HOUSTON -- Charcandrick West is so smooth as a pass receiver, it looks as if he has been a natural his whole life. But West, a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs, had to learn the hard way.

"My stepdad, we used to play this game," West said Sunday night after catching two touchdown passes in the Chiefs' 42-34 win against the Houston Texans. "For every ball I dropped, it was 10 push-ups.

"I had to do a lot of push-ups at first. I had to do so many I got tired of them. But I learned. I quit dropping balls and got a lot better."

West is a backup to Kareem Hunt, whose spectacular play continued Sunday night with another 100-plus-yard game. But West, who led the Chiefs in rushing in 2015 after they lost Jamaal Charles to a knee injury, has carved out a role because of his ability as a pass receiver and a blocker.

In addition to the two touchdown catches, West threw a block during one of Kansas City's scoring drives that sent a pass-rusher flying. The block allowed quarterback Alex Smith to escape a sack and scramble for yardage.

"He takes a lot of pride in that role that he plays," said Kansas City coach Andy Reid. "He's been the starter, and he did that well. Now he has to kind of be the relief pitcher, and he's doing that well. He's got a great feel for the pass game, and he knows the protections well.

"That was a tough one that he had when he had to cross the formation to get that [block]. To be able to see that and still be asked to run a route is not an easy thing to do."

West joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent from tiny Abilene Christian University in 2014. He caught Reid's eye that year more for his ability as a receiver than as a runner.

"I think with all of our backs what we like to have is the ability to catch," Reid said. "We feel like we can teach them the blocking part of it, as long as they're willing. He's picked up on that pretty quick."

But West acknowledged that was more of a process.

"I was terrible at blocking in college," West said. "I was just so confused which man I was supposed to block."

Now, with his key block on Smith's run as evidence, he takes pride in that part of his game.

"You probably wouldn't expect the smallest back on the roster to be the back they put in to block," West said.

As for the receiving part, West said he could be a wideout, if that's what the Chiefs need him to be.

"I really feel like I could," he said. "I have great hands."

His greatest skill as a receiver might be his ability to run after the catch. His first touchdown Sunday was a catch in the end zone. He later made some defenders miss on a 4-yard scoring grab.

"My favorite thing is making people miss," he said. "That one was crazy. I want to watch that one myself. I'm ready to see how that one went down."