Jackie Battle wasn't just personally ready for his moment to shine. Apparently, greater forces were at work on a Sunday that the veteran special teams player broke out for an incredible 119 rushing yards on 19 carries in Sunday's 28-24 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Before the game, the Kansas City Chiefs head coach read Battle a letter than an anonymous fan sent to the coach praising his hat, his passionate leadership and one Chiefs player in particular: Battle himself. The instructions from the fan were to trust Battle with the ball because he believed he could be next Arian Foster. He told the story in his press conference after the game:
He's a guy who's been through a lot since he's been here. He's one of those guys who's able to hang on. He's a special teams player, but you can tell with Jackie that he's always believed that he's a runner and that he didn't like it too much when we relegated him in our minds to just a special teams player. I actually got a note from a fan that didn't even leave a return address talking about, number one, he liked my hat. He's a marine and he liked that I yell a lot. He said, 'Yelling is what got his life in shape.' Then he spoke about Jackie.
I read Jackie the letter before the game and this guy for whatever reason believes in Jackie Battle. He said, 'You need to give Jackie Battle the ball.' He said, 'I think he's another Arian Foster.' I don't know all the words, but I've been really impressed with Jackie. He's getting better. He's another player on our team who's continuing to develop here through the last couple of years and that's so key and critical to developing a successful team is to develop the players on your own team. He's one of those guys and there's a bunch of them. But I was glad for Jackie today.
Battle brings more of a bruising style, but it was clear that it worked well in the fourth quarter as the Colts defense wore down in the second half. He is quickly becoming a bright spot on a team that needed a spark in the running game, and he's certainly not just another special teams player anymore.