Let’s review the snap counts from the Kansas City Chiefs 43-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. These snap counts come via the NFL.
Quarterback
QB Alex Smith: 75
I wrote before the game that if Alex Smith is setting career highs in the passing game the Chiefs are probably losing. He threw 50 passes, which is a career high.
Offensive line
C Mitch Morse: 75
G Zach Fulton: 75
G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif: 75
OT Eric Fisher: 75
OT Mitch Schwartz: 75
The Steelers had one sack coming into this game. They had four against the Chiefs. Not all on the offensive line. That’s going to happen when you’re down 22 points in the first quarter and you become one dimensional. I’m not taking much out of this game. Also of note is that Zach Fulton started ahead of Parker Ehinger. I do not believe that’s injury related.
Wide receiver
WR Jeremy Maclin: 72
WR Chris Conley: 70
WR Albert Wilson: 51
WR Tyreek Hill: 18
WR Demarcus Robinson: 1
A lot more work for Albert Wilson after he saw a decrease in playing time last week. Also a ton of work for Chris Conley, who set career highs with catches (six) and yards (70). Tyreek Hill touched it on six of his 18 snaps.
Tight end
TE Travis Kelce: 71
TE Demetrius Harris: 15
TE Ross Travis: 6
The Chiefs probably wanted to run more of these multiple tight end sets but when you’re down so much so early ... it’s hard to trot out a three tight end package when you’re down by so much. And maybe the Chiefs don’t want to show everything they’ve got there in a game that was over quickly.
Running back
RB Spencer Ware: 54
RB Jamaal Charles: 10
RB Knile Davis: 7
Charcandrick West was out and Knile Davis had a concussion, which led to Jamaal Charles taking a snap with two minutes left in a 36-point game. Not good! It’s hard to totally fault the Chiefs because injuries played a role but, man, after being so cautious you see Jamaal out there on the wet field with two minutes left in a five score game.
Also, I said at the top that these snap counts come from the NFL. They’re pretty accurate but I’m pretty sure I saw Anthony Sherman in there for an offensive snap...
Safety
S Ron Parker: 59
S Eric Berry: 58
S Daniel Sorensen: 21
S Eric Murray: 4
You knew this game wasn’t going to look great for the Chiefs safeties. Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown is such a lethal combination that I knew the Chiefs safeties at some point would get worked. They did.
Cornerback
CB Marcus Peters: 59
CB Steven Nelson: 53
CB DJ White: 29
The most work for DJ White by far but he was worked over badly. The broadcast showed him getting turned around on Markus Wheaton’s touchdown. That summed up the whole game for me. It was a very bad game, not a bad career. He can bounce back.
Linebacker
LB Derrick Johnson: 58
LB Dee Ford: 41
LB Frank Zombo: 38
LB Justin March: 37
LB Tamba Hali: 20
LB Dezman Moses: 8
LB Dadi Nicolas: 7
LB DJ Alexander: 1
This is called getting everyone involved. Tamba Hali was on the injury report this week so I’m guessing that played a role in him playing just 20 snaps. Or the way the game played out is another consideration. One upside to getting blown out is seeing Dadi Nicolas snaps.
Defensive line
NT Dontari Poe: 50
DE Allen Bailey: 38
DE Jaye Howard: 34
DE Chris Jones: 26
DE Nick Williams: 8
The most work for Chris Jones this season. He had a nice play against the Steelers center (K-State grad BJ Finney for you local folks). I’ll be honest though I wasn’t watching the defensive line much in the second half. I wasn’t watching much of anything by that point.