Darrel Williams soars in ‘big moment’ as Kansas City Chiefs’ starting running back

Chiefs running back Darrel Williams had himself a game as Sunday’s starter in place of Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who’s on injured reserve with an MCL sprain.

With Williams pacing the Chiefs’ rushing attack Sunday, they amassed 109 yards on the ground en route to a 31-13 victory over the Washington Football Team.

Williams totaled 89 yards (62 rushing) and two touchdowns, but he didn’t want his individual efforts to take center stage.

“I didn’t think it was too bad,” he said. “The line did a great job for me; the receivers did a great job blocking down the field. We got the (win) and that’s all that matters.”

While Wiliams deflected credit for his part in the Chiefs’ much-needed win — they returned to .500 at 3-3 — his contributions didn’t go unnoticed by coach Andy Reid.

“I’m proud of him,” Reid said. “He’s been like the utility guy that comes in and always had some good games for us over the years, but it was nice for him to have that spot and go get it like he did.”

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes agreed.

“He’s going to battle, he’s going to run for those tough yards, and if he gets a crease, he can make some plays happen,” Mahomes said of Williams. “I think you’ve seen that in big moments in his entire career, and today was a big moment for him to step in that kind of No. 1 role, and I think he did a great job doing that.”

This isn’t the first time the 5-foot-11, 219-pound Williams has taken advantage of an opportunity with the first-team unit.

With Edwards-Helaire nursing a high-ankle sprain leading into last year’s AFC Divisional Round game, the Chiefs leaned on Williams and he responded with 78 yards on 13 carries.

Sunday was his first career regular-season start, but the Chiefs didn’t need to adjust their offense to fit Williams’ skill-set.

“We’re going to get the same play-call, because we know what each and every back is capable of,” he said. “We’re just going to go out there and execute.”

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