In their Week 2 loss against the Eagles, Chiefs backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt shared just 18 carries. 10 for Pacheco, 8 for Hunt. It was a split that left both searching for rhythm and the offense straining for consistency. Instead of a reliable ground game, the backfield feels stuck in neutral, offering flashes but never lasting momentum. With this predicament, former Chiefs stars are wondering who’s calling the shots and why it isn’t working.

On Chief Concerns, former RB Derrick Blaylock voiced what many outside the locker room have been feeling: the run game needs to be better. “You got to have at least 15, 20 carries, man. … That’s tough to ask a guy to come in there and really get going when you’re not getting enough carries.” Former TE Jason Dunn reinforced the critique with his own observation: “Hunt has a couple good carries and they took him out and put Pacheco in. And so… you got to get rhythm. It didn’t seem like there was anything there.” The absence of a true lead back short-circuits the Chiefs’ offensive timing, making every running play a guessing game for the stands and defenders alike. And that raises a bigger question.

Personnel decisions drive this uncertainty. Is Andy Reid scripting these rotations, or is the backfield dictated by analytics and split reps? Dunn questions the decisions being made: “It makes me start thinking a little bit more as far as who’s making the decision for the guys to go in, who’s doing the personnel.” The backfield rotation exposes the team to more risk than reward. The Chiefs have always leaned pass-heavy, but without a run game to keep defenses honest, the O-Line is forced into constant pass-protection, leaving Patrick Mahomes pressured and scrambling. Against the Eagles, Mahomes had to find routes for 7 carries for 66 yards and a TD. A load that should have been lightened by the backs instead. When backs can’t stay in the rhythm, the Chiefs’ trademark play-action magic evaporates. And Blaylock has issued the standard he wants to see on the field.

Blaylock’s question lingers in the air: “What’s the rhyme or reason behind the whole thing that we’re doing?” The answer has yet to surface. Until someone claims the RB1 spot for good, Kansas City’s offense risks being less than the sum of its parts. As Blaylock sets the expectations for Week 3 and beyond, the solution could be simple: give the backs more carries and more time in the game. “If you get 20 carries and still the run game didn’t get going, hey, it is what it is at that point. But we have to know we have to get more than 18 carries out of the both of them. We got to let somebody get a rhythm.”

The Chiefs’ rotation is meant to keep defenses guessing, but so far, it has undermined the flow and put extra pressure on Mahomes to come through. But the effect doesn’t stop in the backfield, and the back problem isn’t the only one that needs to be solved before their Week 3 clash against the Giants.

Andy Reid’s second wave of struggles: Kelce’s key moments

So far in the 2025 season, Travis Kelce has found his rhythm interrupted. The Chiefs were already feeling the sting of not having Rashee Rice with them to stretch the field. The offense got another hit when Kelce slammed into Xavier Worthy, dislocating Worthy’s arm and throwing him out of the equation. But it wasn’t just about the personnel losses. Kelce missed a critical 2nd-and-goal pass from Mahomes against the Chargers in Brazil and ended his first game with just 2 completions out of four targets. If only that was a one-off tragedy…

Against the Eagles, for the second time this season, Kelce dropped a critical catch on 2nd-and-goal (déjà vu?) in the fourth quarter. That ball got picked off by Eagles’ Andrew Mukuba, and Philly gained a massive 41 yards from that single play. That turnover ultimately proved to be the difference between a win and a loss in an otherwise evenly matched game. Both Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid took the blame upon themselves. Mahomes noted he should have aimed the throw at Kelce’s body instead of his arm, and Coach Reid admitted that he went a bit too aggressive on that play. But the reality of that drop was not lost on Trav.

He took the responsibility for dropping that pass on the New Heights podcast. “The ball was where it needed to be when it needed to be there. – I just gotta be able to get my head around right now so that I don’t put myself in a position to let the ball surprise me like that.” Kelce’s struggles couldn’t be shrugged off as rare miscues, especially when it has happened in both their matchups so far. For Andy Reid and his staff, these add up and point to a strategy reset. Can they flip the script on their run game, and finally snatch their first victory? That’s the question we’ll be waiting to get answered at MetLife Stadium on September 21.