Smith-Schuster, 27, and Hunt, 29, each returned to the Chiefs this season, but neither before August.

Smith-Schuster, who initially played for the Chiefs in 2022, was released by the New England Patriots on August 9 and picked up by KC a few weeks later to help fill the void left by Brown’s shoulder injury.

“After I was released, I just waited patiently,” Smith-Schuster said. “When Andy Reid called, he told me we could do a little package deal (together). Even just coming back to a place like here, I was fine with that. I was fine with just being the leader in the room. I was okay with just being the rah-rah guy and trying to help our young guys do well.”

Hunt — a 2017 pick of the Chiefs who was released in 2018 after an incident in which a video showed him pushing and kicking a woman — wasn’t signed until Sept. 17, in hopes of helping replace Pacheco, who would could lose the entire year with a broken fibula.

They both arrived on Monday evening with a production that had not been seen in years.

Smith-Schuster recorded his first 100-yard rushing game since Week 7, 2022, when he was with the Chiefs in his first run with the team.

Hunt ended a much longer drought, eclipsing 100 yards rushing for the first time since Week 10 of the 2020 season with the Cleveland Browns.

It’s clear that Reid is the guiding force, able to get from his former talents what they hadn’t been able to deliver in years.

“Coach Reid knows their skills and how to get them into great positions,” Mahomes said. “Kareem just runs extremely fast. He gets every yard there is. He catches the ball and does whatever it takes to go out there and win. Then JuJu, even if he didn’t get a lot of reps, was in the playbook and learning .The things he lost in one year, you saw two years ago. He fits in well in this offense today and it was cool to get those guys to step up.”

Rice is likely out for the season, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday, about 90 minutes before the Chiefs kicked off. Brown and Pacheco’s return schedules need to be determined, but that certainly won’t happen anytime soon.

So Kansas City’s offense will remain a patchwork operation.

“It’s going to stay that way until we get some of these guys back,” Mahomes said.

Whether it will continue to be Smith-Schuster and Hunt who will lead the way remains to be seen. It’s clear they’re both happy to be back in Kansas City and eager to contribute in any way they can.

“A lot of guys have a lot more reps,” Smith-Schuster said. “As you guys can see, we had a lot of guys there. Mecole (Hardman) working there, Worthy, Skyy (Moore) and all those guys just doing the work. We got Jody (Fortson) back and that’s pretty cool, tighter ends. It’s pretty cool to get the band back together. It’s pretty cool to see all that, but whatever I get, I’m happy The ball’s coming to me, the ball’s coming to me Like that If not, I have to block. That’s just the way I live my life.

The Chiefs offense is still a far cry from the glitzy, glamorous version of recent seasons and the injury woes have hardly helped.

Nevertheless, entering a Week 6 bye, they are one of two teams still undefeated and Hunt is a key contributor along with Smith-Schuster. No one could have predicted that at the start of the campaign, but somehow Reid and Mahomes made it happen.

In Kansas City, Hunt and Smith-Schuster found renewed youth and production, at least on this night.

“When the opportunity presented itself, I wanted to take it a step further,” Smith-Schuster said. “I like setbacks. I like being gloomy. I like the doubts. I always bet on myself. I came here for a one-year contract and bet on myself. And it worked for me. So I come back here is kind of a no-brainer.”