Chiefs need young backs to step up after Jamaal Charles’ second ACL tear

Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Charles went down with a non-contact injury against the Chicago Bears on Sunday and an MRI confirmed the Chiefs’ worst fears. For an offense lacking playmakers, losing its biggest weapon is a huge blow for Kansas City.

Charles has been the focal point of the offense ever since 2009, the year after longtime tight end Tony Gonzalez left the team. In five games this season, Charles totaled 71 carries for 364 yards and four touchdowns, with 21 catches for 177 yards and a touchdown.

As the eight-year veteran will now spend most of the offseason rehabbing to get healthy heading into next season, the Chiefs, now sitting at a disappointing 1-4 on the season, will try to figure out how to piece together a productive offense without Charles.

“You’re not going to replace Jamaal Charles,” head coach Andy Reid said Monday. “He’s one of the best in the history of the game.”

They will certainly see a difference on the field, but just how big a difference is the question -- and it’s one the Chiefs faced four years ago.

This isn’t the first time Charles has suffered a torn ACL in his NFL career. In his second game of the 2011 season, Charles sustained the injury in his left knee and only rushed for 83 yards that year. Thomas Jones was Charles’ primary backup, and the team also had Jackie Battle and Dexter McCluster getting carries.

None of the three running backs stood out, managing just three touchdowns between them. But when the season was over, the Chiefs still put up decent yardage. They finished 15th in the league in rushing with 1,893 yards on the ground. However, those numbers paled in comparison to the previous season, when they had 2,672 yards, good for best in the NFL. Charles rushed for 1,467 yards that season -- or, just 124 fewer yards than Battle, Jones and McCluster combined for in 2011.

Charles’ injury was the lowlight of a rough year for the Chiefs. After winning the AFC West in 2010 with a 10-6 record, they finished at 7-9 and head coach Todd Haley was fired in December after the team reached 5-8. The offense lacked a dynamic threat on the ground and the three quarterbacks who started games -- Matt Cassel, Tyler Palko and Kyle Orton -- all struggled.

Kansas City’s offense ground to a halt when Charles left Sunday’s game against the Bears. They took a 17-3 lead into halftime, but once Charles was out, the Bears stacked the box less and took away the short passing game. Quarterback Alex Smith had nowhere to throw the football, and the Bears won the game, 18-17.

Both second-year pro Charcandrick West and Knile Davis took snaps after Charles exited. West is the Chiefs’ No. 2 running back this season while Davis has been the backup for the past couple of seasons. Although West was relegated to special teams duty in his rookie year, he has 12 carries for 48 yards and two catches for 9 yards in five games this year. West’s limited experience and Davis’ career 3.4 yards per carry average likely won’t lead the Chiefs to an offensive turnaround, but both backups will be preparing for a heavy workload and the Chiefs will design the offense around reviving the ground game.

There’s also the passing game to consider. With 2,443 career receiving yards and 20 receiving touchdowns, Charles made plays all over the field for the Chiefs. Neither Davis nor West has shown that potential yet, though the Chiefs like West’s ability in the passing game. They’re also not the only two options that the team has.

“De’Anthony [Thomas] has running back possibility there, too, and experience,” Reid said Monday. “And then we got Spencer Ware on the practice squad who we know can play both tailback and fullback, so we’ll look in-house first before we go outside.”

But it’s still possible the Chiefs could bring in another running back to help. Ben Tate and Pierre Thomas were both set to work out for the Chiefs this week, and a veteran to take over if the younger guys struggle could be what the Chiefs need.

Like Reid said, though, no one can replace Charles’ value to the team. The Chiefs were already out to a down start to this season and there’s no relief coming from the defensive side of the ball either, with the team ranking just No. 27 in the league in total defense.

Charles has a long, difficult recovery ahead of him, but he was able to overcome the injury before. His first ACL tear was just as serious as this, and it required a full offseason of recovery and work to get back to playing condition.

He recovered in time for the start of the 2012 season, and he made his presence felt with 87 yards on 16 carries against the Atlanta Falcons. That year, he had two games of 220-plus yards, and rushed for 100-plus yards in five other games. He finished fourth in the NFL in rushing yardage, behind only Adrian Peterson, Alfred Morris and Marshawn Lynch.

Unfortunately, the Chiefs finished that season with a 2-14 record and Charles was about their only contributor. But he made a full recovery, and while it’s not guaranteed he can do it again -- he’ll be 29 years old when next season gets underway -- he’s been through this before and that should be reason for a shred of optimism for Chiefs fans.