Jamaal Charles secures record while focusing team goal

Suggest to Jamaal Charles that he is the best running back in the National Football League and he responds with a shy smile that indicates he might believe it is true, before going all humble pie with some platitude about it being "all about the team."

In reality, Charles' team – the Kansas City Chiefs – is all about him, or at least built around him, as it seeks to continue to revive from a sluggish start to the season and muscle into the AFC playoff picture.

The 27-year-old three-time Pro Bowler broke Priest Holmes' franchise career rushing record of 6,070 yards during Sunday's 23-20 nail-biting victory against the San Diego Chargers, a road success that took the team to 3-3 and breathed fresh life into its campaign.

"Jamaal does it play after play," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "He makes things happen. The more you give it to him, the better. A lot of times there isn't necessarily something there for him, but he finds something."

For Charles, beating Holmes' mark, courtesy of a jinking 16-yard touchdown run in the second quarter as Chargers defenders flailed in his wake, was somewhat of a relief, with talk of the record and its relevance dominating recent discussion in Kansas City.

"I am ready for more and bigger things," Charles said. "I am happy to be a leading rusher but I want a ring, that's what I want more than anything. Every player is a great player when you get that ring. I don't want to be known just for my individual awards, I want to be known as a team player as well."

While the Chiefs retain frustration at the bad parts of their season, highlighted by a season opening an opening day defeat at home to Tennessee, there have now been enough positives for Reid and his troops to nurse genuine belief that they can get into the playoffs and do some damage there: if only they can nail that nagging inconsistency.

A large part of that will involve staying in control of the football, a mindset and game plan geared largely around Charles grinding out yards and first downs, while quarterback Alex Smith keeps his head and avoids costly mistakes.

Against San Diego on Sunday, Reid's team controlled the ball for exactly 39 minutes, which had the knock-on effect of preventing quarterback Philip Rivers and the recently rampant Chargers offense from building any momentum.

"Our identity is that we keep the ball form the other team and we eat up clock," Charles said. "We keep on doing that to any team it is possible that we could win any game."

And when Charles has the ball, Chargers cornerback Shareece Wright witnessed just how effective the verteran running back can be.

"We know he breaks tackles and doesn't stop until the whistle," Wright said. "You have to know that and understand that." You have to wrap-up, hold on, and wait for everyone else to get there."

Denver is obviously the heavy hitter of the AFC West division but having just dinged up the Chargers' glossy record now the opportunity arises for the Chiefs to make some headway, with a series of very winnable games coming up against the Rams, Jets and at the Bills approaching.

With a defense that is starting to fire in the way it was on the way to 9-0 last season, before ending 11-5 and then blowing up against Indianapolis surrendering a 28-point lead in the AFC Wild-Card game, brighter things may lay ahead.

Charles' confidence is high enough that he is even talking about sticking around long enough to match the career rushing marks of Emmitt Smith (18,355) and Barry Sanders (15,269), which must be considered a serious long-shot given the nature of today's game and the comparatively short shelf life of many top level running backs.

"Now I can go out there and think about other records to break," Charles said. "(Sanders and Smith) is something I wish to get to one day."

For now, the Chiefs are happy for Charles to just carry on carrying, to keep on doing what he does as effectively as anyone else in the league. In fact, their season is probably dependent upon it.