The Kansas City Chiefs managed to eke out a 22-17 win against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night, and they proved an important point in the process.
One of the biggest questions entering the game centered around the injury absence of Isiah Pacheco. The former 2022 NFL draft pick has been a pivotal part of the Chiefs’ offense for the last two seasons, contributing to countless key plays with his tough and energetic running style. With an extended injury absence ahead, the Chiefs had to prove that they could still move the ball on the ground effectively with undrafted rookie Carson Steele and newcomer Samaje Perine as the primary ball carriers.
They established relatively quickly that they could pound the rock with or without Pacheco.
In the two games with Pacheco this season, the Chiefs had 54 carries for rushing 259 rushing yards. That comes out to 4.8 yards per carry. In the sole game without Pacheco, there were 33 carries for 128 yards, which comes out to 3.9 yards per carry. If we’re considering just Pacheco himself this season vs. a backfield of Steele and Perine in Week 3, it’s 3.9 yards per carry to 4.2 yards per carry difference.
Asked whether he was surprised with the performance he got out of the running game given the unknowns, Mahomes put it straight.
“I’m not,” Mahomes said after the game. “I mean, I think both those guys (Carson Steele and Samaje Perine) have practiced hard. I had a lot of trust there. Obviously you lose some of that juice that Isiah (Pacheco) has. I mean, there’s not a lot of people that are that fired up after every run and can run like that. I thought the guys did a great job.”
One aspect that often gets overlooked in a running back change is the offensive line. The Chiefs didn’t sway from their mix of zone runs and gap runs. Mahomes says the O-Line took it upon themselves to ensure there was little drop-off without Pacheco on the field. They only allowed a single tackle for loss on the day, which just goes to show how locked in that group was.
“I think the O-Line took it upon themselves to accept the challenge,” Mahomes continued. “And I mean, if you saw how the game went in those long drives, their defense was staying back, and they were going to force us to run the football and throw it short. And we did that good enough to get the win.”
This is not to say the Chiefs aren’t lacking a little something in the running game. The biggest run of the day was a 15-yard scramble from Patrick Mahomes, so they’re still missing an explosive element. However, the efficiency is still at a good point and was even slightly better in Week 3 against the Falcons. This is all without RB Kareem Hunt, who could potentially make the Chiefs’ backfield a three-headed monster when he’s ready to be elevated from the practice squad.
