Chiefs’ snaps vs. Jets: Every player gets in on the action in Week 8’s 35-9 rout
The Chiefs rolled to their seventh win of the season thanks to Sunday’s 35-9 destruction of the New York Jets at Arrowhead Stadium.
Sunday’s game marked the seventh time this season that the Chiefs (7-1) held an opponent to 20 points or less in eight games.
The Chiefs once again utilized all three phases of the game in the rout of the Jets, who remain winless at 0-8..
Kansas City’s special teams produced a blocked field goal attempt, the defense shut down the overmatched Jets offense and quarterback Patrick Mahomes reminded the league why he forever belongs in the MVP discussion.
With the score out of reach by the fourth quarter, the Chiefs cleared the bench and everyone got a taste of action to the satisfaction of head coach Andy Reid.
“We were able to get some of the young guys in also with some work,” Reid said after the game.
Here’s how the Chiefs’ snap counts worked out in Week 8:
QUARTERBACKS: Patrick Mahomes (54), Chad Henne (12)
After two relatively quiet games, Mahomes went off against the Jets, with 416 yards passing and five touchdown passes — marking his 10th game with four or more touchdown passes and the third of his career with five or more TD passes.
Henne entered the game midway through the fourth quarter in relief of Mahomes and completed 3 of 4 passes for 17 yards.
RUNNING BACKS: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (33), Le’Veon Bell (17), Darrel Williams (8), Darwin Thompson (7, 10 on special teams)
The running game didn’t have easy sledding Sunday, totaling 50 yards on 20 carries. The Jets seemed to sell out on stopping the run, especially against their former teammate Le’Veon Bell, who gained 7 yards on six carries, but the strategy backfired as Mahomes picked apart the secondary.
“They were doing a good job of kind of stopping up the run and we took it to air,” Mahomes said.
Edwards-Helaire finished the game with six carries for 21 yards and three catches for 10 yards. Bell contributed three catches for 31 yards in the passing game.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Tyreek Hill (50), Mecole Hardman (45, 9 on ST), Byron Pringle (37, 8 on ST), Demarcus Robinson (36, 5 on ST), Marcus Kemp (12, 19 on ST)
The Chiefs’ receiving group had themselves a game with Mahomes in a groove.
Hill led the charge with four catches for 98 yards and two touchwowns; Hardman had seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown; Robinson totaled four catches for 63 yards and a touchdown; and Pringle notched three catches for 22 yards, 13 coming on a fake-punt pass from rookie punter Tommy Townsend to set up Hill’s first touchdown of the game on the next play.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (50), Nick Keizer (19, 15 on ST), Deon Yelder (16, 9 on ST)
Kelce totaled eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown. The yardage pushed Kelce over the 7,000 yards receiving milestone in his first eight seasons and he joins elite company — Rob Gronkowski (7,179) and Antonio Gates (7,005) — as the only tight ends in NFL history to achieve the mark.
Keizer and Yelder each recorded a catch for a combined 10 yards.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Eric Fisher (66, 5 on ST), Mike Remmers (66, 5 on ST), Andrew Wylie (64, 5 on ST), Nick Allegretti (64, 5 on ST), Daniel Kilgore (64), Austin Reiter (2, 5 on ST), Yasir Durant (2, 5 on ST), Danny Isidora (2)
With Mitchell Schwartz inactive once again while nursing a back injury, Remmers filled in at right tackle. Allegretti started a second consecutive game at left guard.
Reiter, Durant and Isidora logged their offensive snaps in the fourth quarter as the Chiefs made wholesale substitutions with the game in hand.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Tanoh Kpassagnon (41, 4 on ST), Chris Jones (41, 2 on ST), Frank Clark (38), Tershawn Wharton (31, 2 on ST), Mike Danna (25), Derrick Nnadi (21, 4 on ST), Mike Pennel (19, 4 on ST), Taco Charlton (12)
Jones was in Jets quarterback Sam Darnold’s face for most of the game and recorded three quarterback hits. Clark recorded four tackles, including a tackle for a loss, and a quarterback hit.
A week after forcing a fumble, Wharton continued his stellar rookie season by recording his first career sack. He finished the game with four tackles, a tackle for a loss and a quarterback hit.
Danna made his return to action after being activated from injured reserve over the weekend and recorded an assist.
LINEBACKERS: Damien Wilson (34, 10 on ST), Anthony Hitchens (34, 3 on ST), Ben Niemann (23, 23 on ST), Willie Gay Jr. (9, 13 on ST), Dorian O’Daniel (23 on ST)
Wilson paced the linebacker group for a second straight week with seven tackles, while Niemann logged two tackles.
A week after totaling 39 snaps, Gay totaled just nine defensive plays against the Jets and recorded a tackle.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Daniel Sorensen (54, 17 on ST), Tryann Mathieu (54), Bashaud Breeland (54), Charvarius Ward (54), Juan Thornhill (48), Rashad Fenton (23, 6 on ST), Armani Watts (3, 23 on ST), Antonio Hamilton (3, 23 on ST), BoPete Keyes (3, 11 on ST), Tedric Thompson (3, 6 on ST)
Sorensen continues to stay hot and produced a team-high nine tackles to go along with a forced fumble. He also drew praise for his play after the game.
“He’s playing good football right now,” Reid said. “He’s flying around, he’s making plays.”
Mathieu chipped in with five tackles and Breeland totaled four tackles, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery.
Watts produced a blocked field goal to deny the Jets an opportunity for points in the first half.
SPECIALISTS: Harrison Butker (11), Tommy Townsend (9), James Winchester (9)
After two straight games with a missed extra point, Butker nailed all five attempts against the Jets.
Townsend successfully executed a fake-punt by completing a 13-yard pass to Pringle. The Chiefs capitalized on the very next play when Mahomes found a streaking Hill open down the middle of the field for a 36-yard touchdown.
DID NOT PLAY: None
All dressed players saw action against the Jets.
INACTIVES: Tackle Mitchell Schwartz (back), wide receiver Sammy Watkins (hamstring), running back DeAndre Washington, linebacker Darius Harris, defensive end Demone Harris, tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, defensive tackle Khalen Saunders
Schwartz missed a second straight game, while Watkins hasn’t played since Week 5.
