Isiah Pacheco aims to return against Cowboys on Thanksgiving as Chiefs prepare for NFL playoff push

Isiah Pacheco aims to return against Cowboys on Thanksgiving as Chiefs prepare for NFL playoff push

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco aims to return from his knee injury on Thanksgiving against the Dallas Cowboys, ESPN reports. Pacheco has been out since Week 8, when he got hurt in an eventual win over the Washington Commanders.

Pacheco was the team’s leading rusher at the time of the injury with 329 yards, and he had a season-high 58 yards against Washington before exiting. Since Pacheco’s injury, Kareem Hunt received the lion’s share of the work in the Kansas City backfield. In a Week 12 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Hunt handled 30 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown. The 30 carries were a career high, and the 104 yards were a season high. Overall, the Chiefs’ running backs recorded 117 rushing yards against the Colts, a season high.

With Pacheco back in the fold, Hunt will likely see his carries reduced, though he should maintain his goal-line work; Hunt has seven rushing touchdowns this season compared to one for Pacheco.

The Chiefs have had one of the more efficient (fifth in rushing success rate) but least explosive (31st in explosive run rate) rushing attacks this season. The Cowboys are allowing 4.6 yards per carry, the ninth-highest figure in the NFL, though they have been significantly better in that area over the last two weeks.

Playoff implications loom large
Thursday’s matchup is a pivotal game for both Kansas City (6-5) and Dallas (5-5-1). The Chiefs are the No. 10 seed in the AFC, and the Cowboys are the No. 10 seed in the NFC.

The Chiefs are stuck at the back of a large group in the upper-middle tier of the AFC: Seven of the conference’s 16 teams are either 7-4 or 6-5. Kansas City is third in its down division behind the 9-2 Denver Broncos and the 7-4 Los Angeles Chargers, and is down a head-to-head game against both. Furthermore, the Chiefs are just 3-4 in AFC games, costing them dearly in the wild card push. Even though this isn’t a conference game, the Chiefs need to start stacking wins. Kansas City is 1-4 on the road.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, won two straight thanks to a much-improved defense boosted by trade deadline acquisitions Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson. The Cowboys’ 24-21 comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles greatly increased their playoff odds, but Dallas is yet to win three straight games this season. Cowboys faithful will also have an eye on the earlier Thanksgiving game — Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions — as both are ahead of Dallas in the NFC wild card race.