Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said after Wednesday's 29-10 win at Pittsburgh that Pacheco "dinged his ribs," and the team will "see how bad they are" in the coming days, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports. Pacheco couldn't get much going in the Christmas Day matchup, turning six carries into 18 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter. Fellow running backs Kareem Hunt (nine carries for 20 yards and one touchdown) and Samaje Perine (four touches for 29 total yards) also found the sledding tough against the Steelers defense, but both players could experience an uptick in usage if Pacheco has to sit out Week 18 at Denver. Considering the Chiefs locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC with Wednesday's victory, the team likely won't risk the health of one of their key contributors and instead focus on getting Pacheco healthy for the divisional round.
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Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said after Wednesday's 29-10 win at Pittsburgh that Pacheco "dinged his ribs," and the team will "see how bad they are" in the coming days, Pete Sweeney of ArrowheadPride.com reports. Pacheco couldn't get much going in the Christmas Day matchup, turning six carries into 18 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter. Fellow running backs Kareem Hunt (nine carries for 20 yards and one touchdown) and Samaje Perine (four touches for 29 total yards) also found the sledding tough against the Steelers defense, but both players could experience an uptick in usage if Pacheco has to sit out Week 18 at Denver. Considering the Chiefs locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC with Wednesday's victory, the team likely won't risk the health of one of their key contributors and instead focus on getting Pacheco healthy for the divisional round.
Pacheco was forced out of Wednesday's game against the Steelers due to a rib injury. Prior to exiting the game, Pacheco carried six times for 18 yards. In Pacheco's absence, Kareem Hunt will likely operate as Kansas City's lead back, with Samaje Perine and Carson Steele on hand as depth options.
Pacheco had nine carries for 26 yards while catching one of two targets for minus-1 yard in Saturday's 27-19 win over the Texans. Pacheco got the majority of touches in Kansas City's backfield early on but didn't find much success, so Kareem Hunt got more involved as the game went along. Hunt was far more effective, producing 79 scrimmage yards and a touchdown on 11 carries and three targets. Pacheco's still searching for his first score since Week 1, though a fractured fibula suffered in Week 2 has limited him to only six appearances this season. Hunt and Pacheco will likely continue to split carries against the Steelers on Christmas.
Pacheco rushed 13 times for 32 yards and brought in his only target for 15 yards in the Chiefs' 21-7 win over the Browns on Sunday. Pacheco and backfield mate Kareem Hunt finished with the same number of carries, one week after Pacheco appeared to reclaim his lead-back role with 16 totes against the Chargers. Hunt actually outgained Pacheco by 13 yards and one target, although the latter did more with his one pass-catching opportunity. The division of labor in the ground attack during a tough Week 16 home matchup Saturday afternoon against the Texans will therefore be interesting to monitor, and if star signal-caller Patrick Mahomes were to miss that game with the ankle injury he suffered Sunday, it could be even tougher sledding on the ground for either back.
Pacheco rushed 14 times for 55 yards while catching two of four targets for six yards in Sunday's 19-17 win over the Chargers. Pacheco returned to the clear-cut lead role in his second game back from a fractured fibula, as Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine combined for just eight touches. After posting 189 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in two games prior to the injury, Pacheco has 110 total yards without a score in two games since returning. Pacheco will look to pick up the pace in Week 15 against the Browns.
Pacheco (ankle) took seven carries for 44 yards and caught his only target for five receiving yards in Friday's 19-17 win over the Raiders. Pacheco made a successful return from a nine-game layoff due to an ankle injury that occurred back in Week 2. The explosive back looked the part after averaging 6.3 yards per carry while tying fill-in starter Kareem Hunt with seven carries in Friday's slim win. Both backs figure to remain involved with a head coach as creative as Andy Reid, but Pacheco is certainly the back with the upward trending arrow on his fantasy stock. For now, consider both Chiefs playable options heading into an important divisional matchup against the Chargers next Sunday.
The Chiefs have activated Pacheco (ankle) from IR ahead of Friday's game against the Raiders. Pacheco doesn't carry a designation on the Chiefs' Week 13 injury report, which sets the stage for him to see his first game action since suffering a fractured fibula during Week 2 action. In his looming return to the lineup, it remains to be seen how heavy of a workload Pacheco will be handed after his extended absence, but it's plausible that he could be eased back into the mix to a degree, with Kareem Hunt, who has been filling in as the team's starting RB, also on hand.
Pacheco (ankle) was a full participant in practice Wednesday. The injury report was released about two hours after Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said that only a late setback would stop Pacheco from playing Friday against the Raiders. The running back has missed nine straight games since suffering a fractured fibula Week 2, with Kareem Hunt emerging as a reliable fantasy starter in his absence. Reid hasn't commented on workload expectations for Friday in what likely will be Pacheco's first game back on the field. Expect the Chiefs to formally activate Pacheco from injured reserve following their final practice of the week Thursday.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid confirmed Wednesday that Pacheco (ankle) will play Friday against the Raiders unless he suffers a setback this week, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports. Listed as a limited participant in each practice the past two weeks, Pacheco upgraded to full participation Tuesday and now is expected to get activated from injured reserve and play for the first time since Week 2. Reid hasn't said if Pacheco is likely to get his usual workload Friday or if he'll yield touches to Kareem Hunt, who served as the Chiefs' lead back during Pacheco's absence.