36) both struggled badly, and their numbers reflect that. Hunt seemingly had countless runs of five or more yards, and when he wasn't breaking off plays, he was helping move the chains. This, coupled with what appeared to be a solid breakthrough during the game, made for a better debut than many expected.

Everyone except the Chiefs, maybe. Even wide receiver Xavier Worthy believes the Hunt signing is already paying off.

“He ran hard,” Worthy said. “Man, when Pacheco is out there and he runs the ball the way he did, he’s in for big games.”

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