Chiefs vs. Raiders: Making sense of snap counts

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders, 35-3, to clinch the AFC West division and No. 1 overall seed in the AFC playoffs.

Here were the snap counts for the Chiefs:

Offense

Defense

Special teams

Starters (offensive): WR Tyreek Hill, LT Eric Fisher, LG Jeff Allen, C Mitch Morse, RG Andrew Wylie, RT Mitch Schwartz, TE Travis Kelce, WR Chris Conley, WR Demarcus Robinson, QB Patrick Mahomes, RB Damien Williams

Starters (defensive): NT Derrick Nnadi, RDE Allen Bailey, LOLB Justin Houston, LILB Anthony Hitchens, RILB Reggie Ragland, ROLB Dee Ford, LCB Charvarius Ward, RCB Steve Nelson, S Jordan Lucas, S Daniel Sorensen, CB Kendall Fuller

Active, but did not play: n/a

Inactive: WR Sammy Watkins, S Eric Berry, RB Spencer Ware, G Kahlil McKenize, C Jimmy Murray, TE Deon Yelder, LB Tanoh Kpasagnon

Takeaways, in no particular order:

• For the first time all year, Andy Reid felt comfortable enough with the lead to take out the first team, so keep in mind the snap numbers are a little skewed.
• That said, Mitch Schwartz stayed in all game, keeping his perfect career snap record streak in tact. So did Eric Fisher and Andrew Wylie. Cam Erving (19 snaps) entered the game in relief of Jeff Allen (35 snaps) when he was shaken up. Allen has replaced Erving in the starting lineup. Austin Reiter (13 offensive snaps) relieved Mitch Morse (41 offensive snaps) at center late in the game.
• Patrick Mahomes played 41 offensive snaps (76 percent) before Chad Henne took over for his first 13 offensive snaps (24 percent) of the year.
• Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin had four offensive snaps (7 percent). It makes you wonder how quickly he is picking up the offense.
• If there were any question before, Ron Parker (six defensive snaps) and Orlando Scandrick (three defensive snaps) have been benched. Eric Berry did not play and Parker still saw limited time.
• The “iron men” this week for the Chiefs defense were safety Daniel Sorensen, and cornerbacks Steve Nelson and Kendall Fuller, who all saw 63 defensive snaps (95 percent).
• Cornerback Charvarius Ward is your No. 3 cornerback entering the playoffs. He saw 50 defensive snaps (76 percent) against the Raiders.
• On the inside, Anthony Hitchens had 60 defensive snaps (91 percent), Reggie Ragland had 36 defensive snaps (55 percent), Dorian O’ Daniel had 21 defensive snaps (21 percent) and Ben Niemann had 11 defensive snaps (17 percent).
• Justin Houston (53 defensive snaps) and Dee Ford (58 defensive snaps) continue to get the bulk of playing time on the outside. More on that here.
• Chief special teams standouts (12 snaps or more): TE Demetrius Harris (18), Anthony Sherman (14), Ben Niemann (14), Tremon Smith (14), Frank Zombo (14), Marcus Kemp (13), Gehrig Dieter (12), Dorian O’Daniel (12)