Isiah Pacheco Targeting Return Against Cowboys On Thursday

The long-awaited return of running back Isiah Pacheco will happen this week when the Kansas City Chiefs take the field to play the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving this Thursday, according to a source cited by Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. 

Pacheco’s return is much-anticipated and greatly needed. The Chiefs have been teasing his return for a couple of weeks now, but it was more or less known that it would take until the end of the month for Pacheco to come back from an injury that’s been reported as an MCL sprain. 

Running back Kareem Hunt shouldered the load in the meantime, especially in Sunday’s home win against the Indianapolis Colts. Hunt carried 30 times for 104 yards and a touchdown, and it’s likely that Pacheco will get most of the carries against the Cowboys. 

The strategy and timing with this injury as been intriguing, to say the least. Pacheco practiced multiple times last week before the Colts contest, but coach Andy Reid decided he didn’twant the running back to play two games in a five-day stretch. 

"I think he's coming out pretty good," Reid said Friday of Pacheco. "I think that's a plus."

The Chiefs also added a depth piece to their running back room, signing running back Dameon Pierce to their practice squad after Pierce was released by the Texans last week. The three-year veteran rushed ten times for 26 yards this week, and the Chiefs are hoping Pierce can make his Chiefs debut against the Texans. 

At 5’10”, 215 pounds, Pierce is almost the same size as Hunt, so it makes sense he’ll be slotting in behind Hunt, who usually works primarily as Kansas City’s short-yardage back. If Pierce works out, he would give the Chiefs more versatility at a position where they’ve been thin for most of the year. 

As for Pacheco, he was averaging 4.2 yards per carry before his latest injury, and the Chiefs would love to get something resembling that level of production against Dallas on Thursday. Pacheco will also have to be sharp as a pass blocker given that the Cowboys have recently beefed up their pass rush with a couple of deadline deals that are yielding impressive results. 

It all adds up to an entertaining game between two teams that are well short of where they expected to be at this point in the season, and it will be Interesting to see how the injuries figure into whatever happens.