With the Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff hopes likely riding on the team winning out, there is a large sense of desperation within the Chiefs locker room.
Entering Week 12 against the tough Indianapolis Colts, the Chiefs were (5-5) with all five of their losses coming in one-score games. The Colts were in control of Kansas City for much of the game, but the Chiefs battled back to steal a 23-20 overtime win with a game-winning field-goal from Harrison Butker.
In the week leading up to the game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes explained that he and the Chiefs get to write the story for the rest of their season, and it started with a meaningful comeback victory over a great team. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, several key players will miss their Week 13 matchup with the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.
Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith, tight end Noah Gray and cornerback Chris Roland-Wallace have been ruled out, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. However, the Chiefs are getting an important offensive player back from a knee injury that caused him to miss the last three games.
Starting running back Isiah Pacheco is set to return this week but it remains unclear what his workload will look like upon his return. Even if he is limited, he and backup running back Kareem Hunt should have a good day against a weak Cowboys run defense.
“The Chiefs' willingness to run the ball 41 times in Sunday's win over the Colts shows adaptability,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote Wednesday. “Kareem Hunt got 30 of those touches for 104 yards and a touchdown, but Isiah Pacheco is targeting a return to the lineup on Thanksgiving, giving him 10 days of rest on the back end for his knee injury.
“Though it's hard to envision him duplicating Hunt's Week 12 output this week, two things help Pacheco's cause: He thrives off volume, and he was the nitrous oxide for the Chiefs' offense during their Super Bowl run two years ago, with a playoff rushing line of 81-313-3 over four games. He's in a contract year, so the motivation is there. If Pacheco is past the injury bug, an uptick in workload and production isn't out of the question based on fresh legs and the Chiefs' obvious need for a stable rushing attack.”
Hunt stepped up in a big way in Pacheco’s absence, scoring a touchdown in each game to anchor the backfield, but his usage will go down with Pacheco back in the lineup.
Expect the Chiefs to run as a committee, but to feed the hot hand moving forward.