Kareem Hunt Ties NFL Record for Touchdowns in First 3 Games

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt rushed for 172 yards during Sunday's game against the San Diego Chargers, capped off by a 69-yard touchdown run to seal the team's 24-10 victory.

The score also gave the rookie back his sixth touchdown of the season, tying Hunt with Billy Sims (1980) and Dutch Sternaman (1920) for the most during a player's first three career games in NFL history, per NFL Communications.

Hunt also ranks second all-time for scrimmage yards through three contests, trailing only Sims' 562 yards during his 1980 rookie campaign. The majority of that has come on the ground, as expected, rushing for 401 yards through the first three contests.

Coming into the season, Spencer Ware was expected to serve as the team's lead back, with Hunt serving in a secondary role and seeing some action on passing downs. Everything changed during the club's third preseason game, when Ware suffered a season-ending PCL tear.

Kansas City traded up in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft to select the 22-year-old out of Toledo. He quickly surpassed Charcandrick West—who remains the team's top backup option behind Hunt—on the depth chart in training camp, but the rookie tailback rarely leaves the field. Hunt played 70 percent of the team's offensive snaps Sunday, per the Chiefs' official website.

Hunt will attempt to continue his early-season success as Monday Night Football descends on Kansas City in Week 4. Monday's opponent, the Washington Redskins, will present a significant challenge for him to do so, having allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game (62.3) through three weeks.