Chiefs' Run Production Anchors Offense in Rebound Win Over Bills
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid didn’t think he gave his running backs a chance to excel in last week’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, he made up for the regret. The Chiefs ran for 245 yards on 46 rushes, three times more than last week's production.
Carries from Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Patrick Mahomes, Darrel Williams, Darwin Thompson and Tyreek Hill all helped Kansas City to a record night. The productivity was the highest of the season, previously 166 against the Houston Texans.
“We felt it would work, I’m not going to tell you it didn’t work,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. “I hope we can run it a few more games like that.”
Edwards-Helaire anchored the Chiefs with a career-high 161 yards, averaging 6.2 yards per carry.
His longest run of the game arrived in the first quarter, a 31-yard gain that sparked a Chiefs drive that led to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to tight end Travis Kelce four plays later.
“Offensively, Clyde, you got to take your head off to the young kid. He stepped up, I thought he did a nice job running the ball,” Reid said. “Clyde was able to fill in the blanks there and run the ball, as did all the running backs. They all had an opportunity tonight.”
Williams and Thompson touched the ball a combined nine times with one of Williams's touches resulting in a 13-yard score in the third quarter.
The two may potentially be competing for a roster spot down for next week with the arrival of Le’Veon Bell, who was inactive against the Bills.
Now that the game is done, Reid said the main goal is acclimating Bell to the offense, which could lead to more potent rushing performances like this one.
“Listen, we don’t turn away good players and he’s a good one,” Reid said. “It’s exciting to have him around, and we’ll see how he does. I think if you talk to Clyde, Clyde will sleep well tonight as I think the other guys well. When we add one more guy, I don’t think any of them will complain of that.”
