Chiefs’ Hill no thrill for Denver defense
Tyreek Hill stood alone at Kansas City’s 14-yard line when the ball fell in his hands and the onslaught began. About six minutes remained in the second quarter of the Chiefs’ overtime win in Denver lost month, and Kansas City had just scored the first two points of the game, on a safety.
Seconds later, it was Hill’s turn to blow open the lead and give the Broncos a warning they would ultimately fail to heed.
On a free kick, Hill cradled the ball and darted to the opposite sideline, evading three tackles before meeting fellow wide receiver De’Anthony Thomas 80 yards upfield for a high-five as they trotted into the end zone together.
The kid who ran a reported 4.29-second 40-yard dash at his pro-day workout burned the Broncos not once but three times before the night was over. He slipped through the grasp of Von Miller for a 3-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, then caught a 3-yard touchdown pass in the waning seconds of regulation to help force overtime.
“He’s a beast right now. Special teams-wise, we know the problem that he is,” said Broncos coach Gary Kubiak. “He singlehandedly gave us fits last time. … It’s our job to do everything we can to limit those touches.”
The Broncos may have beaten themselves late in that overtime loss, but Hill inflicted more than his share of damage, becoming the first player with a rushing touchdown, a receiving touch-
He’s a beast right now. Special teams-wise, we know the problem that he is. He singlehandedly gave us fits last time. … It’s our job to do everything we can to limit those touches.” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak
down and a kick-return touchdown in the same game since Hall of Famer Gale Sayers did it in 1965.
Hill put the Broncos on notice in Week 12, and he undoubtedly will be among their biggest obstacles to a much needed victory at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night.
“He’s going to field everything. He’s going to reverse his field,” Kubiak said. “Playing there with the weather, it’s hard to say that you can kick the ball out. It’s hard to control some things that you might be able to control a little bit differently some other times.”
Hill described his performance in Denver as a “coming out party,” and rightfully so: Two weeks later, against Oakland, he had a 36-yard receiving touchdown and a 78yard punt-return touchdown. Last weekend, against Tennessee, he had a 68-yard rushing touchdown in the first four minutes.
The rookie has become one of the most exciting players in the NFL but also one of its most controversial. In August 2015 he pleaded guilty to domestic abuse by strangulation in an incident while at Oklahoma State in 2014, when he punched and choked his pregnant girlfriend. He was given three years probation and went on to finish his college career at West Alabama.
Kansas City drafted him in the fifth round, to the chagrin of many fans who learned his back story. But his performance has paid huge dividends.
Selected to the Pro Bowl as a return specialist, Hill leads the league with 476 punt-return yards and also leads the Chiefs with 10 touchdowns, including six receiving.
“He’s a young, emerging star, probably. We have to be aware of him,” Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “He can run the deep routes, he can run the regular routes, but he’s a threat on jailbreak screens and all of those things. He’s just like any good punt returner. You have to be aware of him in the short game too.” So how do you contain Hill? “It’s a challenge, no question about that,” said Broncos specialteams coordinator Joe DeCamillis. “He’s really hot right now. You’re going to have to move the ball around. You can’t give him the same ball all the time, and we just have to do a great job with our leverage, with our tackling and hopefully take some of those balls away. The best way to do it is not to punt. Hopefully we won’t have to punt as much and that’d be great.”
Added Kubiak: “I think you’re obviously trying to do everything you can to limit his ability to return balls. If the punter mis-hits a ball, there is nothing that you can do about it, so you’d better practice covering and doing a good job of getting him.”
And then maybe the Broncos hope — hope the weather at Arrowhead Stadium, with a forecasted 70 percent chance of rain and 25 mph wind, doesn’t give Hill even more of advantage than he already holds on his home turf.
As Chiefs coach Andy Reid sarcastically made clear, Hill will be used — often and in multiple ways.
“We probably won’t have any plays in for him this week,” Reid said with a laugh.