Chiefs-Jets: Making sense of snap counts

The Kansas City Chiefs put the hammer down in a 35-9 win over the New York Jets on Sunday. Let’s take a look at how the team used their players in the Week 8 victory.

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Starters (offensive): WR Tyreek Hill, LT Eric Fisher, LG Nick Allegretti, C Daniel Kilgore, RG Andrew Wylie, LT Mike Remmers, TE Travis Kelce, WR Demarcus Robinson, WR Byron Pringle, QB Patrick Mahomes and RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

Starters (defensive): LDE Tanoh Kpassagnon, LDT Chris Jones, RDT Derrick Nnadi, RDE Frank Clark, LB Anthony Hitchens, LB Willie Gay Jr., LB Damien Wilson, LCB Charvarius Ward, RCB Bashaud Breeland, FS Tyrann Mathieu and SS Daniel Sorensen.

Did not play: None

Inactive: WR Sammy Watkins, RB DeAndre Washington, LB Darius Harris, DE Demone Harris, T Mitchell Schwartz, TE Ricky Seals-Jones and DT Khalen Saunders.

Editor’s Note: Arrowhead Pride obtains snap count data from the NFL’s game stats and information system, which allows us to break out snap counts by run or pass on offensive and defensive plays. Because GSIS data ignores plays that were nullified by penalties, total offensive and defensive snap counts will vary from other sources, which get their data from NFL Gamebooks

Offensive takeaways

As we saw in the Week 7 win against the Denver Broncos, some reserve players made it onto the field for some offensive snaps in the fourth quarter. Players like offensive linemen Yasir Durant and Danny Isidora had their first offensive snaps of the season — albeit just a few.

Among the offensive skill players, the Chiefs spread out the snaps a bit more than usual throughout the game. Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire had his lowest percentage of use this season — and for the first time, was used on a higher percentage of passing plays. His remaining rushing snaps went to Darrel Williams and Darwin Thompson.

There was a similar pattern among the wide receivers. Tyreek Hill was used in a greater percentage of passing plays than usual and Mecole Hardman was used more often than he has been since the Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Meanwhile, Demarcus Robinson’s use declined for the second-straight week — and the reserves took up the slack. Both Byron Pringle (listed as a starter for the first time in his career) and Marcus Kemp (who was elevated from the practice squad for the game) were used more often than we have generally observed.

Defensive takeaways

Mainstay defensive players also got a breather during garbage time. As usual, the quartet of Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward, Tyrann Mathieu and Daniel Sorenson played 95% of the snaps. But even though Sorensen started the game at safety, Juan Thornhill was on the field for 84% of the defensive snaps — with a bit of an emphasis on passing downs.

Fans are understandably anxious to see more of second-round rookie Willie Gay Jr. — but with half of the season’s games in the books, it appears defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is focusing on using Gay when it best suits the game plan he has in mind. With a total of 25 points allowed in the last two games, it’s hard to argue against his strategy. It seems more and more likely that Gay will eventually be an every-down linebacker for the team — but for the moment, the Chiefs appear content to use him this way.

Up front, starting defensive ends Frank Clark and Tanoh Kpassagnon held down most of the snaps — although for the first time in weeks, both saw more use in passing downs.

Behind them, Michael Danna and Taco Charlton returned to their typical usage.

Along the interior, starter Chris Jones was back to a typical use pattern, while the other starter Derrick Nnadi had as little time as he’s seen since Week 1.

But that’s where Tershawn Wharton and Mike Pennel came in. Wharton — an undrafted free agent — appears to have earned a spot in the rotation. We’ll see if the pattern continues.