KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One of the reasons the Kansas City Chiefs grabbed running back Le'Veon Bell was the team's lack of running punch around the goal line.
Heading into Sunday's game in Denver, the Chiefs had just five rushing touchdowns and had settled for 10 field goals under 40 yards when drives had stalled.
But the Chiefs' first drive against the Broncos was punctuated by a bruising 11-yard TD run by Clyde Edwards-Helaire, in which the rookie broke five tackles.
"How good is he, man?" asked Andy Reid on Monday. "The ability to break tackles."
It's an ability CEH had shown in his first six NFL games – just not in the red zone – as his 500+ rushing yards had resulted in just one touchdown.
Make it two touchdowns after Sunday.
"The contact thing is crazy," Reid said. "Yards after contact is nuts. And so you got a chance to see that."
It might not be a coincidence. Edwards-Helaire's Denver game followed a Buffalo game when he rushed for 161 yards on 26 carries. That performance came just a few days after the team announced it would sign Bell.
"I think he's done a good job on contact," Reid said. "I think we got to see it up even another notch there."
Edwards-Helaire finished the Denver game with 46 yards on eight carries. Bell carried the ball six times for 39 yards in his debut.
