You would never know it from how starting running back Isiah Pacheco performed for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, but he was playing with essentially just one arm. Despite Pacheco rattling off 76 yards and a rushing touchdown on 15 carries, the then-rookie seventh-round pick was actually playing in the biggest game of his life while dealing with both a broken hand and a torn labrum.
According to Kristian Dyer of USA Today, the former Rutgers back first broke a bone between his wrist and hand two weeks prior in the AFC Championship Game. Obviously, just two weeks of recovery isn’t nearly enough time to overcome a broken bone, yet Pacheco still started the game and even received more touches than any other previous postseason performance.
Yet, Pacheco did only play 26 snaps or 47% of the team’s offensive opportunities. This was a sizable reduction from his action in the AFCCG, where he saw 39 snaps or 57% of the team’s plays on offense.
But it was likely all worth it for the 251st overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, as his effort helped secure his first Super Bowl ring. He’d get to undergo surgery just a week after the Super Bowl wrapped up, with Dr. Mike Guss performing the operation.
On top of the broken bone in his hand, Pacheco also tore a labrum earlier in the season, which he later had surgery on two weeks after the Super Bowl concluded. Needless to say, Pacheco is probably feeling much better these days than he was back in February, and he even has some shiny hardware to show for it.
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