Why the Kansas City Chiefs have not lost faith in Mecole Hardman (he hasn’t, either)
Teammates wouldn’t allow Mecole Hardman to visit the depths of despair after his lost fumble on a punt return gave the Buffalo Bills a touchdown in the AFC Championship Game.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce (not to mention the Chiefs’ coaches) brought the encouragement. And after Hardman turned in a 50-yard run on a jet sweep and caught a short touchdown pass to help pave the way for the Chiefs’ Jan. 24 victory, Kelce put an exclamation point on Hardman’s adventurous half.
“That’s how you handle adversity!” Kelce said. “You smack it in the mouth!”
Great piece of eavesdropping by NFL Films. But it doesn’t erase the fact that the Chiefs have had punt-return issues in recent games. Hardman misplayed one that bounced toward him for a turnover in their Week 17 loss to the Chargers. And a bad decision by Demarcus Robinson on one at New Orleans cost the Chiefs a safety in a game Kansas City went on to win.
The only person more confident than special teams coordinator Dave Toub that the Chiefs’ return problems are behind them is Hardman.
“I never lost confidence,” Hardman said. “Was I mad at myself? Yes. I think it’s a natural reaction to be mad you yourself for something you shouldn’t have done. If anything, I wanted to go back there and return another punt, but they kept kicking it out of bounds.”
The Chiefs will stay with Hardman for punt returns in the Super Bowl on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because he’s a threat to score with every touch. He returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins this season and a kickoff for a touchdown last season, when he made the AFC Pro Bowl team as a return specialist.
Speed is a defining characteristic for the Chiefs, who have two of the game’s fastest in pads in Tyreek Hill and Hardman, the second-year pro from Georgia who ran a 4.33 at the 2019 NFL Combine..
Hardman finished with 41 receptions, a 13.7-yard average and four touchdowns during the regular season. In the postseason, he’s at six catches and a touchdown plus that 50-yard rush on the jet sweep.
Another of his best attributes is a short memory. He couldn’t dwell on the fumble in that AFC title game.
“A lot of players have their ups and downs,” Hardman said. “It’s part of the game. I don’t think it’s fair to the player for a team go away from them, or show they don’t believe or trust in them. If I have a bad play, you want to get back into the rhythm of things.”
Hardman did that and helped the Chiefs get to a second straight Super Bowl.