Who Should I Start? Christian McCaffrey or Isiah Pacheco

Saturday, January 17, 10:30 PM

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (shoulder) exited with a stinger during the third quarter of Saturday's Divisional Round contest against the Seattle Seahawks. He was briefly listed as questionable to return, but he checked back into the game midway through the third quarter. The superstar running back took multiple hits throughout the first 30-plus minutes of game action, and he was seeing testing his injury on the sideline. At the time of his initial departure, McCaffrey had totaled nine carries, 29 rushing yards, five catches, and 39 receiving yards. Bad injury news has plagued the 49ers left and right. In addition to various defensive injuries throughout the regular season, San Francisco lost George Kittle (Achilles) last week, and Jake Tonges (foot) is currently listed as questionable to return against Seattle. For the time being, McCaffrey will try to play through his injury with the 49ers' season on the line. However, we wouldn't be surprised to see No. 2 running back Brian Robinson Jr. earn more snaps while McCaffrey manages his injury.

Sunday, January 4, 3:12 PM

Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (rest) is officially inactive for Sunday's Week 18 contest against the Las Vegas Raiders. Pacheco had been listed as questionable after practicing in a limited capacity this past week. His reduced workload in practice was not injury-related, as the Chiefs allowed him to rest because they had already been eliminated from playoff contention. Kareem Hunt is active on Sunday afternoon and should operate as the primary running back in this Chris Oladokun-led offense. We also wouldn't be surprised to see rookie Brashard Smith earn more snaps if Kansas City wants to evaluate his role and viability for the 2026 campaign.