{"id":46998,"date":"2025-05-09T07:41:34","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T07:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=46998"},"modified":"2025-05-09T07:41:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T07:41:34","slug":"alert-chiefs-critics-warn-of-emerging-weakness-that-could-derail-season-%f0%9f%9a%a8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=46998","title":{"rendered":"ALERT: Chiefs Critics Warn of Emerging Weakness That Could Derail Season \ud83d\udea8"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Chiefs<\/p>\n

he offseason for the Kansas City Chiefs has been primarily dominated by the need to fortify the offensive line.<\/p>\n

That has been done to a degree with Jaylon Moore signed in free agency and Josh Simmons drafted in the first round, but what is happening behind them?<\/p>\n

Is there a collective trouble spot?<\/p>\n

The Chiefs’ run game last season wasn’t good, ranking 26th for yards per game (101.2). Yes, injuries played a role, with\u00a0I<\/a>siah Pacheco\u00a0missing the majority of the season, leaving Kareen Hunt to pick up the slack.<\/p>\n

And projecting what the room could be in 2025, CBS Sports has put all running back rooms into seven tiers, and the Chiefs come in Tier five, called “Injury Concerns.”<\/p>\n

“The Kansas City Chiefs had an interesting season in the backfield,”\u00a0CBS Sports writes. The club lost starting back Isiah Pacheco in Week 2 due to a fractured fibula and wasn’t able to return until Week 13. Even when he got back on the field, however, he was used sparingly. In his five regular-season games played after returning, Pacheco registered 49 rushing attempts for 175 yards.<\/p>\n

“In the playoffs, he ran the ball a total of 13 times over three games for 37 yards. Veteran Kareem Hunt took over the bulk of the carries down the stretch, but it will be interesting to see how Pacheco carves back into the rotation in 2025 now that he’s healthy.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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So a lot will depend on how healthy Pacheco is. Additionally, the Chiefs signed speedster\u00a0Elijah Mitchell\u00a0in free agency, but like Pacheco, he has an injury cloud hanging over him, having missed the entire 2024 season with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n

So Pacheco and Mitchell are concerns, and then we have the ever-reliable Hunt, who keeps plodding along as the trio\u00a0Patrick Mahomes<\/a>\u00a0will turn to in order to get some resemblance of a run game in 2025.<\/p>\n

Will that be enough for the offense to function better than it did a year ago? After all, we know a good run game takes the pressure off a quarterback, and Mahomes needs to feel a little safer in the pocket after being sacked a career-high 47 times last year.<\/p>\n

If, and that’s a big if, the room as a whole can remain healthy, then the Chiefs’ run game “should” improve en route to another deep playoff run.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

he offseason for the Kansas City Chiefs has been primarily dominated by the need to fortify the offensive line. 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