The Kansas City Chiefs have not had a good season and major change figures to come almost immediately after they close out the season next Sunday.
All of that struggle doesn’t mean they can’t set a record, although the record they set in Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the Colts really just serves to underscore how wrong things have gone in K.C. this season. The Chiefs ran for 352 yards in the loss, giving them the NFL record for most rushing yards in a loss. The previous record was held by the 1944 Cleveland Rams, who ran for 320 yards in a loss to Washington.
Jamaal Charles, who is the NFL’s all-time leader in yards per carry, ran for 226 yards (NFL teams are now 29-3 when a back runs for that many yards) to continue a season that’s been remarkably productive given how little help he gets on offense from the rest of the team. Peyton Hillis added 101 yards to give the Chiefs two 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since Christian Okoye and Harvey Williams did it in 1991. That kind of production left one Chief trying to emphasize the positive amid all the losing.
“That’s been the bright light in this season,” left tackle Donald Stephenson said, via the Kansas City Star. “You feel bad you can run for almost 400 yards and still lose. It makes you look at yourself and try to figure out what we’re doing wrong. Take what we’re doing right, and go on with it.”
Getting a quarterback capable of succeeding with such a dynamic running game should be priority one for the Chiefs this offseason. Games like the one Charles and Hillis turned in on Sunday are a terrible thing to waste.