Kansas City’s biggest backfield threat should be a go with a Super Bowl LVIII berth on the line.
Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco is expected to play in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens despite ankle and toe injuries, NFL Network’s James Palmer reported Saturday night, per a source.
Pacheco sat out practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he managed limited participation on Friday — something Palmer reported was the plan going into the week — and the positive momentum appears to be continuing to game day.
The hard-running back has been a difference maker for the Chiefs throughout his dynamic second year in the league.
He tallied 935 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, with another 244 yards and two scores on 44 catches, in 14 regular-season games played, and he’s been a menace in the playoff thus far.
Pacheco has scored a rushing touchdown in each of Kansas City’s two postseason games and has contributed 186 yards on the ground.
An underrated part of Patrick Mahomes‘ offense, Pacheco carried the rock 24 times in the Chiefs’ wild-card win versus the Dolphins, and he contributed all but two of the team’s RB carries last week against the Bills.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who handled the other two rushing attempts, will likely again spell Pacheco occasionally and need to be ready should either of the 24-year-old’s injuries flare up to cause problems during the game.
With Pacheco active, Kansas City will better be able to attack Baltimore’s only discernable weakness on defense. The Ravens boast the league’s top-ranked scoring unit and rank sixth in passing defense, but they’re middle of the road, 14th, against the run.
The Chiefs and Ravens kick off in Baltimore at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
