Kansas City Chiefs RB Isiah Pacheco is chasing Hall of Fame history as he gears up for his eighth career playoff game in just his third season as an NFL professional.
Pacheco has a whopping 635 scrimmage yards and four rushing touchdowns in his seven career postseason games over the past two seasons. That includes at least 75 scrimmage yards in each game that he has played over that span.
In the divisional round of the playoffs against the Houston Texans on Saturday, Pacheco can become just the third player ever to record at least 75 scrimmage yards in each of his first eight playoff games. Should he accomplish that feat against Houston, he’d join a pair of Pro Football Hall of Fame running backs in Denver Broncos RB Terrell Davis and Dallas Cowboys RB Emmitt Smith. That’s some impressive company for the second-year professional.
He can also become just the fifth player ever with at least 75 scrimmage yards in eight consecutive postseason games. Davis and Smith are both on that list at eight games, along with Pro Football Hall of Fame RB Franco Harris.
Do you know who else is on that list? None other than Pacheco’s own teammate, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce. He’s the only non-running back on this list, with nine consecutive postseason games of over 75 scrimmage yards. It’s a remarkable streak for Kelce, which recorded from 2020-2022. He fell just short of extending it to 10 games in 2023. Only once in his last 13 postseason games has Kelce recorded fewer than 75 scrimmage yards.
The craziest thing about all of this for Pacheco is that it has only been accomplished by Hall of Famers (Davis, Smith, and Harris) or future Hall of Famers (Kelce). Pacheco already made history last season, by becoming the only running back in NFL history to win two Super Bowls in his first two seasons. Pacheco now can stamp his name in the NFL history books and begin writing a Hall of Fame legacy of his own should he reach this mark on Saturday.
It won’t be easy, especially sharing a backfield with Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine this time around. He must make the absolute most of his carries and opportunities in the passing game. However, he’s fresh off two weeks of rest and should be that much closer to his normal self after his latest rib injury.
