As effective as the Kansas City Chiefs have been out of the backfield this season, it'd be easy to think the unit has been healthy and deep the entire season—at least through the first 10 weeks of the season. That only makes the job done by those trying their best to fill in for Isiah Pacheco all the more amazing in 2024.
The Chiefs have been without Pacheco, their top running back and leading rusher for each of the last two seasons, since Week 2,. That was when the third-year back suffered a fractured fibula and was lost for several weeks after the team placed him on injured reserve (IR).
Given the amount of other offensive losses (including wide receivers Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster as well as tight ends Jody Fortson and Jared Wiley), the injury to Pacheco would have broken other units. However, Patrick Mahomes and company have been able to keep rolling for the most part thanks to the defense keeping things close and a handful of new additions helping to fill the gaps.
The Kansas City Chiefs running back has been missing in action since Week 2.
What should have complicated the loss of Pacheco for a half-season was the absence of Clyde Edwards-Helaire as well to start the season. However, general manager Brett Veach made some savvy acquisitions of Samaje Perine before the season and Kareem Hunt before Week 3 to keep the chains moving despite the change in personnel.
The Chiefs recently were able to activate Pacheco from injured reserve, which meant the team now had 21 days within which they could see him in practice in order to better assess his readiness before making the final decision to bring him back to the active roster. Within that window, the Chiefs could also decide that Pacheco was not ready and send him to IR for good.
Of course, that's not in anyone's interest and Pacheco is on track to join the Chiefs soon—just not this weekend. The Chiefs visit Orchard Park on Sunday to face the Buffalo Bills, but head coach Andy Reid stated earlier this week that Pacheco is not quite ready yet, so he'll have to wait another game before joining his new teammates in the backfield.
The good news is that Smith-Schuster is back for the Chiefs in Week 11, which at least will help stop some of the bleeding from so many injuries. Of course, the Chiefs also announced that kicker Harrison Butker would miss the next month after requiring meniscus surgery on his left knee.
So the Chiefs will once again lean on Hunt and rookie Carson Steele to carry the load in Week 11 with the hopes that Pacheco can join them and ease the burden off a bit with a visit to the Carolina Panthers in Week 12.