Isiah Pacheco Faces Backlash for Mental Lapses and Mistakes in Chiefs' Win
While the Kansas City Chiefs did manage to secure a 13-point victory in Week 3, it was far from the prettiest of wins. Several players fell short at various points in the game, and running back Isiah Pacheco was no different.
In fact, the fourth-year halfback is being criticized as much as anyone in the aftermath.
Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco Roasted After Rough Week 3 Sequence
The lowest point for Pacheco came in the second quarter of play. After getting taken off course, the veteran halfback opened his hips the wrong way to face Kansas City’s own end zone. Upon feeling pressure, quarterback Patrick Mahomes then attempted an ill-advised pass in Pacheco’s direction.
Under normal circumstances, the pass would simply fall in Pacheco’s vicinity and be ruled an incompletion. Because Pacheco was well behind the line of scrimmage, however, it went down as a second-and-10 fumble for the visitors.
That set up a third-and-25 and head coach Andy Reid effectively giving up on the drive. The next play was a Kareem Hunt draw for six yards, setting up a punt and change of possession.
Speaking of Hunt, he got a lot of the money carries for the Chiefs. When they needed short-yardage conversions on late downs or entered goal line scenarios, they opted for the 30-year-old over Pacheco. That’s led many to speculate what the latter’s true value to the offense, as well as frustrated fantasy football owners, is.
A separate backwards pass from Mahomes was also in Pacheco’s general area. He’s lucky that his spike of the football was saved by a blown whistle to signal the end of the play. Otherwise, the Giants could’ve recovered a fumble and gained momentum.
Patrick Mahomes Comments on Backwards Pass & Andy Reid Praises Pacheco
After the conclusion of Sunday’s game, Mahomes shouldered the blame for mental lapses in judgment.
“Yeah, I kept throwing the ball backwards,” Mahomes said. “That’s not good. Just letting the rush get to me a little bit and then trying to kind of throw it without looking to see if the guy’s actually in the spot we’ve got to get to. Obviously, did it once. I knew immediately it was backwards. You could tell I’m running to go recover the ball even though they had blown the whistle. Secondly, did it again. I don’t think I’ve done it maybe ever in my career, so to do it twice in kind of a short span like that.”
Head coach Andy Reid, contrary to many folks who watched the game from home, felt that Pacheco did a solid job.
“I was probably the most happy for Pacheco coming home and putting up a 4.5 yard-per-carry shot out there, which was good,” Reid said.
In some ways, this can be viewed as Pacheco’s best game of the year. On his 10 carries, the former seventh-round pick managed to gain 45 yards. He also had a few chunk runs where he followed his blockers and created positive gains for Kansas City. Those 45 yards marked his most since Week 14 of last season.
According to rbsdm.com, the Chiefs posted a 50% success rate when Pacheco toted the football. That’s generally in line with his career average of 53.8%. After consecutive games of downright terrible non-Mahomes rushing production, Kansas City took a step in the right direction.
It’s telling that the bar for improvement is set that low, though. Pacheco still struggled with consistency and vision. That’s without even tying in his lack of awareness on the Sunday Night Football stage.
Steelers’ Biggest Week 3 Win Is Flying Under the Radar
Hitting the road rarely makes for an easy outing in the NFL, especially against a feisty opponent within the conference. The Pittsburgh Steelers were reminded of that once again in Week 3, although they found a way to get back in the win column.
The biggest story from Sunday’s 21-14 triumph over the, however, isn’t getting mentioned enough. Pittsburgh did a much better job of keeping quarterback Aaron Rodgers safe, doing so against a good New England Patriots pass rush.
Rodgers certainly appreciates those efforts.
Aaron Rodgers Praises Offensive Line for Week 3 Efforts
Speaking to the media on Sunday afternoon, Rodgers credited the front five and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith for executing a quality plan.
“It’s a group effort, and I’ve tried to take accountability the last couple weeks on sacks that were probably my fault,” Rodgers said. “Today, I moved around just enough. There are some things to clean up, but I have a lot of confidence in those guys and that Art [Smith] did a good job keeping them off balance with some different protection schemes and some moving the pocket stuff. I thought those guys played well. They were a little upset after last week. They played with a better attitude this week.”
For the first time since 2022, Rodgers didn’t get sacked at least once. According to Next Gen Stats, no lineman surrendered more than a single pressure. Although Pro Football Focus disagrees — left tackle Broderick Jones got credited with two — it’s splitting hairs. For the most part, Rodgers was able to complete his assignment without deterrence.
Don’t get it twisted: nothing was perfect. Rodgers was certainly hit on multiple occasions, with linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson managing to do so twice. The future Hall of Fame quarterback also maintained a low average depth of target (5.1 yards) on the afternoon. That naturally fosters a more efficient and quick environment for passing the ball.
Still, it’s important to keep context in mind. Rodgers was downright dreadful against pressure in Week 2’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. New England’s pass rush entered Week 3 leading the NFL in sacks with nine. Pittsburgh will chalk this one up as a victory within a victory.
Steelers Still Searching for Right Balance on Offense Entering Week 4
There’s definitely still plenty to work on, though. Despite coming away with a seven-point win, the Steelers averaged just 4.1 yards per play on offense. The Patriots mustered 5.2. If not for five turnovers (including four fumbles), who knows how successful the Drake Maye-led offense would’ve been. There’s an argument to be made that Pittsburgh’s Sunday-specific plan and subsequent execution don’t make for a sustainable path for wins.
In the passing game, Rodgers must strike a balance between assertiveness and smart play. He’s put the ball in harm’s way a bit too frequently on the year. He’s also still establishing chemistry with targets like wide receiver DK Metcalf. The emergence of Calvin Austin III for a late-game touchdown is nice, yet the overall talent level of the group remains in question.
The Steelers must also find more avenues to success on the ground. On 26 attempts in Week 3, they managed all of 64 yards. Averaging 2.5 yards per carry, with starter Jaylen Warren averaging 2.6, is dreadful. According to rbsdm.com, Pittsburgh posted a 49th percentile EPA/play mark on all rushing plays but ranked in the 32nd percentile on early-down runs. Per SumerSports, they rank 27th in rush EPA/play on the season.
Upcoming challenges against two premier defenses, the Minnesota Vikings before the bye and the Cleveland Browns after it, will be true tests.
