The Kansas City Chiefs offense hasn't been as cool and crisp as it has been in past seasons, as their 9-0 record has overshadowed some iffy results thanks to a lack of wide receiver talent, poor running game, and outdated schematic plans from offensive coordinator Matt Nagy.
The Chiefs skirted by with a win by the slimmest of margins against the Denver Broncos, but their frustrations on offense were laid bare. Most notably, the downgrade from Isiah Pacheco, who has missed the last few games with a leg injury, to Kareem Hunt has taken some of the sting out of this team's attack.
Luckily for Patrick Mahomes, it seems that they managed to survive without Pacheco just long enough to stay at the top of the AFC. With a matchup against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills coming down the road, the Chiefs have some cavalry coming at a very opportune time.
Pacheco has been taken off injured reserve, which should put him in line to reclaim his starting job away from Hunt. The last thing the rest of the league needed to see was a 9-0 team somehow getting even stronger with their top running back coming back into the fold.
Kansas City Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco activated from IR
While Hunt has done a fairly average job replacing Pacheco in the starting lineup, it's not unreasonable for the Chiefs to send him to the bench after the aging running back averaged just 3.6 yards per carry in six games. Hunt looked much slower and stiffer than he did during his first stint with the team.
Pacheco, who tallied over 2,100 yards from scrimmage to go along with 14 touchdowns during his first two seasons, looked productive during the first two games of the 2024 campaign before injuring his fibula in a win against the Cincinnati Bengals. His hard-charging style was sorely missed by this Kansas City offense.
While Pacheco might not be what takes the passing game from good to great this year, the combination of his return and the integration of DeAndre Hopkins into the offense might give this unit the electricity it lacked in the first half of the season.
Pacheco is not going to turn into Walter Payton, but he is a rock-solid back who runs hard an grinds out the tough yards against quality opponents. As the rest of the league should know at this point, anything good for Patrick Mahomes is bad for opposing defenses.