There was no keeping Kareem Hunt out of the end zone in 2020 — no matter the play call.
When the Browns crossed their opponent's 20-yard line, Hunt, in his first full season with the team, was just as dangerous on the ground as he was as a receiver. Hunt scored 11 touchdowns during the 2020 regular season, five of which coming as a receiver. He added three more rushing touchdowns in the playoffs to give him 14 total for the year.
On top of his scoring production, Hunt had the ball in his hands as much as anyone on the Browns' roster. He carried it 198 times for 841 yards while hauling in 38 passes for 304 yards. Hunt didn't miss a game despite dealing with a handful of painful, nagging injuries.
"It was very important," Hunt said. "I enjoy playing the game of football so it was nice to be out there for the full season and help lead this team to a great season."
It's hard to count how many important plays Hunt made for the Browns throughout their memorable 2020 campaign. Nathan Zegura and Andrew Gribble identified their favorites, which are among those featured in the video at the top of the page.
Gribble: Wild Card Round at Steelers - 11-yard TD run
So often throughout the season, Hunt would find a way to get an extra yard or two when it appeared impossible. Many times, it came on runs that appeared to be doomed from the start, but Hunt would salvage them for the best 4-yard gain you've ever seen. With the Steelers on the ropes early in the Browns' memorable Wild Card win, Hunt delivered a powerful statement to extend the team's first-quarter lead to 21. Hunt first met contact at the line of scrimmage and then found a lot more when he crossed inside the 5-yard line on a carry that began at the 11. He churned his legs for some extra yards and plowed his way through multiple Steelers defenders, taking them into the end zone with him for a touchdown. Hunt added another score later in the quarter, but this was the one that definitively showed the Browns were the more physical team on this night.
Zegura: Week 4 at Cowboys – 14-yard TD run
No play better encapsulated the Kareem Hunt experience than the one Gribble picked. He literally ran over the Steelers defense en route to a punishing touchdown. But while Kareem ran with incredible physicality throughout the course of the season, he was also one of the shiftiest running backs in the league, making defenders tackle air with his jump cuts. His 14-yard touchdown run against the Cowboys illustrates that point perfectly. Hunt followed the pulling Wyatt Teller on a run to the left side and could have been bottled up in the hole. Instead, he used his patented jump cut to hop outside the edge defender, get into the clear and then turned on the jets and plowed his way into the end zone with a nice assist from rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones, who had a great downfield block. Whether it was catching the ball (he led the Browns with five touchdown receptions) or running the ball, Hunt had the physicality and the talent to score any time he touched it.
