Chiefs’ snap counts vs. Bears: Williams paces backfield in playing time, production
The Kansas City Chiefs played yet another complete game in a 26-3 dismantling of the Chicago Bears Sunday night.
The Chiefs received numerous contributions on all sides of the ball and set the tone early against an overmatched Chicago team.
Here’s how the individual snaps counts break down from Week 16 at Soldier Field, which saw the Chiefs improve to 11-4 and extend their winning streak to five games.
QUARTERBACKS
Patrick Mahomes (65), Matt Moore (1)
Mahomes completed 23 of 33 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns for a 112.1 passer rating and became the fastest player in league history to amass 9,000-plus career yards passing. Mahomes also added a 12-yard touchdown run in the rout.
Moore took one snap at the end of the game, a kneel-down with the Chiefs in victory formation.
RUNNING BACKS
Damien Williams (35), Spencer Ware (24, 2 on special teams), Darwin Thompson (6, 6 on ST), Anthony Sherman (4, 18 on ST)
Williams made his return to action for the first time since suffering a rib injury in Week 11 and quickly reminded everyone what the Chiefs’ offense has been missing out of the backfield.
Williams led the backfield in snaps and production, totaling 92 yards (65 rushing) and a touchdown, which came on a 6-yard catch.
Ware, who has led the backfield in snaps the past two games, started the game before suffering what head coach Andy Reid described as a tweaked shoulder. Reid pointed out after the game, though, that Ware played through it.
Thompson totaled just six offensive plays, but his playing time figured to drop with the return of Williams.
As a team, the Chiefs totaled 106 yards rushing and a touchdown on 29 carries against one of the better run defenses in the league. Chicago entered the contest ranked sixth against the run, allowing 96.6 yards per game.
LeSean McCoy was a healthy inactive for the second time this season.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Tyreek Hill (59), Sammy Watkins (51), Demarcus Robinson (35, 3 on ST), Mecole Hardman (23, 5 on ST), Byron Pringle (4, 14 on ST)
Of Mahomes’ 23 completions, eight went to his wide receiver corps.
Hill led the group with five catches for 72 yards on five targets, which included converting a third-and-long with a 19-yard catch. Watkins and Robinson combined for three catches and 43 yards on seven targets.
Hill now has 4,054 yards receiving in 58 career games to become the fastest Chiefs player to reach 4,000 receiving yards, a mark previously held by Otis Taylor (59 games).
TIGHT ENDS
Travis Kelce (61), Blake Bell (26, 10 on ST)
Kelce continues to thrive as the bread and butter of the passing game, totaling eight catches for 74 yards on nine targets against the Bears.
Bell totaled 26 snaps in the team’s 12 personnel grouping and recorded two catches for 15 yards on three targets.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Mitchell Schwartz (66, 5 on ST), Eric Fisher (66, 5 on ST), Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (66, 5 on ST), Austin Reiter (66, 5 on ST), Stefen Wisniewski (66, 5 on ST), Nick Allegretti (2, 5 on ST), Cam Erving (did not play)
Wisniewski drew the start at left guard with Andrew Wylie inactive and played every offensive snap alongside the first-team unit.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Tanoh Kpassagnon (56, 2 on ST), Frank Clark (43), Chris Jones (42, 1 on ST), Derrick Nnadi (27, 1 on ST), Demone Harris (21, 1 on ST), Khalen Saunders (18), Terrell Suggs (17), Mike Pennel (14)
Kpassagnon logged his third-most defensive snaps on the season, and he once again displayed the versatility to play inside and outside in the Chiefs’ personnel packages.
Clark also showed he’s over his injuries by playing the second-most snaps among KC’s defensive linemen. He recorded a tackle and a sack, which came after the recently claimed Suggs flushed Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky out of the pocket. Suggs finished the game with one tackle in a rotational role in passing situations.
Jones led the group with three tackles, a sack and a quarterback hit. The Chiefs had probably hoped to keep Clark in a rotational role, but Alex Okafor’s season-ending chest injury prompted some shuffling at the right defensive end spot.
LINEBACKERS
Anthony Hitchens (37, 1 on ST), Ben Niemann (26, 15 on ST), Reggie Ragland (12), Darron Lee (9, 14 on ST), Damien Wilson (6), Dorian O’Daniel (15 on ST)
The Chiefs played a lot of nickel defense, which placed two linebackers on the field alongside the five defensive backs.
Hitchens paced the linebacker corps with six tackles, while Niemann contributed three tackles and Ragland totaled a tackle and a sack.
Wilson saw action on just six defensive snaps and recorded a lone tackle.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Charvarius Ward (63, 4 on ST), Kendall Fuller (57), Daniel Sorensen (54, 15 on ST), Tyrann Mathieu (54), Juan Thornhill (54, 3 on ST), Bashaud Breeland (54), Jordan Lucas (9, 15 on ST), Armani Watts (11, 13 on ST), Alex Brown (9, 8 on ST)
The Chiefs utilized a lot of three-safety looks in their nickel package against the Bears, and the rotation of personnel saw Sorensen, Lucas and Watts get plenty of action.
Mathieu totaled six tackles and a pass defensed, while Sorensen chipped in with four tackles, a quarterback hit and a tackle on special teams.
Breeland dealt with what Reid called a tweaked shoulder, but the Chiefs coach noted after the game that Breeland played through it.
SPECIALISTS
Harrison Butker (11), Dustin Colquitt (8), James Winchester (8)
Butker accounted for eight of the Chiefs’ 26 points (two field goals and two extra points), including a career-long 56-yard field goal.
INACTIVES
Andrew Wylie (illness, ankle, shoulder), Morris Claiborne (shoulder), LeSean McCoy, Rashad Fenton, Chad Henne, Jackson Barton, Deon Yelder
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 12:08 PM.
