Chiefs’ snaps vs. Bucs: Stars had banner afternoon, even if run game never got going
The Chiefs improved to 10-1 with Sunday’s 27-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And with the Las Vegas Raiders’ loss in Week 12, the Chiefs now possess a virtual hammerlock on the AFC West, with a four-game division lead and five games to go in the regular season.
The Chiefs held off Tampa Bay’s comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. It took a team effort, with some players seeing ample action. And this week’s snap counts reflect that.
QUARTERBACK: Patrick Mahomes (79)
Mahomes produced a magnificent performance, completing 37 of 49 passes for 462 yards and three touchdowns in extending his streak of games with a scoring pass to 21. With a 124.7 passer rating Sunday, he now has 28 career games with a 100.0-plus passer rating and moves into sole possession of third place on the list of most 100.0-plus games in franchise history.
Mahomes’ total of 462 passing yards was second-most in his career and fourth-most in franchise history.
He also got it done with his legs, rushing four times for 28 yards. He helped drain the clock late in the fourth quarter with an 8-yard scamper.
RUNNING BACKS: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (47), Le’Veon Bell (24), Darrel Williams (8, 2 on special teams), Darwin Thompson (10 on special teams), Anthony Sherman (3, 20 on ST)
Edwards-Helaire and Bell found the going tough against the NFL’s top rushing defense, but the duo appeared to be utilized more to keep the Buccaneers’ defense honest.
As a team, the Chiefs gained 87 yards on 20 attempts. Edwards-Helaire paced the attack with 37 on 11 attempts, while Bell contributed 22 on five carries.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Tyreek Hill (68), Sammy Watkins (57), Demarcus Robinson (57, 1 on ST), Mecole Hardman (24, 10 on ST), Marcus Kemp (4, 20 on ST)
Hill had a very big day, with 13 catches for a career-high 269 yards and three touchdowns on 15 targets.
Most of Hill’s damage came in the first quarter, when he seven catches for 203 yards and two touchdowns. He became just the third player since 1980 with at least 200 yard receiving yards in a single quarter, joining Qadry Ismail , who totaled 210 in the third quarter on Dec. 12, 1999), and Lee Evans, who produced 205 in the first quarter on Nov. 19, 2006.
Watkins saw his first action since Week 5, playing on 72 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. Watkins hauled in four catches for 38 yards on seven targets, which included a red-zone look.
Robinson totaled five catches for 36 yards, while Hardman had three catches for 23. Mahomes misfired on a pass to a wide-open Hardman down the seam in a play that would have resulted in a touchdown.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (68), Nick Keizer (20, 14 on ST), Deon Yelder (15, 9 on ST)
Kelce totaled eight catches for 82 yards in his 100th career start, extending his streak of consecutive games with a reception to 106. He needs just 22 yards receiving to record his fifth straight 1,000-yard campaign.
Yelder recorded one catch for 2 yards, while Keizer was not targeted.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Eric Fisher (79, 5 on ST), Austin Reiter (79, 5 on ST), Andrew Wylie (79, 5 on ST), Nick Allegretti (79, 5 on ST), Mike Remmers (79, 5 on ST), Yasir Durant (5 on ST)
The Chiefs didn’t suffer any injuries to their starting front five, and each starter played all offensive snaps.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Frank Clark (47), Chris Jones (46, 2 on ST), Tershawn Wharton (43, 2 on ST), Tanoh Kpassagnon (30, 4 on ST), Alex Okafor (24), Derrick Nnadi (20, 4 on ST), Mike Danna (16, 4 on ST), Mike Pennel (9, 4 on ST)
The Chiefs’ defensive front rebounded from the past two games and applied pressure on Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady throughout the game.
Jones tallied two of the Chiefs’ eight quarterback hits, while Okafor and Danna split a sack.
Okafor, Danna and Nnadi each recorded three tackles.
LINEBACKERS: Anthony Hitchens (41, 4 on ST), Ben Niemann (21, 24 on ST), Damien Wilson (17, 9 on ST), Willie Gay Jr. (1, 19 on ST), Dorian O’Daniel (3 on ST)
Hitchens’ seven tackles tied for the team lead, and the veteran linebacker also recorded two quarterback hits and a tackle for a loss.
Wilson recorded two tackles on defense and a stop on special teams, while Gay notched a tackle on special teams.
O’Daniel left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Daniel Sorensen (59), Charvarius Ward (59), Bashaud Breeland (59), Tryann Mathieu (55), Juan Thornhill (41), L’Jarius Sneed (32, 5 on ST), Rashad Fenton (26, 10 on ST), Armani Watts (3, 24 on ST), Antonio Hamilton (24 on ST)
Sorensen logged seven tackles, which tied linebacker Anthony Hitchens for the team lead. Mathieu recorded five tackles and an interception of a Brady pass that deflected off Sorensen’s helmet, along with a pass defensed.
Breeland notched a tackle, an interception and two passes defensed. Fenton was busy on his 26 defensive snaps with six tackles, and Ward produced four tackles and a quarterback hit.
Sneed’s snaps increased from Week 11, when he totaled just 13 and he came through with three tackles.
A week after recording a season-low 11 defensive snaps in a situational role, Thornhill saw action on 41 plays and tallied three tackles. Thornhill, however, didn’t start the game, as the Chiefs went with a nickel package featuring Mathieu, Sorensen, Breeland, Ward and Sneed.
SPECIALISTS: Harrison Butker (11), Tommy Townsend (9), James Winchester (9)
Butker connected on all three of his PAT attempts and two field goals. Townsend totaled 159 yards on four punts, averaging 39.8 yards per attempt.
DID NOT PLAY: QB Chad Henne, C Daniel Kilgore, G/T Martinas Rankin
Rankin was active for the first time this season but didn’t see action.
INACTIVES: LB Darius Harris, TE Ricky Seals-Jones, DT Khalen Saunders, CB BoPete Keyes, DE Tim Ward
Seals-Jones, who signed a free-agent deal during the offseason, has now been inactive in 10 of the Chiefs’ 11 games in 2020.
