The Kansas City Chiefs are known more for their passing attack. When Patrick Mahomes is rolling, no one is more deadly, especially in the playoffs. And even before having Mahomes at his disposal, Andy Reid has never been shy about airing it out all around the yard. But in this upcoming postseason run, the Chiefs have one of their deeper running back rooms, compared to other recent K.C. playoff stretches.
How the Chiefs go about using them will be highly fascinating. Isiah Pacheco has been a dependable piece over his first few seasons. However, an injury led to a murky stretch of usage after returning from injured reserve late in the regular season. Kareem Hunt has looked rejuvenated since getting opportunities back in Kansas City's offense. And of course, Samaje Perine provides a perfect skill set as a running back for passing downs.
Will the Chiefs utilize all three running backs at a fair rate during the playoffs? Which situations could be more opportunistic for each individual running back?
Monitoring Pacheco Post-Injury
After returning from his injury late in the regular season, it was likely that most Chiefs fans expected to see Pacheco return to his normal workload. Yet, Kansas City largely eased him back into the fold. In the last five games that he played, Pacheco received just 49 carries. That is good enough for an average of just 9.8 carries per game.
Outside of not getting as much action, Pacheco was unable to bounce off of defenders as simply as we had been accustomed to. With him returning to more live reps and going against actual opponents, perhaps the Chiefs saw some rust needing to be knocked off. However, it felt like that carried further along than anticipated, given he came back in late November.
With extended time off with the first-round bye, Kansas City will have just over three weeks since he last suited up on Christmas Day. Do they think he will be more suited to handle a normal workload come playoff time? Or, do the Chiefs think it would be better to thrust him into specific situations? If he is fully healthy, the Chiefs can look for Pacheco to attempt to find those extra, hidden yards that he is so talented at doing.
Balanced Usage Could Benefit Chiefs For Long Playoff Run
Assuming Pacheco is as healthy as possible, a sense of balance could do the Chiefs wonders in the playoff run. Balancing the workloads of Pacheco and Hunt can be beneficial for a few different reasons. For starters, Kansas City has the ability to really wear opponents down later in games with two physical runners. The duo of Pacheco and Hunt are also capable of falling forward, while avoiding wasting time in space, keeping Kansas City on schedule and ahead of the sticks.
Any difference in usage for Pacheco and Hunt may depend on the area of the field. Pacheco's electricity is something that could help the Chiefs get away from the shadow of their own end zone, so to speak. When moving past midfield, or especially into the red zone, Hunt's ability to work through tight spaces is a nice element to have in your back pocket. Kansas City was much more efficient in the red zone this season. If the Chiefs can trust Hunt to grind out tough yards down low in that spot, they can also keep Pacheco fresh for early downs on their own side of the field.
An Underrated Piece In Critical Situations
Perine is such a valuable piece for a team like Kansas City. That is even more true in the postseason part of the calendar. He is not going to outshine anyone with pure ability. But by being a hard-working running back, along with his instincts, Perine can be an underrated weapon in critical situations.
The passing attempts to Perine towards the flats have simply been undefeated late in the year. He tallied 122 receiving yards since the start of December. And most of all, a lot of his catches come on simple swing routes. He can take many receptions for large chunks after the catch.
If you look at what he can do in pass protection, the value of Perine may even be higher there. He can help out a rough Chiefs' offensive tackle group with chip blocks. But even when standing in the pocket against incoming pass rushers, Perine is stronger than any running back that has filled that passing down role as a blocker for Kansas City. His work will surely not go unnoticed in the playoff run. More eyeballs on him will likely give him a chance at even more interest from the league in free agency this upcoming offseason.
Chiefs Can Pick Their Poison
The Chiefs have had some running backs be productive in past playoff runs with Mahomes and Reid. But when you look at this current group, there is nothing that should worry the Kansas City coaching staff. This trio can inject a jolt of momentum into the offensive on any snap. And when each yard matters that much more in a do-or-die game, any of these running backs can find that extra inch that may be necessary.
Seeing how Reid handles the usage is going to be intriguing, assuming all are fully healthy. But when it comes down to it, there is truly no wrong option to utilize at the position. The Chiefs can pick their poison to chew the clock, slow the game down, or balance it out. If Kansas City is going to get back to another Super Bowl, the running back room will be a vital engine in topping other AFC contenders.