Isiah Pacheco Continues To Gain More Trust Within Chiefs Offense
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Ever since the middle of last season, Isiah Pacheco has been the lead running back in the Kansas City Chiefs offense. He has been able to wow with his power, ability to bounce off contact and intense running style. But more importantly, the Rutgers product has begun to gain more trust and can be counted on at any moment within the Chiefs offense. Last week, Pacheco was the biggest difference in Kansas City’s victory. His workload has also been growing, the more that he continues to have success.
Overall, Isiah Pacheco has been seen as the perfect style of running back for this current Chiefs offense. KC has usually leaned on more shifty and nimble rushers under this regime. Yet, this tougher, more hard-nosed running back gives the Chiefs the different kind of pace they need.
Recently, the trends show that the more Isiah Pacheco receives touches, the greater the overall offensive day for Kansas City. With the Chiefs being able to trust him at any moment, they know that the running back can close out any game. Let’s kick it off.
Offensive Teammates Motivated By Young Running Back
To say that Isiah Pacheco gives the Chiefs offense a jolt of energy, that would be an understatement. This is something that can be felt through the screen when watching a Kansas City game live. Whenever he gets in the open field, every step seemingly looks like the first one out of the blocks, so to speak. It must feel like the ground is shaking when Pacheco takes off, while still being able to change direction swiftly and be nimble.
All told, Isiah Pacheco and his play style is being recognized at every turn. That is especially true, given how his offensive teammates talk about him in Kansas City. Chiefs guard Trey Smith discussed the interesting moment where Pacheco did a few push-ups last Sunday and how that was motivating.
“That’s Pop. That’s why we love him,” Smith said. “When you see your back over doing push-ups, I’m like, ‘Damn, I’m a little tired, but I need to block harder for Pop.’ It’s always a good thing when you have an energetic running back.”
Patrick Mahomes was also aware of how much this last game meant to Isiah Pacheco. The New Jersey native was back playing in his home state for the first time in the NFL. Mahomes talked about the added focus of Pacheco last week.
“I could see it from the first snap,” Mahomes stated. “You could see it in his eyes. He did a great job. He made some big runs when we really needed them.”
Andy Reid Recognizes Pacheco’s Immense Impact
In this past game, the running game had to be able to create a spark. Chunk gains were absolutely necessary for the Chiefs to emerge victorious. Given the issues of the passing game and the play of New York’s secondary, the Jets were forced to corral Isiah Pacheco. It was not like their defense was unable to complete run fits or be in position to make stops. Nonetheless, Pacheco was able to find extra, hidden yards on plenty of runs. Head coach Andy Reid was appreciative of his hard running in that Sunday night game.
“Yeah, consistency is what you’re looking for. Obviously, when people know that you’re a good player, you know they’re going to try new things to stop you. So it’s important that the offensive line and tight ends are here on the same page, and they all do their job and make things happen,” Reid said. “But the one thing you’re gonna get from him, he’s gonna go 100 miles an hour and run hard every time he gets an opportunity. Whether he catches it or runs it, he’s going hard.”
Reid also mentioned that Isiah Pacheco is a high-octane player at every moment. This is not limited to only a few moments within a game. Additionally, it has been talked about how intense of a runner Pacheco can be, even in practice.
Able To Be Counted On
We mentioned above, the workload of Isiah Pacheco has been growing. This has been increasing each week so far this season. On one hand, he is having success seemingly every time he touches the rock. Meanwhile, Pacheco has also proved that he can close out games, get those tough yards for necessary first downs and has improved as a pass catcher. That allows for the Kansas City Chiefs offense and coaching staff to lean on him and count on him heavily, as a result.
His rushing attempts went up at least a few times each game this year. His carries went from eight to 12 after Week 2. In Week 3, Isiah Pacheco totaled 15 carries. He finally tallied 20 carries last Sunday. He has averaged 4.91 yards per carry so far this season. And in some games this year, Pacheco generated plus rushing yards over expected, according to Next Gen Stats. That is based on the difference between actual rushing yards and expected rushing yards on an individual play.
If those strong results continue for Isiah Pacheco, the Chiefs offense can begin to churn out games in a variety of ways. That is crucial as the season gets deeper for Kansas City. When you look at opponents on the schedule late in the season, the Chiefs will continue to trust Pacheco to be a major difference maker.
Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.
– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.
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