On the first snap of his NFL career — the Chiefs’ first play of the 2017 season — running back Kareem Hunt lost a fumble. He was shocked. Hunt had not lost a fumble in college, and now this.
But all’s well that ended well for Hunt that day against the New England Patriots. He finished with 248 combined yards, rushing and receiving — the most by an NFL player in a debut game — and scored three touchdowns in a victory.
Over the next eight-plus seasons, there would be many more rushing and receiving attempts, more victories and highlights. But incredibly no lost fumbles for Hunt.
Until last weekend’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Chiefs overcame Hunt’s fourth-quarter fumble to post a 23-20 overtime victory, taking some momentum into Thursday’s game at the Dallas Cowboys.
Another way to consider Hunt’s rare errors: The Chiefs are 2-0 in those games, and he’s topped 100 rushing yards both times.
Against the Colts, Hunt went for 104 yards on 30 attempts, the most carries by a Chiefs running back since 2014, and scored the team’s lone touchdown in a victory that broke a two-game losing streak.
Hunt isn’t beating himself up over the fumble, but he’s not sure how it happened. On the play from the Indy 17, Hunt rushed for 5 yards and fell forward on the tackle, his head hitting first. Hunt and teammates believed he was down when the ball came out, but replay confirmed the original ruling of a fumble.
“It was just kind of weird,” Hunt said. “I really didn’t even try to go after it that quick because I thought I was down.”
It had been 114 games and nearly 1,600 combined rushing and receiving touches without a fumble. No wonder Hunt wasn’t precisely sure what was happening.
“You know, I hadn’t had that feeling in a long time,” Hunt said. “I never want to have that feeling.”
Unlike his first fumble eight years ago, which happened with plenty of time remaining in the game, this one occurred early in the fourth quarter with the Chiefs trailing by 11 points. Things looked bleak, for the game and the season.
But the Chiefs responded immediately and definitively. Hunt had just tossed his helmet on the sideline when Travis Kelce gave him a bear hug and shouted encouragement. The defense came up with the first of four consecutive three-and-out stops.
On the next Chiefs possession, Hunt went over the top on a 2-yard touchdown run, and a Patrick Mahomes to Rashee Rice connection delivered the two-point conversion to close the gap to three.
Harrison Butker capped drives in regulation and overtime with field goals for the tie and victory. Hunt was among the happiest and most fatigued Chiefs. His 30 attempts were a career high, and at age 30, he’s cramming in as much rest and recovery as he can during this short period between games.
“It just shows you what he’s put into it,” coach Andy Reid said. “At that age, at that position, those guys normally don’t hang around very, very long and be productive like he was this past week.”
Hunt has been the Chiefs’ primary back since Isiah Pacheco went down with a knee injury in Week 8 against the Washington Commanders. Pacheco may be back for the Cowboys game, and the Chiefs signed a running back, Dameon Pierce, to the practice squad this week.
But Hunt, who has been the team’s primary short-yardage back all season and has been money on third- and fourth-down attempts, figures to be part of the rotation no matter who else is available.
“He’s so tough,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “He’s such a valuable part of this offense.”