The Kansas City Chiefs tied a franchise record for wins to start a season with a narrow win over Denver in Week 10. This week, Kansas City heads on the road for a huge matchup against the Buffalo Bills (8-2) with a chance to move to 10-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The Chiefs have relied on their fifth-ranked scoring defense and opportunistic offense to jump out to their best start in the Patrick Mahomes era. They’re 11th in scoring on offense but are converting an NFL-best 52% of third down attempts.
One area the offense is lacking is in the run game. Kansas City ranks 21st in the league in rushing yards, its lowest mark since 2019. A key reason why is the absence of Isiah Pacheco, the team’s leading rusher the last two seasons who hasn’t been on the field since Week 2 due to a fractured right fibula.
With him out, the Chiefs have relied on a rotation of Kareem Hunt, Carson Steele, and Samaje Perine. Here’s the latest on Pacheco’s status ahead of the Chiefs’ key Week 11 matchup.
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Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week that the team plans to move Pacheco from injured reserve. That would open a 21-day window for Pacheco to return to the field. Reid said in his Monday press conference that Pacheco, wide reciever JuJu Smith-Schuster, and defensive lineman Charles Omenihu could all be back in practice this week.
“Listen, I think they’re all close,” Reid said. “I’d probably tell you (Smith-Schuster) closer than the other two, but I would tell you that – we might have them out there, we’ll just see how it goes here (Monday) and (Tuesday). They’re very close, all three of them.”
Kansas City will have its first practice ahead of the game against the Bills on Wednesday. If Pacheco is on the field and practicing for that, it could go a long way towards him making his return Sunday in Buffalo.
Pacheco was injured in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals on a 1-yard carry on the final drive of the game. He was sandwiched by three Bengals defenders and Steele closed the game out at running back for the Chiefs.
Pacheco was later seen with crutches and in a walking boot.
A fractured fibula takes between four to eight weeks to recover, depending on the severity. Pacheco coming back onto the field over the next couple of weeks is in line with a more severe fracture.
In two games, Pacheco has 34 carries for 135 yards and one touchdown as well as seven catches for 54 yards. He’s led the Chiefs in rushing in his first two years in the NFL with the following totals:
2022 (17 games): 170 carries, 830 yards, five touchdowns; 13 catches, 130 yards
2023 (14 games): 205 carries, 935 yards, seven touchdowns; 44 catches, 244 yards, two touchdowns
The Chiefs signed Hunt three days after Pacheco’s injury and he’s led the way ever since. Here’s how the full depth chart looks:
The Chiefs also have running back Keaontay Ingram signed to the practice squad.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When will Isiah Pacheco return? Latest injury updates on Chiefs RB
