Chiefs’ snap counts vs. Titans: Mahomes’ big return; Offensive line injury shuffles
The Kansas City Chiefs got their quarterback back against the Tennessee Titans, and Patrick Mahomes didn’t disappoint on his return.
Mahomes played all 82 offensive snaps, completing 36 of 50 pass attempts for 446 yards and three touchdowns for a 119.2 passer rating.
The NFL’s reigning MVP added to his impressive career resume. He now has 8,007 career passing yards, marking the highest total in NFL history by a quarterback in his first 25 starts.
Mahomes also has 68 career touchdown passes, which passed Hall of Famer Dan Marino for the most touchdowns asses by a player in their first 25 career starts.
The Chiefs signal-caller also produced his 16th career game with at least 300 yards passing, which ties Hall of Famer Kurt Warner for the most games with at least 300 yards passing in the first 25 career starts.
Mahomes’ production wasn’t enough, though, as the Titans emerged with a 35-32 win over the Chiefs.
Here’s how the rest of the Chiefs’ snap counts broke down:
Running backs
Damien Williams (60), Darrel Williams (17, 14 on ST), Darwin Thompson (5, 8 on ST), Anthony Sherman (4, 24 on ST)
With LeSean McCoy a surprise healthy inactive, Damien Williams commanding playing time and production out of the backfield with 109 total yards (77 rushing) on a season-high 60 offensive snaps.
Darrel Williams and Thompson combined for 5 yards rushing on three carries and 17 yards receiving on two catches.
As a team, the Chiefs totaled 96 yards rushing on 25 carries, averaging 3.9 yards per carry.
Wide receivers
Tyreek Hill (69), Sammy Watkins (63), Demarcus Robinson (55, 4 on ST), Mecole Hardman (18, 14 on ST), Byron Pringle (3, 19 on ST)
A week after lining up twice as a punt returner, Hill stuck to the offense in Week 10 and totaled 69 plays on offense. He provided a brief scary moment after going down near the Titans’ sidelines, but popped up and ran across the field to the Chiefs’ sidelines after receiving attention.
Hill’s overall production showed he was more than fine, as he amassed 11 catches for 157 yards receiving and a touchdown on a head-turning 19 targets.
Since returning to the lineup in Week 6 after missing a month because of a shoulder injury, Hill has been on a tear with 31 catches for 527 yards and five touchdowns on 52 targets.
Watkins totaled five catches for 39 yards on nine targets, but couldn’t secure what appeared to be two catchable passes in the game.
Hardman was targeted once on his 18 offensive snaps, but made the most of it by taking the catch 63 yards to the end zone.
Pringle played three offensive snaps after not seeing action on offense in the past two games.
Tight ends
Travis Kelce (78), Blake Bell (34, 14 on ST), Deon Yelder (4, 1 on ST)
With the Chiefs utilizing a 12 personnel offense, Bell logged 34 snaps, the fourth time this season he totaled 30 or more snaps in a game.
Kelce saw action on 78 snaps, and the tight end and Hill were Mahomes’ favorite targets to no surprise. Kelce totaled seven catches for 75 yards and a touchdown on seven targets.
Of Mahomes’ 36 completions, 18 went to Kelce and Hill.
Offensive line
Andrew Wylie (82, 9 on ST), Cam Erving (82, 7 on ST), Austin Reiter (82, 9 on ST), Mitchell Schwartz (79, 8 on ST), Martinas Rankin (42, 2 on ST), Stefen Wisniewski (41, 9 on ST), Nick Allegretti (2, 9 on ST)
The Chiefs were forced to shuffle the offensive line late in the second quarter after Schwartz and Rankin went down with knee injuries on consecutive plays. Schwartz eventually returned after halftime.
Wylie saw action at right guard and right tackle, while Wisniewski entered the game at left guard. Allegretti saw action at right guard on two snaps following Schwartz’s and Rankin’s injuries, as Wylie kicked out to right tackle.
The Chiefs at one point of the game were down to their last five offensive linemen. Left tackle Eric Fisher (groin) and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (ankle) were inactive.
Defensive line
Chris Jones (44, 4 on ST), Frank Clark (42), Tanoh Kpassagnon (40, 8 on ST), Derrick Nnadi (28, 4 on ST), Emmanuel Ogbah (23, 3 on ST), Joey Ivie (19, 1 on ST), Khalen Saunders (13)
Jones was a one-man wrecking crew on his 44 defensive snaps, totaling seven tackles, two sacks, two quarterback hits, a tackle for a loss and a forced fumble.
Clark, who made his return to the lineup after missing time with a neck injury, played 42 snaps and totaled four tackles, a sack, a quarterback hit, a tackle for a loss and a pass defensed.
Ogbah totaled three tackles and a sack before exiting the game with a torn pectoral muscle.
The Chiefs’ interior rotation was mostly split between Nnadi, Ivie and Saunders, but the group as a whole struggled to contain Titans running back Derrick Henry, who totaled 140 of his 188 yards rushing in the second half. Henry also had two touchdowns in the final two periods.
Linebackers
Anthony Hitchens (36, 4 on ST), Damien Wilson (27), Reggie Ragland (17), Ben Niemann (16, 15 on ST), Dorian O’Daniel (23 on ST), Darron Lee (19 on ST),
The starting linebacker group of Hitchens, Wilson and Ragland combined for seven tackles, a week after totaling 19.
Ragland’s overall usage is a head turner, as he totaled just 17 snaps against a run-minded Titans offense. Defending the run is widely-regarded as Ragland’s strength.
Defensive backs
Charvarius Ward (52, 8 on ST), Tyrann Mathieu (52), Juan Thornhill (50, 8 on ST), Bashaud Breeland (45), Daniel Sorensen (34, 15 on ST), Rashad Fenton (16, 10 on ST), Jordan Lucas (10, 23 on ST), Morris Claiborne (7), Armani Watts (19 on ST)
Sorensen had a productive game as part of the defensive secondary rotation, and led the defense with since tackles on 34 snaps.
Breeland showed he was healthy a week after sharing time with Claiborne, and played on 45 snaps compared to Claiborne’s seven snaps.
Ward, Mathieu and Thornhill continue to anchor the secondary by dominating playing time.
Specialists
Harrison Butker (17), Dustin Colquitt (10), James Winchester (10)
The trio of specialists had a game to forget with a missed extra point, a botched snap on a field-goal attempt and a blocked field goal. The latter two occasions came late in the game and helped seal the Chiefs’ fate in the loss.
Inactives
Eric Fisher (groin), Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (ankle), Alex Okafor (ankle), Kendall Fuller (thumb), LeSean McCoy, Mike Pennel, Chad Henne
