The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hunt sets NFL mark with long TD run
South grad has TDs of at least 50 yards in each of his first three games
At this point, there’s no telling what Kareem Hunt might do from week to week.
Perhaps when the season is over, the Willoughby South graduate might walking away with the NFL MVP award.
The rookie from the University of Toledo keeps setting NFL records with each passing game.
On Sept. 24, it was a good but not a great game for about 58 minutes.
Then, on his final carry of the game, Hunt did it again, and turned his good game into a great one.
Hunt raced 69 yards for a touchdown with less than two minutes to play, and helped clinch the Chiefs’ 24-10 win against the L.A. Chargers.
Hunt continues to tear through the NFL as a rookie. He entered the Chargers game as the league’s leader in rushing yards and touchdowns, and added to both totals.
Hunt finished the game with 172 yards on 17 carries, including the game-clinching 69-yard run.
It was Hunt’s third touchdown of at least 50 yards — in just three games.
The marks Hunt set against the Chargers:
• According to Elias Sports, he’s the first player in NFL history with touchdowns of at least 50-plus yards in each of his first three games.
• He has the second-most yards from scrimmage (538) in NFL history for a player in his first three games. Only the Lions’ Billy Simms in 1980 has more (562).
• He’s the first rookie to have at least 100 yards from scrimmage in his first three games since the Bears’ Matt Forte in 2008.
• He’s the ninth player since 1950 to do that.
Hunt caught a 78-yard TD reception against the Patriots in the season opener. Against the Eagles in Week 2, he had a 53-yard TD run, then did it again with his 69-yard run against the Chargers. On that run, Chiefs coach Andy Reid was just hoping for a first down, but got plenty more.
“He’s a young guy and it’s a tough thing to do. I told him we only need a first down but when you get out there and see the end zone in front of you it’s tough to stop,” Reid told reporters after the game.
“He came over to me and said he should have gone down. I don’t want to ruin a good thing for him. He’s young.”
Said Hunt in the post game about the big run: “The offensive line did a really good job of shielding guys off and I was able to make one guy miss and I just went.”
After three games, Hunt leads the NFL with 402 rushing yards and six total touchdowns.
He also has 137 receiving yards.
To put Hunt’s incredible start in perspective, these are his projections for a 16game season at his current pace:
• Rushing: 249 carries, 2,144 yard, 20 touchdowns
• Receiving: 48 receptions, 720 yards, 10 touchdowns