Getty Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney celebrates after a catch in Week 10.
The big storylines after the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars were the JuJu Smith-Schuster hit and the Buffalo Bills’ collapse. The latter vaulted the Chiefs into sole possession of the number-one seed in the AFC.
Of course, there were a couple of other intriguing developments. One centered around newcomer Kadarius Toney, whose talents were utilized in a number of exciting ways during his second outing with the Chiefs.
Kadarius Toney has hops. #Chiefs getting him involved with all the injuries, he’s nearing 100 total yards on the day.
By the end of the 27-17 win, the former New York Giants first-rounder had accumulated 101 total yards. 57 of those yards came through the air (four receptions), with another 33 on the ground and 11 as a punt returner. As expected, Toney wore many hats versus Jacksonville and he had a message for Chiefs Kingdom after the breakout effort.
Kadarius Toney Sends Message to Chiefs Fans After Week 10
After the game, KC media members caught up with Toney to chat with him about his budding role in his new home.
“It’s electric, being out there [at Arrowhead],” the wideout told reporters. “I feel like I am right where I need to be.”
#Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney: “I feel like I am right where I need to be.”
After a season and a half of questionable usage and a turbulent relationship in New York, Toney looks like a player that is embracing his new lease on life in Kansas City. The best part? The Florida Gators star only turns 24 years of age in January and still has plenty of time to make a name for himself at the NFL level.
“I don’t wanna throw no salt, but kind of, yeah,” Toney admitted with a laugh when he was asked if he feels more involved in the Chiefs offense than the Giants.
There was some obvious bad blood between the youngster and Big Blue following the trade deadline move, but it appears Toney is attempting to let all that go now that he has a second chance with Patrick Mahomes II in KC. After all, who better to catch passes from than the current face of the sport?
The Chiefs quarterback has also voiced how happy he is to have Toney join the organization. After today’s performance, Mahomes joked that “[Kansas City] had some plays designed for Toney to score, but if we had one I didn’t think he was going to score on it was that one.” He added that the newcomer was his “last read” on the touchdown catch.
IT’S TONEY TIME.
After the enticing showing in Week 10, radio personality Carrington Harrison proclaimed that “the Chiefs have already won the Kadarius Toney trade and it’s not even Thanksgiving” — a good way to sum up the wide receiver’s hot start in KC.
Isiah Pacheco Takes Over as RB1
Another offensive storyline occurred in the running back room. Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy ditched the RB rotation against the Jaguars and surprisingly, former first-round selection Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the ball carrier that was cut from the game plan.
“CEH” was targeted twice by Mahomes but received zero hand-offs out of the backfield. Veteran Jerick McKinnon and fullback Michael Burton were each given one carry but the clear bell-cow — by Kansas City standards — was the rookie seventh-rounder.
This came on the heels of a prediction that Isiah Pacheco would “break out” over the second half of the season. Week 10 was a good start, with 16 carries for 82 yards (5.1 YPC). The lone error was a first-quarter fumble but Bieniemy and head coach Andy Reid stuck with the tough runner despite that.
“Pacheco had a nice day today running the football,” Big Red highlighted after the game. “He was going, so we tried to get him into the flow and he did a nice job with it. We’re lucky that we have three guys that we feel that comfortable with.”
As for the turnover, the Chiefs HC commented that “he’s a young guy [and] you gotta get back on the horse.” Pacheco did, and he appears to be the new starting running back in Kansas City until proven otherwise.