Let’s look at the snap counts from the Kansas City Chiefs 19-12 loss to the Houston Texans. There were 64 total snaps on offense, 72 on defense. Special teams not included. These snap counts come from the NFL.
Quarterback
QB Alex Smith: 64
Alex Smith came out of last week’s home opener with a golf ball sized bump on his elbow. He was beat up on Sunday against the Texans but played every snap. No Nick Foles (yet).
Offensive line
C Mitch Morse: 64
G Zach Fulton: 64
G Jah Reid: 64
OT Mitch Schwartz: 64
OT Eric Fisher: 64
The Chiefs were missing starting guards Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Parker Ehinger. Zach Fulton and Jah Reid stepped in and did the job. Going against the Texans front isn’t the easiest task. The Chiefs called up Jordan Devey from the practice squad but he did not play on offense nor did swing tackle Bryan Witzmann.
Wide receivers
WR Jeremy Maclin: 63
WR Chris Conley: 54
WR Albert Wilson: 41
WR Tyreek Hill: 7
WR Demarcus Robinson: 2
Albert Wilson. I’ve heard a lot of folks asking about him. He was in the running to be the Chiefs No. 2 and then he dropped behind Chris Conley and it seems like he’s invisible sometimes. This is odd considering the hopes we had for him this offseason. Should Wilson see reduced time in favor of Tyreek Hill?
Tight ends
TE Travis Kelce: 55
TE Demetrius Harris: 19
TE Ross Travis: 6
I thought the Chiefs would run more multiple tight end sets this week with the Texans front seven. Keep them off balance.
Running backs
RB Spencer Ware: 36
RB Charcandrick West: 26
FB Anthony Sherman: 10
RB Knile Davis: 1
There’s your Ware / West split. It’ll be interesting to see how the Chiefs work in Jamaal Charles, who is expected to return next week. It sure seemed like Sherman had more than 10 snaps. He was in there a lot early on chipping the Texans defenders.
Safety
S Ron Parker: 72
S Eric Berry: 72
S Daniel Sorensen: 26
S Eric Murray: 1
Parker and Berry played every snap. Sorensen is the third safety this year. Murray was busy on special teams playing nearly 90 percent of the special teams snaps.
Linebackers
LB Derrick Johnson: 72
LB Dee Ford: 62
LB Frank Zombo: 53
LB Justin March: 32
LB Tamba Hali: 31
Only 31 snaps for Tamba? Huh I thought it would’ve been more. That’s fewer than 50 percent of the snaps. He got a holding call late in the game and a sack on old friend Jeff Allen.
Cornerbacks
CB Marcus Peters: 72
CB Steven Nelson: 70
CB Phillip Gaines: 58
Steven Nelson also played 20 special teams snaps. Quite the jump from the guy who barely played on defense last year.
Defensive line
DE Jaye Howard: 50
NT Dontari Poe: 49
DE Allen Bailey: 42
DE Chris Jones: 18
DE Nick Williams: 12
Chris Jones’ 18 snaps are up from 12 last week. The Chiefs go five deep on the defensive line. Rakeem Nunez-Roches was cut this week to make room for Jordan Devey so I wonder how he fits if he comes back.