KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Over the last three weeks, the Kansas City Chiefs have faced three unheralded running backs and turned each one into an instant sensation.
Latavius Murray of the Oakland Raiders was the first of the bunch and perhaps the most destructive. He had just four carries in a Nov. 20 game against the Chiefs in Oakland but made the most of them.
Murray rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns, the first and only rushing touchdowns allowed by the Chiefs this season. One went for 90 yards.
Murray might have gained 500 yards against the Chiefs had he not been forced from the game for good in the second quarter because of a concussion. He missed the next week's game against the St. Louis Rams but returned in time to rush for 76 yards in last week's win over the San Francisco 49ers.
The Chiefs will get another crack at Murray on Sunday when the Raiders come to Arrowhead Stadium. While Murray probably won't rush for 28 yards per carry, as he did against Kansas City last month, nothing the Chiefs have done in their rush defense since then suggests they'll slow down Murray to an acceptable level.
A week after letting Murray ruin them in Oakland, the Chiefs allowed 168 rushing yards to Denver C.J. Anderson. Then Arizona's Kerwynn Williams, in his third NFL game, rushed for 100 yards against Kansas City last week.
At least the Chiefs were better tackling Williams. According to Pro Football Focus, the Chiefs missed seven tackles against the Cardinals after missing 15 the week before against Anderson and the Broncos.
It didn't make a lot of difference because Williams was able to find enough creases in the defense to hurt the Chiefs anyway.
"I thought we did a little better job in the tackling part but we've got to take care of those seams," coach Andy Reid said. "It doesn't take much for an NFL running back to hit a seam. You've got to narrow those things down and make sure you can free up your hands to make the tackle."