How Does The Loss of Isiah Pacheco Affect The Chiefs?

A Week 2 victory at the gun came with a significant cost for the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday afternoon. Star running back Isiah Pacheco went down with a fibula injury in the team’s 26-25 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, an event of note for Kansas sports betting and fans alike.

Now, K.C. is forced to go with undrafted free agent rookie Carson Steele and a stable of other running backs as Pacheco rides out his time on injured reserve. That will be a challenge for the franchise as Pacheco has more rushing yards (135) than the rest of the team combined (76) in two games this year.

With that in mind, BetKansas.com – where you’ll find the best Kansas sportsbook promo codes – wanted to see how the Chiefs have fared when Pacheco is unable to suit up in recent years. We broke down Kansas City’s offensive production in the three games he has missed since 2022.

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How Do Chiefs Perform When Isiah Pacheco Isn’t Active?

	With Pacheco	Without Pacheco
W-L Record	30-7	2-1
Win Percentage	.811	.667
Average PPG	25.8 PPG	19.0 PPG
Average Rush Yards	115.4 rushing yards	82.7 rushing yards

Pacheco has been a one-man tour de force out of the backfield for Andy Reid’s team; we will see whether the running back’s absence damages the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl odds. In two full seasons plus two games in 2024, Pacheco has posted an approximate value of 15 in 33 career games. He has gained 1,900 yards on 409 attempts with 13 scores for the Chiefs since joining the league as a seventh-round draft pick out of Rutgers in 2022.

Pacheco’s Absence Will Have Profound Impact on Chiefs’ Offense

Since entering the NFL three years ago, Pacheco has been the man for the franchise out of the backfield, helping to guide the Chiefs to a 30-7 (.811) record when he has played. That is compared with the Chiefs’ 2-1 (.666) mark without him on the field.

DraftKings Sportsbook Kansas has the Chiefs as the Super Bowl favorite at +450 odds as the franchise strives to be the first to win three consecutive titles in the Super Bowl era.

Kansas City’s offensive stats have been affected more than their record in the small sample of games that Pacheco has missed. The Chiefs have scored 6.8 fewer points per game higher without Pacheco (19.0 ppg) than with him (25.8). With Pacheco, their rushing yardage average has 32.7 yards per game higher (115.4 YPG, versus 82.7 YPG without him). That gives a good snapshot of the value that Pacheco adds to Reid’s high-paced offense on a yearly basis.

For now, the Chiefs will have to learn how to win without their third year running back. DraftKings does not not seeing much of an issue this weekend, with K.C. listed as a 4.5-point road favorite over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 of the NFL regular season on Sunday afternoon. See our guide to the best Chiefs betting sites for more information.

USA Today photo by Jay Biggerstaff

Author

Christopher Boan

@cgboan

Christopher Boan is a lead writer at BetKansas.com specializing in covering state issues. He covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years.