Chiefs’ De’Anthony Thomas shows off speed, toughness on first NFL touchdown

The Chiefs have been waiting five weeks to see what De’Anthony Thomas can do in a regular-season game.

Against the 49ers on Sunday, it only took Thomas two plays in a five-play span to show he was worth the wait.

Thomas, who missed the Chiefs’ first four games with a sore hamstring, returned a third-quarter punt — the first touch of his career — 28 yards to the Chiefs’ 42-yard line to give his team good field position, then hauled in a short swing pass in the left flat four plays later and took it 17 yards for a touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 17-13 lead.

“We weren’t exactly sure how much we’d get out of him just from the setbacks that he’s had,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I thought he did a nice job when given the opportunity to make plays for us.”

It was the only offensive touch of the day for Thomas, who also returned another punt for 10 yards. But he made it count, as he opened eyes by stiff-arming the first man he met in the flat, hard-hitting safety Antoine Bethea.

“When he caught it, we were thinking like, ‘Make him miss, D,’” receiver Junior Hemingway said. “We always see him in practice doing that stiff arm. Always. He does it all the time. And when he did it, I was like, ‘Whoa.’ And when he took it down the sideline, we were like, ‘Yeah, that’s him right there!’”

Thomas even finished off the run with physicality, as he absorbed a blow from cornerback Chris Culliver to record his first NFL touchdown.

“I was just getting out there trying to make some plays to contribute to our offense,” Thomas said. “I try and do a little bit of everything.”

Thomas had help on the score too, as tight end Anthony Fasano, center Rodney Hudson and receiver Dwayne Bowe chipped in with downfield blocks.

“I was blocking two guys over there,” Bowe said. “He did a great job putting his head down and getting in there. … To be a vet and see young guys contribute and knowing I’m a main reason for that is a good thing.”

When Thomas returned to the sideline, he said he was greeted by several teammates who told him he’d done well. Not bad for a guy whose hamstring had been giving him trouble for the better part of a month.

“I felt pretty good coming into this game,” Thomas said. “I’m glad to get this first game out of the way, and I’m ready for more.”

Thomas probably felt that way toward the end of the game, too. The Chiefs put him back on kickoff return instead of regular starter Knile Davis trailing 22-17 with 2 minutes and 17 seconds left, and he was visibly frustrated because a touchback negated his opportunity to do something with it.

“I was just disappointed about not getting great field position for our team,” Thomas said. “I wanted to put us in position to score a touchdown.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2014 at 8:44 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ De’Anthony Thomas shows off speed, toughness on first NFL touchdown."