Chiefs' Clyde Edwards-Helaire Has to Do Better Job at Goal Line, Coaches Say

Kansas City Chiefs running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire was impressive in nearly every way during his NFL debut last Thursday against the Houston Texans.

His coaches would like to work on correcting one area, though: goal-line carries. 

Both running backs coach Deland McCullough and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy pointed to the red zone as a weakness in the rookie's game. 

McCullough said, per ESPN's Adam Teicher:

"The bottom line is, if you follow all the keys we're coached up to do in our room, he scores. Some of the things we're talking about right now would be a moot point. But again, as he continues to grow—he took big growth after the last game and he'll take another big step in this game—regardless of what the plan is, when we are down there, the running back's job is to score. And when we do everything we're coached to do, we'll score a touchdown."

Edwards-Helaire rushed for minus-two yards on six goal-line carries against the Texans.

Kansas City fans expected plenty out of the tailback to begin the season, and Edwards-Helaire justified that excitement. The LSU product found the end zone on a 27-yard run in the third quarter for the first touchdown of his career and finished the game with 138 yards on 25 attempts. 

That doesn't mean he has the league figured out—nor do his coaches believe he should. 

"He is as-advertised, as far as being able to make guys miss, run with a low center of gravity, contact balance, different things like that, vision," McCullough said. "But also on the flip side, we found out he's a rookie. It was his first game he played. No preseason. So there was a bunch of things going on all at once in that game.''

It may take time for Edwards-Helaire to adjust, and as the Chiefs look to defend their title, the running back knows the pressure is on him to get better every day. 

Bieniemy said:

"Clyde's got to do a better job of making [the blockers] right. He understands that. He has to be disciplined and sound with his footwork, and he saw that. I know, if anything, he's probably the most critical person of his own performance. Although it was a good performance, he knows he left some things out there on the field that could have helped us to be better."

The Chiefs take on the Chargers in Los Angeles on Sunday, starting at 4:35 p.m. ET.