The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Denver Broncos 27-24 on New Year’s Day.
The offense played 10 fewer snaps than the defense in Week 17, which speaks to some of the struggles they had. Going three-and-out often increases the snap total for your defense if they can’t force the same out of opponents.
A week after his snap counts tumbled, Marquez Valdes-Scantling played the most snaps of any Chiefs receiver. His 50 snaps were the second-most by an offensive skill player next to Travis Kelce.
In Week 17, Justin Watson played the fewest offensive snaps he’d played since Week 7. This comes after three consecutive games where he was targeted more than once and had no receptions.
Jerick McKinnon and Isiah Pacheco continue to essentially split snaps at the running back position, but Ronald Jones did see a handful of snaps in this game.
Kadarius Toney only saw a brief uptick in total snaps this week. In Week 16, he played 22 total snaps. This week, he managed 24 total snaps. We’ll see if his receiving performance this week will get him more playtime against the Raiders in Week 18.
Blake Bell crossed double-digit total snaps for the first time in his return from injury. Expect his workload to continue rising as he gets acclimated.
Justin Reid, Juan Thornhill and Trent McDuffie were the only players to get 100% of the defensive snaps this week.
Jaylen Watson earned the start this week, while Joshua Williams played off the bench in their platoon situation at cornerback.
Even with the return of Khalen Saunders, Brandon Williams matched his career-high in snaps with the Chiefs this week.
Leo Chenal and Chris Lammons continue to lead the team in special teams snaps on a weekly basis.
Six non-specialists played special teams-only snaps in Week 17, with Lucas Niang and Prince Tega Wanogho playing the fewest snaps.
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