In a game his team desperately needed, Chiefs rookie punt returner De’Anthony Thomas gave Kansas City a lead it would not relinquish.
Thomas’ 81-yard first-quarter punt return touchdown Sunday helped spark the Chiefs’ 31-13 victory over Oakland and helped earn him AFC special teams player of the week honors from the NFL. The league announced the award on Wednesday.
On the score, Thomas caught the ball around the numbers nearest the Kansas City sideline. He made one cut, burst through an alley near the boundary and sprinted clear. Thomas was never touched en route to his first regular-season return touchdown, a testament to his speed and some outstanding blocking, with safety Daniel Sorensen and wide receiver Junior Hemingway among those doing their jobs very well. Thomas punctuated the score by flipping into the endzone, and oh, to be 21 years old and of world-class fitness.
With the win, the Chiefs (8-6) stayed within a game of the final wild-card spot in the AFC. They now face another must-win game at 9-5 Pittsburgh on Sunday.
And if the Steelers were very, very careful kicking to Thomas . . . well, they couldn’t be blamed.