Chiefs’ Isiah Pacheco reveals how he played through Super Bowl with a broken wrist
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes wasn’t the only Chiefs player to benefit from the two-week break before Super Bowl LVII.
While that fortnight gave Mahomes time to get his sprained ankle ready for the Super Bowl, it also allowed running back Isiah Pacheco time to heal.
Pacheco had a fractured wrist In the Chiefs’ 23-20 victory over the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. He was also dealing with a torn labrum in his shoulder.
During an interview Monday with Adam Schein on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio, Pacheco was asked about playing in the Super Bowl while injured.
“After that championship game, I had two weeks to recover from a hairline fracture of my wrist, which thank God those two weeks were enough to get my grip strength the way it needed to be,” Pacheco said. “And for my shoulder, it was just a little lingering issue that I was having during the season, but it wasn’t painful.
“I was able to play through it. I wasn’t able to throw. I’m not the quarterback so I wasn’t worried about that. And all I was worried about was holding the ball in my left hand which was the fractured wrist and the adrenaline took the rest of that, and God.”
Pacheco rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown in 15 attempts against the Eagles, a team he knew well from his days growing up in New Jersey.
“It may sound crazy, but I felt very comfortable competing against my hometown team, opponent in that game,” he said.. “It felt like I was playing for home, honestly. And it felt like I was home. There was no jitters, I just felt so comfortable. I felt like I was playing in front of my family, my friends and the world, and not only that (but) Cumberland County, New Jersey.
“Watching the Eagles growing up, watching coach (Andy) Reid coach the Eagles, then being in a position to play against the Eagles. A few years back, when the Chiefs were in the Super Bowl (LIV), I pictured myself in the game and not only did that happen, but I was in the game ... in the same position that I was telling myself being at running back. It was like a dream, but I knew I had to get the job done, so I had to leave it all out there on the field.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2023 at 9:12 AM.
