The Kansas City Chiefs’ running back problems seem to be never-ending. Since the start of last season, the Chiefs have had one of the worst ground games in the entire league, with an uninspiring running back room failing to inspire confidence. Isiah Pacheco was supposed to be the guy long-term after the team found a steal in the seventh round.
However, a fractured fibula caused him to miss 11 weeks last season, and he hasn’t looked the same since his return. As the rest of the offense looks to round into shape, the running game remains a problem for Kansas City, with its Week 5 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars serving as yet another example.
What Happened to Isiah Pacheco?
In the game against Jacksonville, though, Pacheco’s case has been a curious one. Rather than his inability, the Chiefs’ first-half game plan relied heavily on the passing game, with 17 passing attempts compared to just six carries.
Pacheco, on his end, has gone on the ground just once, racking off a rare 16-yard run. It marked the longest rush for any player on the Kansas City roster outside of Mahomes himself or the recently reinstated Xavier Worthy.
Grande corrida de Isiah Pacheco movendo as correntes para os @Chiefs! #ChiefsKingdom
📺: #KCvsJAX | @ESPNBrasil pic.twitter.com/x6NSHXD4PB
— NFL Brasil (@NFLBrasil) October 7, 2025
With the focus on the passing game, Pacheco did haul in a catch as well, albeit for just four yards. The Chiefs gave him the ball in the second half, and at the time of writing, he had four carries for 30 yards, averaging an impressive 7.5 yards per carry.
Kansas City trailed 21-14 after an interception from Patrick Mahomes was returned for a touchdown by Devin Lloyd.
A true diamond in the rough for the Chiefs, he quickly earned a starting role in his rookie season. Recording 830 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, he also added 130 receiving yards. It immediately made him the full-time starter going into his second season, where he had 935 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games.
Adding 244 yards through the air, his true value shone in the playoffs, when he tallied 313 rushing yards in the Chiefs’ four games. But the fractured fibula severely hampered his numbers last season.
Starting the season with 135 rushing yards through the first two games, he only managed 175 yards in his next five outings, going for more than 50 yards just once. In the playoffs, those numbers took another dip, as he tallied just 37 yards on the ground in three games.
The second half did see him get involved a lot more in the offense. Getting six more carries, he added 20 rushing yards to his total, alongside two more catches for 16 yards through the air.
By the end of the night, he had seven carries for 36 yards to go along with three catches worth 20 receiving yard.