“Tyreek Hill’s emergence makes Chiefs a legitimate Super Bowl threat.” That’s the headline of an ESPN story written by Adam Teicher and published after the Chiefs, who apparently didn’t suffer from the dreaded Thursday night hangover after defeating the Atlanta Falcons Sunday afternoon, beat the Oakland Raiders 21-13 on national television.
And Tyreek Hill was a big reason why.
Hill scored two of the Chiefs’ three touchdowns and set up the third on a long pass from quarterback Alex Smith. Hill’s two touchdowns – on a 36-yard reception where he essentially outran two defensive backs to get open inside the 10 and a 78-yard punt return (his second return for a score in three games) – give him nine on the year. That’s more than any other Chief by a long shot. According to the ESPN story, no other Kansas City player has more than five.
Just before Hill’s punt return, the entire stadium chanted his name. He delivered, torching the Raiders’ coverage squad for a blistering 78-yard touchdown.
After the game, the ESPN story quoted Hill as saying, “I guess it’s all falling into place. After talking to Dante Hall and all those guys, they were like, ‘Dream big.’ That’s what I started doing, every night and every morning, I’m daydreaming about making those big plays.” The story also quoted Alex Smith as stating, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like what happened tonight, that one scene. I’ve never seen a stadium chant a name like that and then he houses it. It gave me chills.”
The story went on to say that Hill’s development over the course of the season has transformed the Chiefs into a favorite to win the AFC West and possibly go all the way to the Super Bowl: “The Chiefs are also a threat to win the AFC and advance to the Super Bowl because of the speedy rookie.”
That’s not bad for an under-utilized high school player whose college career took him through three different schools and one courtroom. I hope you’re not tired of the Tyreek Hill updates. We’re going to be giving them to you for as long as he’s in the NFL. That means there’s going to be plenty more on the way.