KANSAS CITY, MO — Amidst the backdrop of a global pandemic and less-than thunderous home crowd because of COVID-19, Kansas City Chiefs running back, Clyde Edwards-Helaire stole the show in a 34-20 win over the visiting Houston Texans.
Edwards-Helaire, taken with the 32nd pick in the 2020 NFL Draft out of the national champion LSU Tigers, rushed 25 times for 138 yards and one touchdown becoming the first rookie in NFL history to rush for 100-plus yards in his first game for a defending Super Bowl champion.
It’s kinda hard to steal the spotlight from the new face of the league in reigning Super Bowl MVP QB Patrick Mahomes–who passed for a rather pedestrian 211 yards and three touchdowns–but one a team that is already loaded with talent on offense, the performance of 5’7 210-pound dynamo in Edwards-Helaire adds another dimension that teams will now have to worry about.
And considering the Chiefs history of drafting and developing great running backs going as far back as Christian Okoye, Marcus Allen, Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes, it may be way too early to already even begin to put Edwards-Helaire’s name in the same category as them, but of he can put together a steady level of production in taking some pressure off of Mahomes and providing Kansas City with a dual-threat option on the ground and thru the air, then the NFL is in trouble.
The early talk of the Chiefs ‘running it back’ and winning their second straight Super Bowl may not be so far-fetched after all, thanks to Edwards-Helaire’s ability to run inside, outside and catch ball out of the backfield as a receiver.
While it’s just one game, there is no doubt that Edwards-Helaire is going to be a key factor for the Chiefs in making that happen in 2020.