KC Chiefs Have Mixed Feelings on Isiah Pacheco Penalty and Ejection
Despite turning it over on their previous offensive possession, the Kansas City Chiefs were still granted a late opportunity to complete a game-tying drive against the Green Bay Packers. Armed with over a minute on the clock but no timeouts, every move was vital. Every snap, every decision and every second mattered a ton.
With 57 seconds left in the contest, a first-and-10 pass went to Rashee Rice and picked up 10 yards. Officials on the field initially believed Rice fumbled and allowed the action to play out, although that ruling was ultimately reversed upon further review. That was the end of the good news for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense.
On the same play, running back Isiah Pacheco got into it with Packers defensive back Keisean Nixon. The second-year running back took a swing at Nixon while the "fumble" return ensued, thus drawing a penalty flag and a subsequent ejection.
After the game, head coach Andy Reid said he hadn't discussed the penalty with Pacheco but admitted that his running back has to keep a level head in that situation.
"He didn't tell me, I didn't talk to him," Reid said. "You can't do that. You've got to be more composed than that, even though the guy shoved his head into the dirt. You've got to stay composed."
It was an unfortunate decision by Pacheco, and it dug the offense into an even deeper hole than it was already in. Instead of maintaining possession at the 35-yard line and saving a good chunk of time and distance, the next set of downs began at midfield. Of the final seven offensive plays from then on, five of them were incomplete passes. Being pushed back undoubtedly had some sort of impact on the drive, making things more difficult than necessary.
The mistake also reflected poorly on Pacheco after what was a very impressive night for him. Before exiting the game, the former seventh-round pick had 18 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown. He also factored into the receiving game, hauling in three passes for 13 yards. For much of the contest, Kansas City went as Pacheco did on offense. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is well aware of that, and he contradicted Reid's immediate reaction just a bit. While still acknowledging that Pacheco needs to be better, Mahomes said he loves the emotion and juice that his halfback plays with.
"I love the fire from Pop, man," Mahomes said. "That gets us going as an offense. Obviously, it got a flag in the situation but I mean, we were already in a bad situation. I never want to take the passion away from a guy. He'll learn from it, I'm sure he won't make that mistake again. But that's the stuff that we need on this team in order to have the success that we want to have."
Moving forward, it's a relatively safe bet that Pacheco won't commit a similar mistake the rest of the way this season. It's also safe to assume that the Chiefs will take the good with the bad from their young running back. Countless other plays in the game impacted the outcome, so this specific one didn't directly lead to the loss. At the end of the day, Kansas City has to play a more cohesive and consistent brand of football to beat good teams. Losing yardage and players surely doesn't help; Pacheco knows that. His team does, too, with the two pillars of the organization having mixed thoughts on the process but similar thoughts on the result.
