A 101-yard receiving night and touchdown from who? KC Chiefs’ Williams had career game
Clyde Edwards-Helaire is poised to return to action this coming week.
The Chiefs running back selected in the first round of the 2020 draft sprained an MCL in a Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills and hasn’t played since. But he returned to practice last week.
In the Chiefs’ 41-14 victory at the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Darrel Williams played like he wanted to keep the job.
Williams turned in the most productive game of his career, with 101 receiving yards and a touchdown and 43 rushing yards. That pushed his season totals to 343 rushing yards and 271 receiving.
The touchdown was one of the plays of the night. He got behind the defense, and Patrick Mahomes, rolling right, threw across his body toward Williams. Raiders safety Johnathan Abram closed quickly and appeared to have a chance at an interception.
But Williams got his hands in a great position to make the grab and complete the 38-yard touchdown. It was the fourth of Mahomes’ five touchdown passes Sunday night.
“Pat trusted me and I had to go make the play,” Williams said.
The moment was important. The Chiefs were leading 27-14 early in the fourth quarter but faced a fourth-and-7. Punter Tommy Townsend completed a 16-yard pass to gunner Marcus Kemp on a well-executed fake.
But two plays netted the Chiefs nothing, and on third and 11 they were looking at either a long field goal attempt or a punt.
That’s when Mahomes scrambled to his right and looked back to the left.
“It looked like he looked at me, took his eyes off me, then just came back to me and threw it,” Williams said. “As long as he throws it to me, I’m going to make a play.”
In a Chiefs attack that emphasized short passes Sunday, Williams was often the outlet. The yards he gained after his catches amounted to much of his career-best total. He was targeted nine times and caught all nine of those balls.
Want to use him as a receiver out the backfield? Williams is good with that. Or make him a blocker, or short-yardage option? Those are fine with him, too.
“I can do anything you need me to do as running back, whether that’s catch it, blocking, running — I can do every single thing,” Williams said.
When Edwards-Helaire returned to practice on Thursday, a 21-day window opened in which the Chiefs must activate him or keep him on injured reserve. They’d probably like to activate him. After all, he’d rushed for 304 yards and caught eight passes in the five games before he hurt his knee.
But the way Williams has played, there may be no need to rush Edwards-Helaire back.
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 at 12:01 AM.