Five ups and downs from an uncomfortable Chiefs win in Houston
By Matt Conner
Up/Down: Isiah Pacheco learns tough lessons
The K.C. Chiefs have been awfully high on Isiah Pacheco in recent weeks, and he’s settled into the lead back role in the second half of the season, working in tandem with Jerick McKinnon (who had a helluva day on Sunday) to put together a solid backfield most weeks for the Chiefs.
On Sunday, however, Pacheco had perhaps his worst overall quarter of football to start the game and Andy Reid essentially told him, without using any words—or at least any that we were privy to hearing—that he needed to get back to the basics.
In the first quarter of their game in Week 15 against the Texans, Patrick Mahomes took a nasty sack from Christian Kirksey that killed an early drive, and the assignment was on Pacheco to pick up that block, where it was clear that the rookie back just got confused about where to look or go to pick up the Texans linebacker. Shortly thereafter, Pacheco ended up fumbling on a drive that also killed another scoring opportunity, and the Texans responded with their second touchdown to go up 14-7.
Typically, Reid is kind to his younger players and gives them a chance to go right back out and put the bad memory behind them. That’s why we’ve seen Skyy Moore given a chance to go back out there on punt returns, for example, and Pacheco has received that same kindness before. That’s why it was surprising to see Pacheco stuck on the bench for the rest of the first half while Ronald Jones got a rare opportunity to run with the football in his hands.
We’re not sure what can be considered “working” or “not working” but the good news is that Pacheco didn’t fumble the ball anymore on the day and he was productive throughout. There’s no doubt about his role on the team, but Reid certainly pulled on his confidence and reminded Pacheco that he’s still a rookie with plenty to learn.