Former Minnesota Vikings cornerback Mike Hughes came up with the game-sealing interception on Sunday for the Kansas City Chiefs in their win over the Cleveland Browns.
After a rough three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, cornerback Mike Hughes was given the opportunity to start fresh with the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this year.
A few weeks after the 2021 NFL Draft, the Vikings wound up sending Hughes to the Chiefs in exchange for a sixth and a seventh-round draft pick in 2022.
Minnesota’s decision was a little surprising since the young cornerback was the team’s first-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. But the Vikings clearly felt they were better off with Hughes in their secondary.
Former Minnesota Vikings corner comes up huge for Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1
In his first action that wasn’t in a Minnesota uniform, Hughes took the field on Sunday to try and help Kansas City begin their 2021 campaign with a win over a tough opponent in the Cleveland Browns.
The former Vikings cornerback wound up being on the field for 56 percent of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps against the Browns, but his most important snap on Sunday turned out to be his last one of the matchup.
Trailing by four points with less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Cleveland ran a play on 1st-and-10 from their own 48-yard line. Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield took the snap, evaded pressure from Kansas City’s defense, and threw the ball to the left side of the field, right into Hughes’ hands.
Mike Hughes seals the win for the @Chiefs! #ChiefsKingdom #CLEvsKC pic.twitter.com/MjTbeBiYVL
— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2021
The interception by the former Minnesota first-round cornerback sealed the victory for the two-time defending AFC Champion Chiefs.
Hughes apparently likes to make memorable plays in his debuts with new teams. During his very first game with the Vikings, he returned an interception for a touchdown, and on Sunday, he came up with a tremendously clutch pick for Kansas City.
It’s unfortunate that Hughes’ tenure with Minnesota didn’t go as planned, but it seems like he’s been making the most of his new opportunity with the Chiefs.