KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The all-time leading rusher in Chiefs history traded in the red and gold of Kansas City for the orange and navy of the AFC West rival Denver Broncos, but Jamaal Charles leaves behind a rich history in his NFL home from the past nine seasons.
Sept. 17, 2015; Kansas City, MO; Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles (25) turns up the field against the Denver Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium. (Chris Neal/The Topeka Capital-Journal)
Charles sign a one-year contract with the Broncos, paying him a base salary of $900,000 plus a $100,000 signing bonus. Incentives could add an additional $2.75 million to his 2017 payday.
Charles rushed for 7,260 yards in his Chiefs career, adding another 2,457 yards receiving. His 64 regular season touchdowns in his Chiefs career rank third all time behind Priest Holmes (83) and Tony Gonzalez (76).
In 103 games in his Kansas City career, Charles left an indelible impression a generation of Chiefs fans will carry with them forever. Here’s a quick look at five of the most memorable games in Charles’ career with the team.
Nov. 11, 2009: Kansas City 27, Pittsburgh 24
Charles finally emerged as the team’s lead back in his second season the week before against Oakland, rushing for 103 yards. The win over Pittsburgh truly announced Charles as a future star. He only rushed for 58 yards on 17 carries, but Charles returned the game’s opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and totaled 158 yards on four kick returns. His 2-yard touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter tied the game at 24-24. Ryan Succop kicked the game winning field goal in overtime.
Jan. 3, 2010: Kansas City 44, Denver 24
In a lost 4-12 season for the Chiefs, Charles ended the season on a high note running all over the Broncos. Charles averaged more than 10 yards per carry, piling up 259 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Charles picked up the final 56 yards on a touchdown run with 6:25 left in the game. The effort pushed Charles to 1,120 yards on the season in just 10 starts after taking over the lead back role from Larry Johnson. The game also display his modesty, asking coach Todd Haley to utilize the team’s bench rather than make a run at Adrian Peterson’s record of 296 yards rushing in a single game. His 259 yards ranks as the eighth-highest single game total in NFL history.
Sept. 23, 2012: Kansas City 27, New Orleans 24
The 2011 season came to a sudden halt for Charles when he sustained a torn ACL in the second game of the season. In his second game back in 2012 against Buffalo, Charles carried six times for a paltry 3 yards. With questions surrounding the team’s offense and his role, Charles exploded for 233 yards on 33 carrries and added an additiotnal 55 yards receiving on six catches. The 39 touches established a career high and the 233 rushing yards ranks second-best in his career.
Dec. 15, 2013: Kansas City 56, Oakland 31
Charles rushed just eight times for 20 yards and a touchdown, but that’s not what makes this game memorable. Instead the eight catches for 195 yards and four touchdowns seared this game into the memory of Chiefs fans. His fourth touchdown of the day gave the Chiefs a 35-10 lead with 5:42 left in the first half. But the Raiders responded with 21 straight points to pull within 35-31 with 4:56 left in the third quarter. Three players later, Alex Smith connected with Charles on a deep wheel route, and the running back did the rest to put the game away.
Oct. 19, 2014: Kansas City 23, San Diego 20
Charles rushed for 95 yards against the Chargers, but it was his 16-yard touchdown run that pushed him past Priest Holmes for the Chiefs’ all-time leading rushing record. Charles finished his Chiefs career with 7,260 yards on 1,332 carries with 43 touchdowns. Holmes ranks second on the team’s rushing list with 6,070 yards followed by Larry Johnson with 6,015.
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Matt Derrick is the lead beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @MattDerrick.
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