Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt evades a tackle from Denver Broncos linebacker Shane Ray in Kansas City on Monday night.Colin E. Braley/The Associated Press
Kareem Hunt will get to compare himself to Ezekiel Elliott after all when Kansas City visits Dallas.
The dynamic rookie running back for the Chiefs is doing many of the things the suspended Cowboys star did in his debut last season, headlined by leading the NFL in rushing.
Thanks to another temporary legal reprieve for Elliott, Hunt will get an up-close comparison Sunday against Dallas (4-3). Elliott will be able to play after a New York appeals court granted an emergency stay on Friday. There have been two previous halts to Elliott's six-game suspension over alleged domestic violence that kept him on the field.
"He's the engine behind that offence," Dallas coach Jason Garrett said of Hunt. "He's been one of those guys who's been steady for them, but also has made a lot of plays for them."
Elliott, the former Ohio State Univerity star and the NFL's leading rusher as a rookie, is third this year behind the ex-Toledo back and Ohio native Hunt. The Chiefs (6-2) are trying to set a franchise record with their 10th straight road victory.
"I watched Zeke a ton," Hunt said of his senior year with the Rockets, when Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott, his fellow rookie, were powering the Cowboys to the best record in the NFC.
"Dak played pretty well and so did he. I was able to watch and see all the great runs he had. I kind of wanted to come in and have a year like he did his rookie season."
Consider it done so far. Hunt is the first NFL player with at least 100 scrimmage yards in each of first seven games and leads the NFL with 763 yards rushing and 1,070 yards from scrimmage.
While he's not quite on the rushing pace of Elliott a year ago, Hunt is another option when quarterback Alex Smith already had plenty, including All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce.
Smith is four touchdowns from tying Peyton Manning's record of 20 without an interception to start a season while guiding the NFL's third-ranked offence.
The Cowboys were prepared to replace Elliott with Alfred Morris, a 1,500-yard rusher as a rookie in 2012 and Elliott's backup all season.
Last year, Elliott was backed up by Darren McFadden once he was healthy. McFadden led the Cowboys in rushing two years ago despite starting just 10 games. Rod Smith is the wild card. He surged in training camp to make the roster and has shown some big-play ability.
If form holds, McFadden will be inactive again with Elliott getting a late reprieve.
"All of them have got good experience now in the league," Cowboys offensive co-ordinator Scott Linehan said. "That's a big part of feeling good about those guys stepping in after really not playing a whole lot up until now."