KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill's claim as the fastest player in the NFL got a boost on Sunday not once but twice as the Chiefs playmaker posted the top two speeds on plays during the team's 38-28 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Hill hit 21.78 miles per hour on his first play of the game, a 91-yard punt return that gave the Chiefs a lead they never relinquished. He topped that speed later in the first quarter, reaching 21.95 miles per hour on his 58-yard touchdown reception that put the Chiefs up 14-3.
The speeds are calculated by the NFL's Next Gen Stats program.
Only one ball carrier in 2017 posted a faster speed than Hill did on Sunday. Jacksonville running back Lenard Fournette reached a speed of 22.05 miles per hour on a 90-yard touchdown run in Week 5 last season. Hill posted the fifth-fastest time of last season with a speed of 21.64 miles per hour on a 64-yard touchdown pass from Alex Smith in the team's Week 7 loss to the Oakland Raiders.
Hill still owns the top-two speeds tracked by Next Gen Stats since the NFL started publishing the data in 2016. He hit 23.24 miles per hour on a kick return in Week 2 of 2016 against the Houston Texans. The 105-yard touchdown return was negated by a penalty. He also reached 22.77 miles per hour on his 86-yard free kick return against the Denver Broncos in Week 12 that season.
The elusive speedster added another mark to his resume with his winding 91-yard punt return against the Chargers. Hill covered 140.9 yards on the play as he ran from the right sideline and worked his way across the field to the left before breaking away from the pack.
That's the most ground covered by a ball carrier on a scoring play since 2016. Odell Beckham of the New York Giants ran 141.4 yards on a punt return in Week 15 of 2016, but a penalty nullified the score and turned it into a 4-yard return.
Hill also owns the third- and fourth-most distance covered on plays since 2016. He ran 139.4 yards on the return against Houston in 2016 erased by penalty. He also covered 135.5 yards on a punt return against the Pittsburgh Steelers that season also wiped away by a penalty.
