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The Kansas City Chiefs had their three-game winning streak ended by the Buffalo Bills in Week 9, and they’ll now come off a bye to face another tough AFC contender when they head to Mile High for a battle with the 8-2 Denver Broncos.
Denver has been winning ugly behind a dominant defense that is on pace to challenge the single-season sack record, so Patrick Mahomes and this offense will need all the help they can get on Sunday. Unfortunately, that help won’t be coming from one of their biggest weapons, who was ruled out on Friday.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero shared some notable Chiefs injury updates on Friday and stated that left tackle Josh Simmons and wide receiver Xavier Worthy are off the injury report and good to go. However, running back Isiah Pacheco won’t make it back and will miss the Broncos game due to his knee injury.
The Chiefs ruled out RB Isiah Pacheco (knee) for Sunday's game vs. Denver.
LT Josh Simmons and WR Xavier Worthy are off the injury report.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 14, 2025
It will be the second consecutive game Pacheco has missed, and it’s slightly concerning that the bye week wasn’t long enough for him to get healthy. Kareem Hunt and Brashard Smith will likely see most of the work in his absence, and they’ll have their work cut out for them against this ferocious Broncos front seven.
Pacheco has scored just two touchdowns this season as injuries continue to slow down his production. If the Chiefs intend to get back to and potentially win a Super Bowl, they’ll need their young running back at full strength.
This is a massive opportunity for the Chiefs to stay alive in the AFC West race, as a loss would put them back to .500 and vault the Broncos to 9-2. We’ll see if Hunt and Smith can step up in Pacheco’s absence to help get the job done.
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