Running back Isiah Pacheco and defensive end Charles Omenihu made their much-anticipated return to the Kansas City Chiefs just in time to play against the Las Vegas Raiders on Friday.
The Raiders were missing some key players, including running back Alexander Mattison, who was out with an ankle injury, and Zamir White, who was out with a quadriceps injury. This left Ameer Abdullah, Dylan Laube, and practice squad player Sincere McCormick as the only available running backs.
Aidan O’Connell started at quarterback for the Raiders, as Gardner Minshew broke his collarbone in a game against Denver last week.
After the Dolphins lost to Green Bay on Thursday night, the Chiefs just needed to beat the Raiders for the eighth time in their last nine meetings to secure their 10th consecutive playoff spot. The NFL record for consecutive playoff appearances is held by the Patriots with 11.
Pacheco had been out since Week 2, when he broke his right fibula against Cincinnati. Omenihu had been out since tearing his ACL in his right knee during last year’s playoff run, an injury that caused him to miss the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory.
Pacheco is expected to share carries with Kareem Hunt, who had been playing well during his absence.
“When they’re up and running, we feel pretty strong about who they are and how much they can help us,” said Kansas City offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. “And we’re excited about it.”
Omenihu is expected to help strengthen the Chiefs’ pass rush, which has only 21 sacks this season, ranking just ahead of four other NFL teams.
As expected, Matthew Wright was active for the game against the Raiders to handle the kicking duties. Spencer Shrader, who had been filling in for Harrison Butker (on injured reserve due to knee surgery), was also active, despite pulling his hamstring earlier in the week.
Kansas City had several inactives, including offensive linemen C.J. Hanson, Ethan Driskell, and D.J. Humphries, as well as defensive linemen Marlon Tuipulotu and Malik Herring. Humphries, a former Pro Bowl player with Arizona, recently joined the team after completing rehab from an ACL injury and hopes to help at left tackle in the coming weeks.
“We’ll just play it by ear,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I told him, ‘Let’s just keep the communication open and we’ll figure it out.’ That’s kind of what we’ve done with the other guys that have come in and we’ll just keep open communication. He seems like a guy that’ll shoot you straight so that’s what I’d expect.”
The Chiefs also promoted tight end Anthony Firkser after placing Peyton Hendershot on injured reserve to provide extra depth against the Raiders.
The Raiders were also missing cornerback Nate Hobbs, who had an ankle injury, and cornerback Jakorian Bennett, who went on IR with a shoulder injury from a couple of weeks ago.
To help fill in, the Raiders added wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. and cornerback Kyu Blu Kelly from the practice squad to face Kansas City. Other inactives for the Raiders included tight end Harrison Bryant, offensive lineman Cody Whitehair, defensive lineman Matthew Butler, and wide receiver Ramel Keyton.
