Jamaal Charles Runs His Way Into Chiefs History

The Kansas City Chiefs got their third win of the season on Sunday, defeating the San Diego Chargers 23-20. It was a great game with a lot of great moments but one that will stand out for a long time was Jamaal Charles passing Priest Holmes as the Chiefs all time leading rusher.

On the first play of the second quarter, the Chiefs were facing a 2nd and six, deep into Chargers territory. Alex Smith handed Jamaal Charles the ball on a shotgun sweep to the right and what Charles did was signature to how he’s run his whole career.

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He found some space to the outside, used his outstanding vision to make a few cuts back inside, split the defense and dove his way into the end zone while taking a lick from his former teammate, Brandon Flowers. Jamaal’s 16 yard touchdown scamper is what moved him to number one all time and it couldn’t have happened on more of a defining play.

Watching him maneuver and work to set up his blocks, ultimately finishing it off with his speed was all just frosting on the cake for his record setting performance.

Charles sits alone with 6,071 yards rushing and counting. Not bad for a 2008 second round pick from Texas who was a back up to the now third leading rusher in Chiefs history, Larry Johnson.

What capped it all off perfectly though was the Chiefs being able to grab the win from a division rival who has seemed to have their number over the years. Charles finished the day with 95 yards rushing off 22 carries and one touchdown and made it clear that this was his first win in Qualcomm Stadium.

When asked about the record at his press conference he said,

"Oh yeah, I was tired of getting jinxed! I just wanted to get out there and play football. I just want to thank my teammates for helping me to get to that goal, the organization, the coaching staff and the man above for giving me the blessing to go out there and do my job today.Now that it’s over with, I can go out there and think about other records to break. It’s great to be the leading rusher for our organization but, you got Barry Sanders and Emmit Smith with 20,000 rushing yards and that’s something that I wish to get to someday."

Charles may never go down as one of the best running backs in NFL history (though his career average of 5.6 yards per play says otherwise) but one thing is for certain, he’s the best in Kansas City Chiefs history. His records are still being written and it couldn’t be happening for a better person.

I’ve been fortunate to have grown up in an era where running backs for the Chiefs seem like a dime a dozen. Between Christian Okoye, Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes and now Jamaal Charles, I feel like I’ve been spoiled.

In my eyes though, Charles is better than all of them and he has the numbers to prove it.

Congratulations Jamaal Charles, and here’s to many more years of your successful career!

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