Shocking Fantasy News For One Chiefs Play-Maker After Week 1

Not too much went right for the Kansas City Chiefs in their 2025 NFL season opener. They lost to the Los Angeles Chargers, 21-27, and had many of their ugly holes exposed during the league's debut night in Brazil. They even gained another one with Travis Kelce accidentally knocking Xavier Worthy out of the game with a dislocated shoulder, which could leave their wide receiver corps severely depleted until Rashee Rice returns from suspension.

As expected, the defense looked severely diminished compared to their performances in the past two years. They allowed LA to rack up nearly 400 total yards and failed to get a stop to give Patrick Mahomes and the offense another chance to win the game.

Another major letdown for the Chiefs was their ground game, or lack thereof. They played from behind for most of the night, leading to just 17 rushes for 98 yards. Six of the attempts and 57 of the yards came from Mahomes. Week 1 was highly discouraging for Isiah Pacheco's fantasy owners in particular.

Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, NFL, Isiah Pacheco, Da'Shawn Hand — Sep 5, 2025; Sao Paulo, BRAZIL; Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) runs against Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Da'Shawn Hand (91) in the first quarter during a NFL game at Corinthians Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jean Carniel/Reuters via Imagn Images | Jean Carniel/Reuters via Imagn Images

Isiah Pacheco will bounce back

After an offseason of hype, with reports that Isiah Pacheco was back to his peak physical form after fracturing his fibula last year, he didn't do much to justify the optimism surrounding his game against the Los Angeles Chargers. He carried the ball just five times for 25 yards, 10 of which came on a single run, and had just three yards on two catches.

Not only did he fail to produce, but his usage was also alarming. Kareem Hunt tallied the same number of attempts while appearing in all of Kansas City's third-down singleback looks. That suggests that Pacheco isn't just in a committee, but might be in an evenly split one moving forward. Pro Football Focus' Nathan Jahnke isn't ready to give up on him yet, though:

"Pacheco played the clear majority of snaps on early downs. Smith also mixed in and was the primary backup on early downs, with Hunt still staying somewhat involved. Hunt took over as the third-down back, which is a role he held with the Cleveland Browns. While Perine was consistently playing in the two-minute drill last season, it was Pacheco who took all of the snaps in the two-minute drill to end the first half. Typically, if a team has a clear early-down back who is also playing in the two-minute drill, they are a must-start fantasy player."

Isiah Pacheco fantasy managers watching the Chiefs use Kareem Hunt in short yardage situations pic.twitter.com/v6qLoYAz0m
— Yahoo Fantasy Sports (@YahooFantasy) September 6, 2025

"...they also didn’t favor Hunt over Pacheco in short-yardage in the past, either. I would be inclined to say this was simply how this game played out, and that Pacheco will see more short-yardage and, particularly, goal-line opportunities in the future.

This didn’t play out in the box score, as the Chiefs were constantly playing from behind. However, we expect them to be leading in most games, which should lead to more opportunities for Pacheco. He is a player to buy low after this week."

Pacheco had a poor outing against a strong defense. That isn't any reason to hit the panic button. He should have a much easier time in lesser matchups, especially with Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice unavailable for the foreseeable future.

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