KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs wide receiver Byron Pringle remains on a mission to stand out on a Super Bowl championship roster, which he certainly did with a kickoff return touchdown last Sunday in Kansas City's lopsided win at the Denver Broncos.
But it came as no surprise to Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
"He works his tail off each and every day," Bieniemy said Thursday in a videconference with reporters. "He’s a smart kid, and he’s a kid that also understands that he has to make the most of every opportunity when presented.”
Pringle, a former Kansas State star, earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after his 102-yard kickoff return touchdown in the Chiefs' 43-16 win.
“When you have a big guy running fast at you, from my experience on a kickoff team, not a lot of guys want to jump in front of a big guy running fast in the cold and Pringle gave that to us," Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said. "I mean, he hit that thing 90 mph."
But Pringle wasn’t done impressing Kansas City's coaches and helping the team win. He also downed a punt inside the 1-yard line to pin the Broncos deep.
"It doesn’t surprise me at all," Bieniemy said. "Pringle is a hard-working kid. We had him right down the road at K-State, (so) we knew exactly what he could bring to the table”
Toub couldn't be happier with the wide receiver's performance, .
“What a day he had on special teams," Toub said, referencing the downed punt. "That kickoff return was something else, but that was a great play too. A great punt by Tommy and really Pringle needed to be Johnny-on-the-spot because that thing could have rolled into the end zone. He was right there and the returner tried to block him, (but) he beat the block made a huge play right there for us.”
