Chiefs’ snap counts vs. Saints: Offense runs season-high 98 plays in 32-29 win
The Chiefs’ offensive players might spend the next day or so in ice tubs given the amount of time they spent on the field during Sunday’s 32-29 win over the New Orleans Saints.
In total, the offense ran a season-high 98 plays en route to a commanding 41:14-18:46 edge in time of possession.
And the Chiefs needed every snap to hold off the Saints after jumping out ton an early 14-0 lead.
Sunday marked a sixth consecutive one-possession win for the Chiefs, who improved to 13-1 with two games remaining in the regular season.
Here’s how the snap counts worked out in Week 15.
QUARTERBACKS: Patrick Mahomes (98)
Mahomes out-dueled fellow Texan Drew Brees, who appeared rusty in his first game back from injured reserve.
The Chiefs’ quarterback completed 26 of 47 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions for a 92 passer rating. Mahomes also picked up timely first downs in the second half with his legs, finishing the game with 37 yards rushing on seven carries.
Mahomes now has 21 career games with at least three touchdown passes, which ties Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner for the second-most such games by a quarterback in his first four seasons in NFL history. Only Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino has more (27 games).
RUNNING BACKS: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (45), Le’Veon Bell (31), Darrel Williams (22, 5 on special teams), Anthony Sherman (10, 22 on ST)
Edwards-Helaire totaled 83 yards (79 rushing) before leaving in the fourth quarter with hip and left leg injuries. The Chiefs will continue to evaluate his status in the coming days.
Bell chipped in with 76 total yards (62 rushing) and a touchdown and could be in line for the featured role depending on Edwards-Helaire’s injuries.
As a team, the Chiefs pounded out 179 yards rushing and a touchdown, an impressive feat against a Saints defense that entered the game ranked second in the league. The Chiefs also adjusted early in the game with the Saints deploying both safeties 10-15 yards off the line of scrimmage to defend deep passes.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Tyreek Hill (84), Sammy Watkins (80), Demarcus Robinson (50, 2 on ST), Mecole Hardman (32, 16 on ST), Byron Pringle (6, 26 on ST)
The deep game wasn’t present for most of the game against a Saints defense playing back, but Hill found ways to cause damage.
Hill produced six catches for 53 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets, giving him 15 receiving scores on the season to tie a franchise record with Dwayne Bowe, who did it in 2010.
Watkins was effective underneath, totaling four catches for 60 yards on six targets.
Hardman contributed three catches for 22 yards and a touchdown, while Robinson, whose lost fumble resulted in a safety, tallied two catches for 27 yards.
Pringle made his return to the lineup from injured reserve and contributed a tackle on special teams.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (78), Nick Keizer (33, 21 on ST), Deon Yelder (19, 8 on ST)
Kelce’s two-game streak of 100-plus yards receiving came to end, but he remained involved with eight catches for 68 yards and a touchdown on 12 targets. Kelce now owns 47-career receiving touchdowns, which is tied with Hill for the fifth-most in Chiefs history.
While Keizer didn’t record a target, he saw plenty of action in the Chiefs’ 12-personnel package as the blocking component in the run game.
Yelder snared a catch for 6 yards in the red zone.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Eric Fisher (98, 4 on ST), Austin Reiter (98, 4 on ST), Andrew Wylie (98, 4 on ST), Nick Allegretti (98, 4 on ST), Stefen Wisniewski (98, 4 on ST), Yasir Durant (4 on ST)
With right tackle Mike Remmers out with back and neck injuries, the Chiefs moved Wylie from right guard to the outside spot and inserted Wisniewski at right guard.
The front five had their moments, good and bad. The former was evident in how well the Chiefs ran the ball against a stout Saints run defense. The latter, however, came in pass protection as Mahomes was sacked a season-high four times and hit 11 times.
Overall, Chiefs coach Andy Reid expressed appreciation on how the offensive line battled throughout the game.
“I thought we ran the ball efficiently, especially in the second half,” Reid said after the game. “We threw the ball well with the exception of a couple of blitzes that they had. They got us at the end, but we were clean for the most part.”
DEFENSIVE LINE: Frank Clark (44), Chris Jones (36), Alex Okafor (30), Tershawn Wharton (29, 3 on ST), Tanoh Kpassagnon (28, 12 on ST), Derrick Nnadi (26, 3 on ST), Mike Pennel (16, 4 on ST), Mike Danna (13, 46 on ST)
The Chiefs’ defensive front accounted for five of the seven recorded quarterback hits, with Jones pacing the rush with two.
While it won’t show up in the box score, the defensive line’s ability to hold the point of attack contributed to the Chiefs holding the Saints’ running game to just 60 yards on 17 carries, an average of just 3.5 yards per attempt. New Orleans entered the game with the league’s seventh-best rushing offense, averaging 137.3 yards per game.
Nnadi paced the defensive line with three tackles.
“Defensively, I thought we played good football,” Reid said.
LINEBACKERS: Ben Niemann (47, 14 on ST), Anthony Hitchens (33, 3 on ST), Willie Gay Jr. (12, 20 on ST), Darius Harris (19 on ST), Emmanuel Smith (16 on ST)
A week after leading the linebacker corps with 75 defensive snaps, Niemann once again led the charge with 47 and totaled a team-high eight tackles.
Hitchens contributed three tackle, while Gay notched a tackle and a pass defensed in his limited action on defense.
With Damien Wilson out with a knee injury, Smith was elevated from the practice squad and saw action exclusively on special teams before suffering a hamstring injury.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Tyrann Mathieu (55), Daniel Sorensen (55), Bashaud Breeland (53), Charvarius Ward (52), L’Jarius Sneed (51, 9 on ST), Juan Thornhill (22, 11 on ST), Rashad Fenton (3, 17 on ST), Armani Watts (30 on ST), Antonio Hamilton (30 on ST), Deandre Baker (7 on ST)
Sorensen and Mathieu played on all defensive snaps and combined for six tackles. Sorensen also had two passes defensed.
Ward’s four tackles led the defensive backs and Breeland contributed two tackles and two passes defensed.
Sneed turned in an impressive game with three tackles, a sack, an interception and a team-high three passes defensed.
Hamilton notched an assist on special teams.
SPECIALISTS: Tommy Townsend (11), Harrison Butker (10), James Winchester (10)
Butker nailed three extra point attempts and a 22-yard field goal.
Townsend totaled 243 yards on a season-high six punts, averaging 40.5 yards per attempt and pinning three punts inside the 20-yard line.
Winchester totaled a tackle and an assist on special teams.
DID NOT PLAY: QB Chad Henne, C Daniel Kilgore, OL Martinas Rankin
INACTIVES: LB Damien Wilson (knee), RT Mike Remmers (back, neck), RB Darwin Thompson (illness), TE Ricky Seals-Jones, DT Khalen Saunders, CB BoPete Keyes, DE Tim Ward
Wilson (knee) missed a second straight game.
