There’s been no Hollywood Brown all season for the Kansas City Chiefs.
There’s been no Isiah Pacheco since Week 2.
For the first time this year, there was no Rashee Rice.
The Chiefs, however, made it work as they seemingly always do, turning back the clock to get 100-yard outings from veteran returnees JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kareem Hunt in Monday night’s 26-13 win over the New Orleans Saints.
“I’m having a blast out there, it’s so much fun,” Hunt said. “I missed it so much. Coach [Andy] Reid does a great job of putting us in great situations to be successful.”
A workhorse on Monday night, Hunt was successful to the tune of 27 carries for 102 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown to conclude an impressive opening drive.
Smith-Schuster hauled in seven receptions for 130 yards, including a 50-yard catch-and-run that set up an Xavier Worthy TD score in the fourth quarter that all but sealed the game.
“He has a good feel for the entire concept of the play,” said Patrick Mahomes, who targeted Smith-Schuster more than any wideout on Monday. “So, he knows how to get into the open spots. He has a good understanding of my timing, so there’s some of those things where I can hit him early.”
Smith-Schuster, 27, and Hunt, 29, each returned to the Chiefs this season, but neither before August.
Smith-Schuster, who initially played for the Chiefs in 2022, was released by the New England Patriots on Aug. 9 and picked up by KC a few weeks later to help fill the void left by Brown’s shoulder injury.
“After I got released, I kind of just waited patiently,” Smith-Schuster said. “When Andy Reid called, he told me that we could put a little package deal [together]. Even just that coming back to a place like here, I was OK with that. I was OK just being the leader in the room. I was OK with just being the rah-rah guy to try to help our young guys to get right.”
Hunt -- a 2017 pick of the Chiefs who was released in 2018 following an incident in which video showed him pushing and kicking a woman -- wasn’t signed until Sept. 17, in the hopes of aiding in the replacement of Pacheco, who could be lost for the year with a fractured fibula.
They both arrived on Monday night with production not seen in years.
Smith-Schuster recorded his first 100-yard game since Week 7, 2022, when he was with the Chiefs in his first run with the squad.
Hunt ended a much longer drought, eclipsing 100 yards rushing for the first time since Week 10 of the 2020 season with the Cleveland Browns.
It’s clear Reid is the guiding force, able to pull from his former talents what they hadn’t been able to deliver in years.
“Coach Reid knowing their skillsets and how to put them in great positions,” Mahomes said. “Kareem just runs extremely hard. He gets every yard out there. He catches the ball and does whatever it takes in order to go out there and win. Then JuJu, even when he wasn’t getting many reps, he was in the playbook and learning. The things that he had lost in one year, ya’ll saw him two years ago. He fits in well in this offense. So, we did a great job today and it was cool to get those guys going and for them to step up.”
Rice is likely out for the season, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday, roughly 90 minutes before the Chiefs kicked off. Brown and Pacheco’s return timetables are to be determined, but it’s certainly not anytime soon.
Thus, Kansas City’s offense will continue to be a patchwork operation.
“It’s going to be like that until we start getting some of these guys back,” Mahomes said.
Whether it will continue to be Smith-Schuster and Hunt leading the way remains to be seen. It’s clear they’re both happy to be back in Kansas City and happy to contribute in any way.
“A lot of guys have a lot more reps,” Smith-Schuster said. “As you guys see, we had a lot of guys out there. Mecole (Hardman) out there doing work, Worthy, Skyy (Moore) and all those guys just putting in the work. We got Jody (Fortson) back and that’s pretty cool, more tight ends. It’s pretty cool getting the band back together. You got Kareem coming back. It’s pretty cool to see all that, but just more reps. Whatever I get, I’m happy. I’m grateful. If the ball comes to me, it comes to me. If it doesn’t, I got to block. That’s just the way I live my life. So, just being patient and when that time comes, just making plays.”
The Chiefs offense is still far removed from the glitzy, glamorous version of seasons past and the injury woes have hardly helped.
Nonetheless, entering a Week 6 bye, they are one of two teams still undefeated and Hunt along with Smith-Schuster are major contributors. Nobody could’ve predicted that at the start of the campaign, but somehow, someway, Reid and Mahomes have made it work.
In Kansas City, Hunt and Smith-Schuster found renewed youth and production, at least on this night.
“When the opportunity presents itself, I wanted to step up,” Smith-Schuster said. “I love the adversity. I love being down. I love the doubts. I’ve always bet on myself. I came here on a one-year deal and bet on myself. And it worked out for me. So, coming back here is kind of like a no-brainer.”