Over a year ago I wrote here that one of the Kansas City Chief's glaring weaknesses was having a RB on the roster who can pound the football and grind out yardage.
Not having that player has led to Patrick Mahomes needing to carry a tremendous burden.
The same is still true today.
Mahomes had a fantastic season and the Chiefs were quite creative in how they used their RBs. Isiah Pacheco took on the majority of the carries as the season went on -- saving them from the disaster that was CEH. And towards the end of the regular season Jerick McKinnon's explosiveness paid off big with plays in the passing game.
Now Patrick Mahomes has a high ankle sprain going into the AFC Championship vs a Cincinnati Bengals team that seems to be peaking at the right time.
The Chiefs eked out a 7 point win against the Jaguars last week. And while their team rushing yards seemed alright, 39 of them came in 1 Pacheco run. That aside, they sputtered to 29 carries for 105 yards (3.62 yards per carry). That's cause for concern should Mahomes struggle to put up points against the Bengals.
Regardless of what happens this week or even in the Super Bowl should KC get there, they haven't found their running back. And I think it's a point of concern. Maybe it doesn't matter as much these days with how much more passing correlates to scoring, but it isn't something they can ignore, either.