Chiefs’ snaps vs. Raiders: Let’s talk about Juan Thornhill logging a season-low 11
Sunday night wasn’t easy for the Chiefs, who escaped Las Vegas with a 35-31 win over the Raiders.
The Chiefs did it with less than two minutes remaining in regulation behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw a game-winning 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce.
Afterward, the Chiefs knew they were fortunate to secure the victory against a vastly improved Raiders team.
“This is the best Raiders team that I’ve played since I’ve been in the league,” Kelce said after the game. “Very well-coached. They’ve got a whole lot of great players over there and they play well together.”
Nevertheless, the Raiders’ best effort to sweep the annual two-game divisional series wasn’t good enough. The Chiefs improved to 9-1 and opened a three-game lead over Las Vegas (6-4) in the AFC West.
Here’s how the Chiefs’ snap counts worked out in Week 11.
QUARTERBACKS: Patrick Mahomes (78)
Mahomes completed 34 of 45 for 348 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, marking the 20th straight game in which he has thrown for a touchdown. He now has 103 career passing touchdowns, which moved him into fourth place on the team’s all-time list.
The Chiefs’ signal-caller now has 23 career games with 300-plus yards passing, including six this season.
RUNNING BACKS: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (40), Le’Veon Bell (20), Darrel Williams (20), Darwin Thompson (12 on special teams), Anthony Sherman (2, 19 on ST)
Edwards-Helaire paced the Chiefs’ 108 yards rushing with 69 yards on 14 carries. The rookie running back also found the end zone twice, giving him his first multi-touchdown game of his young career.
Bell chipped in 25 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, while Williams proved effective in the passing game with three catches for 22 yards on three targets.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Tyreek Hill (72), Demarcus Robinson (63, 2 on ST), Byron Pringle (40, 4 on ST), Mecole Hardman (17, 7 on ST), Gehrig Dieter (3, 12 on ST)
Hill totaled 11 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, marking the fourth straight game in which he’s found the end zone. The 102-yard effort also gave Hill his 14th career 100-yard receiving game.
Robinson experienced an up-and-down night but chipped in six catches for 44 yards on eight targets.
Pringle drew the start alongside Hill with Robinson as the Chiefs opened the game in an 11 personnel package. The Kansas State product recorded three catches for 17 yards before suffering an ankle injury in the second half.
Hardman, who was activated Saturday from the reserve/COVID-19 list, started off as a spectator — and this made sense, given the fact that he’d missed last week’s practices. The second-year pro was thrust into action only after Pringle’s ankle injury and had a clutch 16-yard catch during the Chiefs’ game-winning drive.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (69), Nick Keizer (29, 12 on ST), Deon Yelder (15, 5 on ST)
Kelce totaled eight catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. The 129 yards gave Kelce his 23rd career 100-yard game — second-most in team history.
With eight catches Sunday night, Kelce now has 573 career receptions, which scooted him past Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez (570 receptions) for second-most receptions by a tight end in his first eight seasons.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Eric Fisher (78, 5 on ST), Austin Reiter (78, 5 on ST), Andrew Wylie (78, 5 on ST), Nick Allegretti (78, 5 on ST), Mike Remmers (78, 5 on ST), Yasir Durant (5 on ST)
The Chiefs managed to avoid any injuries along their front five, and all starters played every snap.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Frank Clark (54), Chris Jones (48, 5 on ST), Derrick Nnadi (36, 5 on ST), Tanoh Kpassagnon (28, 5 on ST), Tershawn Wharton (22), Alex Okafor (22), Mike Pennel (21, 5 on ST), Mike Danna (13, 5 on ST)
The Chiefs’ pass rush was virtually non-existent against the Raiders, as quarterback Derek Carr didn’t get sacked and was hit once (by Jones).
Kansas City’s inability to apply pressure contributed to Carr completing 23 of 31 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns with an interception.
Jones paced the defensive line group with four tackles, while Kpassaganon contributed three and Nnadi made two. Clark had only one assisted tackle in the game.
LINEBACKERS: Anthony Hitchens (48, 5 on ST), Damien Wilson (48, 4 on ST), Willie Gay Jr. (31, 16 on ST), Ben Niemann (15, 21 on ST), Dorian O’Daniel (21 on ST)
Hitchens and Wilson each recorded a team-high six tackles, while Gay chipped in five.
O’Daniel recorded a tackle on special teams.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Daniel Sorensen (59, 4 on ST), Tryann Mathieu (59), Charvarius Ward (55), Bashaud Breeland (55), L’Jarius Sneed (13, 2 on ST), Rashad Fenton (11, 14 on ST), Juan Thornhill (11, 4 on ST), Armani Watts (21 on ST), Antonio Hamilton (21 on ST)
The Chiefs opened the game in a nickel package, but it didn’t include Thornhill.
Instead, the Chiefs went with strong safeties Mathieu and Sorensen alongside cornerbacks Ward, Breeland and rookie Sneed, who saw his first action since suffering a shoulder injury in Week 3.
Thornhill saw action in a rotational role and logged a season-low 11 defensive snaps.
“That was part of the plan,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He’s a situational guy right now. We’re just kind of bringing him back slowly.”
Thornhill remains less than a year removed from an ACL injury suffered in Week 17 of the 2019 regular season, so Reid’s explanation makes sense. But without Thornhill’s speed on the back end of coverage, the Raiders had four explosive plays in their passing game.
Sorensen, Mathieu and Ward each recorded four tackles, while Sorensen made a game-clinching interception.
SPECIALISTS: Harrison Butker (11), Tommy Townsend (7), James Winchester (7)
Butker connected on all five of his PAT attempts, giving him 503 career points. He moved past running back Priest Holmes (500) for the fourth-most points in team history.
Townsend finished with 107 yards on two punts, averaging 53.5 per attempt. Winchester made a tackle in punt coverage.
DID NOT PLAY: QB Chad Henne, C Daniel Kilgore, G Bryan Witzmann
INACTIVES: WR Sammy Watkins (hamstring, calf), LB Darius Harris, TE Ricky Seals-Jones, DT Khalen Saunders, S Tedric Thompson, CB BoPete Keyes, DE Tim Ward
Watkins continues to miss time and hasn’t played since Week 5.
