When we’re talking about Kareem Hunt’s decline in the running game lately, here’s something I forgot about: Spencer Ware fell off after a strong start last year too.
Brandon Kiley shared some numbers on the first five games for Hunt this year and Ware last year compared to what they did after that.
Hunt first 5 weeks: 97 carries, 609 yards, 16 rec, 166 yds, 6 TD
— Brandon Kiley (@BKSportsTalk) November 28, 2017
Hunt since: 87 carries, 281 yds, 20 rec, 178 yds, 0 TD
Ware first 5 weeks last yr: 95 carries, 492 yards, 15 rec, 285 yds, 3 TD
Ware next 6 weeks: 88 carries, 298 yards, 13 rec, 117 yds, 2 TD
Hunt went from averaging 6.2 yards per carry to 3.2 yards per carry. What stands out to me is that it always comes back to the big plays. He essentially hasn’t been getting the big plays that he got early in the season (he had four 50-plus yard plays in the first month, which was more than any back all of last season). Plus, there’s that great stat about how he was getting almost four yards down the field before first contact early in the season and now that’s barely a yard on average.
Everything about the Chiefs seems so streaky. Take out the 2015 season and the Chiefs have generally been fast to start the season and slow to end it. That’s the streak that concerns me the most in the big picture. Don’t get me wrong, I would rather be 5-0 than not be 5-0 but history shows us this is the Chiefs second half downward turn.