Jerick McKinnon showed out; Pacheco got one carry: KC Chiefs’ snap counts vs. Raiders
The Chiefs showed some Jekyll and Hyde on Monday Night Football.
They stumbled through the first half and all too quickly found themselves down 17-0 to the Las Vegas Raiders at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
But a controversial roughing the passer penalty late in the second quarter, a raucous crowd and a halftime rallying cry in the locker room woke up the Chiefs.
Those factors all contributed to the Chiefs securing a 30-29 win to improve to 4-1 on the season.
“It was just a tale of halves,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We played a lot better the second half, or at least the second part of the second quarter there, and then through the second half than we did the first half. But it was a nice win to get, for sure.”
The Chiefs needed the win to build momentum on a two-game winning streak because of what’s next in Week 6: a heavyweight home showdown against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Here’s how the Chiefs’ snap counts worked out in Week 5:
QUARTERBACKS: Patrick Mahomes (72), Chad Henne (did not play)
Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense woke up after the slow start and helped propel the comeback win.
The Chiefs’ star quarterback connected with nine receivers en route and finished 29 of 43 for 292 yards and four touchdown with no interceptions, adding 28 yards rushing on four carries. Mahomes is 13-2 in games in which he has four or more touchdown throws.
RUNNING BACKS: Jerick McKinnon (38, 7 on special teams), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (31), Isiah Pacheco (2, 11 on ST), fullback Michael Burton (6, 15 on ST)
McKinnon paced the Chiefs’ running game with a team-high 53 yards rushing on eight carries, averaging 6.6 yards per attempt. He also had two catches for 19 yards on three targets.
A week after totaling 92 yards rushing and a touchdown, Edwards-Helaire found the going tougher against the Raiders and managed just 15 yards on nine carries (1.7 yards per attempt). He contributed three catches for 20 yards on four targets.
Pacheco tallied a single carry for no yards. As a team, the Chiefs totaled 103 yards rushing on 23 carries, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt.
WIDE RECEIVERS: JuJu Smith-Schuster (62), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (58), Mecole Hardman (29), Skyy Moore (25, 3 on ST), Justin Watson (11, 3 on ST)
Every wide receiver hauled in at least one catch against the Raiders, and Valdes-Scantling paced the group with six receptions for 90 yards on eight targets.
Hardman had his best game of the season, totaling four catches for 73 yards, which included a team-high 36-yard gain. The fourth-year pro entered the game with two catches for 6 yards over the past two games.
Smith-Schuster chipped in with three catches for 33 yards; Moore had two catches for 15 yards; and Watson recorded one catch for 10 yards.
Moore also contributed a punt return for 7 yards and a kickoff return for 19 yards.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (56), Noah Gray (29, 18 on ST), Jody Fortson (13, 14 on ST)
Kelce had a career-high four touchdowns in a single game and finished the night with 25 catches on a team-high seven catches.
The tight end’s touchdown binge tied the franchise record for most receiving touchdowns in a game. Running back Jamaal Charles (2013) and wide receiver Frank Jackson (1964) are the other Chiefs players to accomplish the feat.
Gray totaled a single catch for 7 yards, while Fortson wasn’t targeted in this game.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Joe Thuney (72), Creed Humphrey (72, 6 on ST), Orlando Brown Jr. (72, 6 on ST), Nick Allegretti (72, 6 on ST), Andrew Wylie (72, 6 on ST), Prince Tega Wanogho (6 on ST), Geron Christian (6 on ST), Darian Kinnard (5 on ST)
The front five was shuffled up a bit with Trey Smith (pectoral) out. Allegretti drew the start at right tackle.
Wylie had issues against Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, who sacked Mahomes twice, and Brown was beaten by defensive end Chandler Jones on a couple of plays.
But members of the Chiefs’ offensive line played better after the second quarter after Mahomes issued a challenge.
“I kind of went up to the O-line and said, ‘We’re going to win or lose this game because of you all,’” Mahomes said. “And they responded. They went out there and blocked their tail off the entire second half and gave me time to make those throws downfield.”
Kinnard, the Chiefs’ fifth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, was active for the first time this season and saw five snaps on special teams.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Chris Jones (58), George Karlaftis (55, 5 on ST), Carlos Dunlap (37), Frank Clark (29), Derrick Nnadi (26, 5 on ST), Khalen Saunders (25, 5 on offense), Malik Herring (25, 5 on ST), Tershawn Wharton (4)
Jones’ controversial roughing the passer penalty helped energize the Chiefs in the second half. He finished with two quarterback hits. And Karlaftis recorded his first career sack in the game, splitting it with Clark.
Wharton was carted off the sideline in the first half, and Reid revealed after the game that the third-year pro suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. Clark, too, had to leave the game early (illness).
So Saunders and Herring had to step up.
“We had to reach down deep at the D-line and Khalen Saunders played a heck of a game,” Reid said. “Herring played a nice game stepping in; he got a ton of snaps.”
Saunders registered four tackles, Herring one.
LINEBACKERS: Nick Bolton (64, 5 on ST), Darius Harris (44, 6 on ST), Leo Chenal (24, 7 on ST), Elijah Lee (22 on ST), Jack Cochrane (17 on ST)
Harris recorded a team-high 10 tackles, adding his first career sack.
Bolton finished with nine tackles and a quarterback hit, and his ability to make stops drew praise from Reid.
“Bolton was off the charts with his tackling,” the Chiefs’ coach said. “I mean, it’s going to be hard to find another guy in the league that tackles better than Bolton. He’s unbelievable.”
Chenal chipped in three tackles while Lee and Cochrane each recorded a stop on special teams.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Justin Reid (64, 5 on ST), L’Jarius Sneed (64, 2 on ST), Juan Thornhill (64, 1 on ST), Rashad Fenton (62), Jaylen Watson (40, 6 on ST), Bryan Cook (11, 16 on ST), Deon Bush (11, 22 on ST), Joshua Williams (2, 16 on ST), Chris Lammons (17 on ST), Nazeeh Johnson (5 on ST)
The Chiefs’ cornerbacks struggled all game long against Raiders wide receiver Devante Adams, who recorded three catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Adams thus averaged 41.3 yards per catch and beat Fenton on a 58-yard touchdown play. He also got behind Watson and Cook for a 48-yard score.
Worse, the Chiefs’ defensive backs corps left the game more banged up than when it began. Cook suffered a concussion; Fenton battled cramps; and Lammons, a special teams standout, suffered a hip injury.
Sneed led the position group with seven tackles and forced a fumble, while Reid contributed four tackles.
SPECIALISTS: Matthew Wright (11), James Winchester (9), Tommy Townsend (9)
Wright drilled a 59-yard field goal, a new team record, and converted three extra-point attempts. He missed a 41-yard attempt in the first quarter. Townsend had three punts for 145 yards, averaging 48.3. One of his punts was placed inside the Raiders’ 20-yard line.
INACTIVES: Kicker Harrison Butker (left ankle sprain), right guard Trey Smith (pectoral), defensive end Mike Danna (calf), running back Ronald Jones, quarterback Shane Buechele, defensive ends Joshua Kaindoh and Benton Whitley
