KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Patrick Mahomes noticed a different energy from the Kansas City Chiefs backfield last week from the first play from scrimmage, a nine-yard run by Isiah Pacheco on which he broke a tackle near the line of scrimmage to pick up extra yardage.
He couldn't help but be impressed as the drive included a 35-yard Pacheco run and finished with his 10-yard touchdown catch as the Chiefs clinched the AFC West championship with a victory.
"I think he has a different energy than any other player on the entire team," Mahomes said after the Chiefs' 25-17 win. "The way he runs the football, the energy that he comes with . . . there's like a small number of people that have that much intensity when they're running the football, like [former NFL running back] Marshawn Lynch, [former Cowboys running back] Marion Barber.
"To be able to run that hard all the time and have that much energy, it's a special type of player."
Pacheco had a season-high 165 yards, 130 rushing and 35 receiving, against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Chiefs had one of their better offensive games of the season, averaging 7.0 yards per play.
The Chiefs had a different offensive energy than the week before against the Las Vegas Raiders, when Pacheco left early with a concussion. Right from the start in an important game against the Bengals, the Chiefs leaned on Pacheco and he delivered.
"You could feel the intensity and the look in each other's eyes," Pacheco said. "You just give each other that look and everybody is on time. You can tell we had a goal and we were trying to go get it."
The Chiefs have clinched the AFC West championship and secured the third seed in the AFC playoffs, so some of their starters won't play in Sunday's final regular-season game against the Chargers in Los Angeles. Pacheco, who missed two games recently after having shoulder surgery and then spent most of last week in the NFL's concussion protocol, is a strong candidate to sit out.
The Chiefs weren't certain until late in the week that Pacheco would even play against the Bengals.
"Two weeks [after] surgery is a little bit difficult," Pacheco said of his return to game action last month. "You don't expect to play two weeks out of surgery, but my story is a little bit different. Nothing was too serious so I was able to compete.
"Last week was a little bit different. Saturday I got cleared [to play]. That was the last step, so I had one day of practice, which was Friday. It was a tough week for me, installing, writing, detailing my notes and making sure I am ready to go on game day. Like I said, just taking my time and locking in on notes and leaning on my brothers and knowing we can lean on each other."
The Chiefs were 1-1 in the two games that Pacheco missed after having the shoulder surgery, which coach Andy Reid described as a cleanup procedure. Running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Jerick McKinnon were effective as pass-receivers in the two games but combined to rush for just 106 yards.
Pacheco provided a spark in the running game against the Bengals, while also producing as a receiver.
"The one thing he does is go 100 miles per hour 100% of the time," offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. "We feed off of that.
"Every team usually has one or two guys on the team [who are] over the top with the excitement and in a good way. And he's our guy with that. So having a young guy like that, that brings the juice not just in on game day but in the practice after meetings, he's always positive and I just appreciate that about him."