Here’s how the Chiefs distributed playing time in Week 17’s win over the Broncos
The Chiefs and Denver Broncos played another close game in Week 17 before the Chiefs emerged with a 27-24 win at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
And like the Week 14 meeting between the two AFC West rivals, this game wasn’t pretty despite the Chiefs being heavily favored.
The Chiefs had to overcome a 17-13 deficit and a shaky third quarter, and then the defense stepped up to close the door on the Broncos late in the final period of regulation.
With the victory, the Chiefs improved to 13-3, the fifth time in franchise history that the team has won 13 or more games in a regular season. Kansas City also extended a winning streak over the Broncos to 15 games.
Here’s how the Chiefs’ snap counts worked out in Week 17:
QUARTERBACKS: Patrick Mahomes (60), Chad Henne (did not play)
Mahomes’ two fourth-quarter touchdown passes helped put the Chiefs over the top in a close game. He finished the game completing 29 of 42 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns with an interception for a 106.1 passer rating, adding 8 yards on four carries. And he even recorded his first career reception, which occurred in the first quarter when he caught his own deflected pass attempt and took it for a 6-yard gain.
The Chiefs’ quarterback now has 5,048 yards passing this season, the second such output of his career. Mahomes joins former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (5) and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (2) as the only signal-callers in NFL history to have multiple 5,000-yard passing seasons.
With three touchdown passes on Sunday, Mahomes also has 40 total touchdown passes this season. He joins Brees as the only two quarterbacks in NFL history to have multiple career 5,000-yard passing and 40-touchdown passes in a single season.
RUNNING BACKS: Jerick McKinnon (29, 12 on special teams), Isiah Pacheco (27, 5 on special teams), Ronald Jones (4), fullback Michael Burton (2, 16 on ST)
The Chiefs were allergic to running the football against the Broncos, and the proof is in the numbers: Kansas City attempted 42 passes against just 16 rushing attempts.
Pacheco made the most of his nine carries, rushing for 31 yards and a touchdown to lead the position group.
McKinnon once against was heavily involved as a pass catcher, totaling 52 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions. He’s now caught a touchdown in five straight games to become the first running back since 1970 to accomplish the feat.
As a team, the Chiefs rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown on the 16 attempts, averaging a paltry 2.9 yards per carry.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Marquez Valdes-Scantling (50), JuJu Smith-Schuster (39), Justin Watson (22, 3 on ST), Kadarius Toney (19, 5 on ST), Skyy Moore (15)
Toney only played 19 offensive snaps, but he led the position group with four catches for 71 yards. Toney also fumbled a punt return.
Moore chipped in with three catches for 33 yards; Smith-Schuster had two catches for 21 yards; Valdes-Scantling hauled in two catches for 28 yards; and Watson had a catch for 27 yards.
Valdes-Scantling was targeted seven times, but Mahomes misfired on a couple of deep passes, which would’ve gone for big gains, to the speedster.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (52), Noah Gray (33, 20 on ST), Blake Bell (8, 5 on ST)
Kelce had seven catches for 43 yards on a team-high 10 targets, and he continued to add more accomplishments to his decorated career.
The seven catches on Sunday have Kelce with 808 career receptions, which passed Jason Witten (806) for most receptions by a tight end in their first 10 seasons in the league. Kelce and Witten are the only two tight ends in league history to record 800 or more catches in their first 10 seasons in the NFL.
Gray recorded a catch for 12 yards, while Bell had a catch for a touchdown, the first of the season for the veteran tight end in his second game back from injured reserve.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Trey Smith (60, 5 on ST), Creed Humphrey (60, 5 on ST), Orlando Brown Jr. (60, 5 on ST), Andrew Wylie (60, 5 on ST), Joe Thuney (41), Nick Allegretti (19, 5 on ST), Prince Tega Wanogho (5 on ST), Lucas Niang (5 on ST)
The front five did a stellar job in protection, for the most part, by not giving up a sack and allowing just three quarterback hits on Mahomes.
Those figures are impressive when considering Mahomes dropped back to pass 42 times against the Broncos.
Thuney suffered a right ankle injury in the second half. He briefly returned to the game after getting the ankle re-taped, but eventually was ruled out. Allegretti replaced Thuney at left guard the rest of the game.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Frank Clark (53), Chris Jones (49), Carlos Dunlap (35), Khalen Saunders (35, 4 on ST), Mike Danna (34, 4 on ST), Derrick Nnadi (14, 4 on ST), George Karlaftis (36, 4 on ST), Brandon Williams (20)
The defensive line accounted for three of the four total sacks and six of the eight quarterback hits in the game.
Jones, Karlaftis and Saunders each recorded a sack, while Karlaftis recovered a fumble. Dunlap totaled a tackle for a loss, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed.
For Karlaftis, the rookie’s late-season surge as a pass rusher continues and he now has a sack in five of the last six games. He als
Clark led the position group with four tackles.
LINEBACKERS: Nick Bolton (69, 4 on ST), Willie Gay Jr. (44), Leo Chenal (22, 24 on ST), Darius Harris (12, 19 on ST), Jack Cochrane (20 on ST)
Bolton’s incredible productive season continued Sunday after his 10-tackle performance. The second-year linebacker, who also had a pass defensed Sunday, has now recorded nine games for 10 or more tackles this season.
Gay chipped in with seven tackles, which tied for the second-most on Sunday for the Chiefs; Chenal recorded three tackles on defense and a tackle on special teams; Harris had two tackles.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Trent McDuffie (70, 5 on ST), Justin Reid (70, 4 on ST), Juan Thornhill (70), L’Jarius Sneed (56), Jaylen Watson (48, 10 on ST), Bryan Cook (19, 20 on ST), Joshua Williams (14, 14 on ST), Chris Lammons (24 on ST), Deon Bush (18 on ST), Nazeeh Johnson (10 on ST)
The Chiefs’ pass defense contained Broncos wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, limited the duo to a combined 11 catches for 82 yards.
McDuffie led the charge with an excellent all-around defensive effort, totaling seven tackles, a sack, a quarterback hit and a forced fumble. Watson had seven tackles; Thornhill had six tackles; Reid chipped in three tackles, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed.
Sneed, who had two tackles, suffered a hip injury while returning an interception and did not finish the game.
Johnson had a solid outing on special teams, recording two tackles.
SPECIALISTS: Tommy Townsend (10), James Winchester (10), Harrison Butker (10)
The Chiefs’ issues in the kicking game reared its head again, as Townsend mishandled a snap, which led to a botched field goal attempt.
Butker also had a 51-yard field-goal attempt partially blocked at the line of scrimmage. He is now 17 of 23 in field-goal attempts (career-low 73.9%) this season, and the six misses represent the most misses in a single season in his career.
Townsend finished the game with five punts for 263 yards, averaging 52.6 yards per effort.
INACTIVES: Quarterback Shane Buechele, defensive end Joshua Kaindoh, defensive end Malik Herring, tackle lineman Geron Christian, offensive lineman Darian Kinnard
