Chiefs’ snap counts: Backfield duty split between Williams, McCoy; trio of DBs play
To no surprise, the Kansas City Chiefs stuck with their core players during Sunday’s wild 34-30 win over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes played all 70 offensive snaps, which will obviously be the case on a weekly basis barring an injury, and completed 24 of 42 passes for 315 yards. He added 54 yards rushing on six attempts.
Below is how the Chiefs spread out playing time in Week 4 action:
Offensive linemen: Right tackle Mitchell Schwartz (70), right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (70), center Austin Reiter (70), left guard Andrew Wylie (70), left tackle Cam Erving (70), guard Ryan Hunter (7 snaps on special teams), guard Jeff Allen (7 snaps on special teams)
With Eric Fisher inactive while he continues to recover from a sports hernia procedure, Erving drew the start for a second consecutive game and will continue in that role in Fisher’s absence. Hunter and Allen provide depth and contribute on special teams.
Tackle Greg Senat, tackle Martinas Rankin and guard Nick Allegretti were inactive.
Running backs: Darrel Williams (36), LeSean McCoy (32), Darwin Thompson (3), Anthony Sherman (2)
Williams and McCoy basically split the load out of the backfield with Damien Williams (knee) inactive for a second straight game. Williams totaled two touchdowns on a pair of 1-yard runs, while McCoy led the charge with 56 yards rushing and a score on 11 carries.
Thompson and Sherman contributed mostly on special teams. Thompson totaled 14 snaps in the kicking game, while Sherman totaled 23 snaps.
Wide receivers: Sammy Watkins (69), Demarcus Robinson (64), Mecole Hardman (44, 3 snaps on special teams), Byron Pringle (3, 13 snaps on special teams), DeAnthony Thomas (21 on special teams)
Watkins and Robinson earned their paychecks Sunday given the amount of playing time. Watkins paced the wide receivers with 54 yards on three catches, while Robinson produced four catches for 34 yards on a team-high nine targets. Hardman totaled two catches for 9 yards on five target, and Pringle caught one pass for 9 yards while also contributing 13 snaps on special teams, which included two kickoff returns for 41 yards.
Thomas didn’t log a snap on offense, but had two punt returns for 3 yards.
Tyreek Hill (shoulder) was inactive, but was on the field before the game catching passes. Hill looked good running short routes and caught the ball with ease, a sign he could be close to returning.
Tight ends: Travis Kelce (68), Blake Bell (24, 14 snaps on special teams), Deon Yelder (5)
Kelce totaled seven catches for 85 yards on eight targets on the game. Bell didn’t record a catch, but contributed a tackle on special tems. Yelder made the most of his playing time by recording two catches for 43 yards.
Defensive linemen: Chris Jones (64, 7 on special teams), Frank Clark (64), Derrick Nnadi (40, 7 on special teams), Emmanuel Ogbah (40, 4 on special teams), Xavier Williams (38), Alex Okafor (31, 4 on special teams), Tanoh Kpassagnon (29, 10 on special teams)
The Chiefs played a total of 77 defensive snaps, so the rotations had to be in place given the up and down game.
Of the team’s four sacks on Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, the defensive line accounted for three. Jones was a one-man wrecking crew with two tackles, a tackle for a loss, a sack, a quarterback hit and a forced fumble. Okafor, who recorded a sack, left the game with a hip injury. Williams totaled the other sack and also helped produce one of the game’s biggest plays by forcing a fumble on Lions running back Kerryon Johnson at the goal line.
Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders was inactive.
Linebackers: Anthony Hitchens (64, 7 on special teams) Damien Wilson (60), Darron Lee (26, 12 on special teams), Ben Niemann (13, 26 on special teams), Reggie Ragland (4, 7 on special teams), Dorian O’Daniel (26 on special teams)
Wilson totaled a team-high eight tackles before leaving under the concussion protocol. Coach Andy Reid, however, said after the game that Wilson could have returned.
Defensive backs: Bashaud Breeland (77), Charvarius Ward (77), Tyrann Mathieu (77), Juan Thornhill (65, 3 on special teams), Kendall Fuller (53), Daniel Sorensen (22, 26 on special teams), Jordan Lucas (2, 26 on special teams), Armani Watts (19 on special teams), Rashad Fenton (7 on special teams)
The workload for Breeland, Ward and Mathieu isn’t a surprise when considering how much the Lions were on the field.
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to watch in the coming weeks how the Chiefs plan to work in cornerback Morris Claiborne to the roster. Claiborne is eligible to return to the active roster this week after serving a four-game suspension to start the season.