KC Chiefs exhibit Super Bowl upside and self-destructive issues vs Dolphins

The Chiefs use of Isiah Pacheco (Good and Bad)

Isiah Pacheco ended the day with 16 rushes for 66 yards. On the season Pacheco is averaging a little over 58 yards per game. He's been a nice piece of the offense, but not someone the Chiefs seem willing to lean on. I understand that when you have Patrick Mahomes running an Andy Reid offense, the passing game is going to be the heart and soul of the unit. However, more of a commitment to using Pacheco and the running game would help the passing game.

The split second where a defender hesitates out of respect for the run is often enough in the NFL to give a receiver the chance he needs to create some separation and earn a target. For a receiving group that hasn't been able to do that consistently enough, a better rushing attack could go a long way to helping the problem.

On the Chiefs' 17-play touchdown drive that took over 8:00 minutes off the clock in the 2nd quarter, K.C. ran the ball six times, including five carries for Pacheco. That represented over 30% of his carries in this game on that one drive. When you combine five Pacheco runs with completed passes to five different targets and mix in a couple of Mahomes scrambles, you have a recipe K.C. can use to extend drives and convert in the red zone.

Yes, the Chiefs have to find a rhythm in the passing game that utilizes multiple pass catchers, but keeping Isiah Pacheco involved has to be part of the equation as well. Sometimes Andy has a tendency to get away from the run when the passing game is struggling and I think we saw at times in this game that the best thing they can do in that situation is commit to running the ball.

Now let's talk about the one area where I have no positives to mention for this game.