Kansas City Chiefs running back Isaiah Pacheco arrives on the red carpet before the 2023 ESPYS at the Dolby Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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Is Isaiah Pacheco Playing Tonight? Availability Check For the Chiefs’ Star Running Back For Super Bowl 59 Game

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isaiah Pacheco arrives on the red carpet before the 2023 ESPYS at the Dolby Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Isaiah Pacheco started the 2024 NFL season as the Kansas City Chiefs premier running back. The 25-year-old is one of the rare players to have won back-to-back Super Bowl rings in his first two seasons in the league. Although Pacheco has yet to cross 1,000 rushing yards in a season, he has been an integral member of the Chiefs’ offensive unit.

Pacheco’s running style is aggressive, bringing a lot of energy on the field every time he touches the ball. Moreover, Head Coach Andy Reid and his staff have made him more effective in the passing game as well. As a result, Pacheco’s versatility has made it easier for the Chiefs to operate in short-yardage catch-and-run plays.

.@isiah_pachecoRB's rookie season:
– Drafted in the 7th round with the 251st overall pick
– Scored his first career TD in Week 1
– Led the @Chiefs in rushing with 1,027 yards in the regular season & postseason
– Started and scored a TD in Super Bowl LVII
– Got a ring 💍 pic.twitter.com/sO3LGoob2K
— NFL (@NFL) June 24, 2023

This year, Pacheco started the season strong but immediately suffered a fractured fibula in week 2 which kept him out for several weeks. However, he made a return to action in week 13 and is now looking to help the Chiefs achieve the first-ever three-peat in the Super Bowl era of the NFL.

Isaiah Pacheco’s Availability For Super Bowl LIX

Since week 13, Pacheco has been a full-go and has played in all games following his return from injury. He is completely healthy and will take the field today as he gets ready to play in his third Super Bowl in as many years.

The Chiefs will need Pacheco to have a great all-around game, be it carrying the ball, receiving it, or even as a pass blocker. Kansas City will also rely heavily on Kareem Hunt in the run game, so it will be interesting to see how many snaps Pacheco will receive tonight, but make no mistake, the New Jersey native will have an important role to play.

Isaiah Pacheco’s Performance This Year

As the season began, Pacheco got off to a good start but was quickly side lined for a major part of the regular season after suffering an injury to his fibula in week 2. From then onwards, Pacheco was out until week 13 as he worked to get back into football shape and regain his strength.

Big time sleep = big time wins 😴 @sleepnumber #ad pic.twitter.com/10qgHH18yf
— Isiah Pacheco (@isiah_pachecoRB) January 25, 2024

Since returning to action in week 13, Pacheco played in all five remaining regular season games as well as both postseason wins against the Texans and Bills. Reid and the Chiefs have used him sparingly with Kareem Hunt being given most of the work. This could be in part because Kansas City didn’t want to risk aggravating his injury again, but the main reason is potentially due to his decline in performance.

Since making his comeback, Pacheco seems to have lost some punch while running. He hasn’t had any explosive plays and his usual energetic runs have been missing. Perhaps with the extra week of rest before tonight’s game, Pacheco may have found his step again, something that Chiefs’ fans will surely be hoping for.

(Image – Imagn Images)

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Super Bowl LIX

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!