Not only did Isiah Pacheco score the first touchdown of his NFL career on Sunday for the Kansas City Chiefs, but he also had star quarterback Patrick Mahomes playing ball boy for him.
Following his four-yard touchdown with 7:40 left in what would be a 44-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals, Pacheco spiked the ball down and began celebrating his first trip into the end zone. It was Mahomes, arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, who picked up the ball to make sure Pacheco had the keepsake.
Not too bad for the rookie out of Rutgers. The Chiefs took Pacheco in the seventh round of this past spring’s NFL draft.
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, one of the best coordinators in the NFL, was pleased with what he saw from his rookie from Rutgers. He also talked with reporters on Monday about the moment where Mahomes got the touchdown ball for Pacheco.
“It just goes to show you. First of all, Patrick is always looking out for everybody. He’s the ultimate team player,” Bieniemy said in a virtual press conference.
“So for Pat to just to have the wherewithal of ‘Hey, you know what, I gotta get this ball for this kid. This is his first touchdown.’ It just goes to show you where his head is because he’s always thinking about others. So – but it doesn’t shock nor surprise me, but I’m glad that he did do it that way. Now, Isiah will have a memory for the rest of his life.”
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In his NFL regular season debut, Pacheco was more than solid. The rookie ran for 62 yards on 12 carries, along with that first NFL touchdown.
ISIAH PACHECO HYPE TRAIN đźš‚ pic.twitter.com/m5j34bW8N5
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) September 11, 2022
It was a very credible debut for Pacheco, who was a multi-year starter at Rutgers.
“More than anything I thought he did a good job with just playing hard. I thought he was on point with his footwork, his aiming points,” Bieniemy said.
“But there’s also a little few things that we need to just continue working on, you know. But one thing I’ll share with each and every rookie for the first time, is anybody can do anything once. You know, it’s all about making sure that you can put consistent behavior on tape week to week in and week out.
“So the biggest thing now is just making sure that he gets in the building. He takes care of his body and understand how to get ready for (a) Thursday night game. And that’s just mentally understanding that he has to take work home. He has to physically take care of his body. That’s just not for him. It’s for all of our young guys. And just making sure that he’ll be physically ready and mentally ready for this next opponent.”
During training camp, Pacheco credited Rutgers football and head coach Greg Schiano for readying him for the NFL.
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