Coach Andy Reid insisted the Chiefs’ distribution of carries was a matter of life right now in the Chiefs’ 17-10 win Sunday at SoFi Stadium.

But that moment could extend for his team as the weeks and games go by.

In the first game of his second tenure with the Chiefs, running back Kareem Hunt led Kansas City with 14 carries for 69 yards. He also added two receptions for 16 yards.

Undrafted rookie Carson Steele started the game at fullback, but lost a fumble on first contact. It was Steele’s second lost fumble in three games.

He managed one more rushing attempt and finished with just six yards.

“I just went with the hot hand,” Reid said. “I’m not disappointed in Carson. He had the fumble. He will find out. We’re supposed to have three people there. We are in good shape in this position.”

But Hunt played as if he had no intention of giving up his snaps.

From his first rushing attempt – when he gained nine yards – to an 11-yard shovel pass reception that looked like it came out of KC’s 2017 playbook, Hunt seemed to be exactly the player he was cracked up to be an interview would take several days.

“Whatever is asked of me, I will do it at the highest level,” Hunt said at the time.

The Chiefs signed Hunt after starter Isiah Pacheco was sidelined with a broken fibula in Week 2 and was placed on injured reserve. They had already signed veteran Samaje Perine as a third-down back, and Perine scored his first touchdown in a Chiefs jersey on Sunday against the Chargers.

Signing Hunt meant welcoming back a player the team released during the 2018 season when a video surfaced showing Hunt kicking and shoving a woman outside his apartment. The Chiefs said at the time that Hunt had not told them the truth about the incident, so his time in Kansas City was over.

Six years later, after playing for his hometown Cleveland Browns, Hunt returned. And at times on Sunday, he looked a lot like the player who was named the Chiefs’ offensive rookie of the year.

Defensive tackle Chris Jones, who was drafted a year before Hunt, was happy for his teammate.

“That’s my buddy!” Jones said. “I’m so happy to have him back on this team. We had some great years. The appreciation he feels for being back on this team means a lot to him. And kudos to the Chiefs organization, Clark Hunt and Andy Reid for giving him a second chance.

“One mistake doesn’t define who you are.”

Hunt averaged 4.7 yards per attempt in his first appearance with the Chiefs. On Sunday it was 4.9 yards.

With the Chiefs facing their worst field position of the game and starting a drive on their own 3-yard line early in the fourth quarter of a 10-10 game, the ball went to Hunt three times in a row.

Behind center Creed Humphrey and guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith, Hunt went six, seven and five yards to lure the Chiefs out of their own end zone.

The possession eventually ended in a punt, but the Chiefs had reversed field position. And that worked in their favor on their next drive – the one that led to the go-ahead touchdown.

“He looked good,” Reid said. “He did some good things. Did a good job for us.”

Stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.