Chiefs snap counts: Justin Watson leads receivers in Week 12

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Rams 26-10 in Week 12.

The offense was on the field more frequently this week as the result of some long drives that stalled out in the endzone. They also saw a few turnovers from the defense, which has been a rarity this season.

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What else can we learn from the weekly snap numbers? Here’s a look at how the snaps came down in Week 12:

*Snap counts via NFL Game Statistics and Information System

Observations

• Justin Watson led all Chiefs skill players in snaps on offense. He led the receiver group by a considerable margin with 20 more snaps to the next closest player Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
• Isiah Pacheco led running backs this week by a considerable margin after Jerick McKinnon had been the leader for a few weeks. It feels like the rookie is starting to become a bit more well-rounded in the offense.
• JuJu Smith-Schuster saw 29 offensive snaps in his return from injury. Andy Reid made it seem as if they didn’t know what to expect from his return early in the practice week and didn’t get him involved in their opening script as a result. He saw more snaps as the game went on, though.
• Ronald Jones played 11 snaps on offense in his Chiefs debut. He was productive in those snaps, touching the ball five times with four carries and one catch. Still no contribution or snaps on special teams from him, though.
• Fourth-round draft pick Joshua Williams played 100% of the defensive snaps for the first time in his career on Sunday. It’s safe to say they’re no longer platooning William with Jaylen Watson, who played just five snaps.
• First-round pick Trent McDuffie also played 100% of the team’s defensive snaps for the first time in his career. He has been every bit the shutdown corner that was advertised since returning from his early-season injury.
• Second-round pick Bryan Cook played 47 defensive snaps in his first career start. He played a season-low of three snaps on special teams as a result.
• Third-round pick Leo Chenal and ace Chris Lammons led the team in special teams snaps with 18. Chenal didn’t get any snaps on defense and was seemingly replaced by Darius Harris in the rotation this week.
• Lucas Niang played six snaps on special teams in his first game back since his patellar tendon tear last season. He was one of eight non-specialists to play their only snaps of the day on special teams.