The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Houston Texans by a score of 20-10 in Week 14. Let’s look at how the Chiefs used their players in this game:
Starters (offensive): WR Xavier Worthy, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, TE Travis Kelce, LT Wanya Morris, LG Kingsley Suamataia, C Creed Humphrey, RG Mike Caliendo, RT Jaylon Moore, WR Rashee Rice, QB Patrick Mahomes and RB Isiah Pacheco.
Starters (defensive): DE George Karlaftis, DT Derrick Nnadi, DT Chris Jones, DE Michael Danna, LB Drue Tranquill, LB Nick Bolton,
LB Leo Chenal, DB Chamarri Conner, CB Trent McDuffie, CB Jaylen Watson and S Bryan Cook.
Did not play: QB Gardner Minshew and OL C.J. Hanson.
Inactive: CB Kristian Fulton, WR Jalen Royals, RB Elijah Mitchell, G Trey Smith, T Jawaan Taylor and WR Nikko Remigio.
The big takeaway
The Chiefs’ offense entered the contest knowing the challenge ahead: the Texans’ defense had established itself as possibly the NFL’s best singular unit. It would take a strong performance of controlling possession by Kansas City to outlast the Texans in a low-scoring battle.
The Chiefs ran the ball on 29 of 64 total offensive plays; the 45% run rate is the fifth-highest mark for any game this season. In the four other games, the Chiefs have a 3-1 record. The Chiefs’ multiple blowout wins skew the statistic, but a healthy run-pass balance is important in close games and was the recipe for success in wins against the Detroit Lions and Indianapolis Colts.
The team’s hottest back continued to lead the backfield as well: running back Kareem Hunt was the primary ballcarrier and snaps leader in the backfield, although Isiah Pacheco cut more into the workload in his second game back from injury. Hunt took 59% of the snaps and ran 12 times, while Pacheco matched Hunt’s rushing total (30 yards) on nine attempts and 33% of the offensive snaps.
In total, running backs earned 67 yards over 22 attempts; it was not an efficient enough day to lift the offense.
Offensive takeaways
When the Chiefs did throw the ball, it was neither effective nor pretty. That happened despite seemingly solid pass blocking with three backups along the offensive line, including left tackle Esa Pole, who played 98% of the offensive snaps in his NFL debut.
Wide receiver Hollywood Brown was on the field for 49% of pass plays, the highest pass-play rate since the bye week in Week 10. It speaks to the Chiefs’ game plan to attack the Texans’ coverage with all three of the top threats at wide receiver: Brown, Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy. Brown was also saved solely for dropbacks; he lined up for a season-low 17% of run plays.
The commitment to attacking the Texans’ pass defense included wide receiver Tyquan Thornton seeing the field for 31% of pass plays, the highest rate for the deep threat since the bye week. The game script featuring more passes to wide receivers failed miserably. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished with 160 passing yards and a career-low 42.4% completion rate.
Defensive takeaways
The Chiefs’ defense was put in an early bind when star cornerback Trent McDuffie stayed down on the field injured after a big completion. McDuffie played only eight snaps, but it was hardly noticed in the 20-10 result.
Rookie cornerback Nohl Williams stepped up in the All-Pro’s place and played a big part in limiting the Houston offense for the remainder of the game. According to Pro Football Focus, Williams was targeted six times by the Texans. He allowed just three catches and broke up one of the other passes towards him.
Clearly, he has flashed in spurts this season; it will be interesting to see if his impact is more consistent the remainder of the season.
Rookie defensive end Ashton Gillotte continued his ascension in the Chiefs’ defensive lineup. He is clearly becoming a bigger part of the pass rush: he lined up with the defense for a season-high 68% of pass plays. He generated five pressures, according to PFF.
He played the third-most snaps of any Chiefs’ defensive lineman in this game, and saw his role on special teams reduced again for a second consecutive week. For the game, he racked up two tackles and half a sack.
Data
Offense
| Offense | All | Pass | Run |
| Total | 64 (100%) |
35 (100%) |
29 (100%) |
| Mike Caliendo | 64 (100%) |
35 (100%) |
29 (100%) |
| Creed Humphrey | 64 (100%) |
35 (100%) |
29 (100%) |
| Patrick Mahomes | 64 (100%) |
35 (100%) |
29 (100%) |
| Jaylon Moore | 64 (100%) |
35 (100%) |
29 (100%) |
| Kingsley Suamataia | 64 (100%) |
35 (100%) |
29 (100%) |
| Esa Pole | 63 (98%) |
35 (100%) |
28 (97%) |
| Travis Kelce | 58 (91%) |
30 (86%) |
28 (97%) |
| Rashee Rice | 50 (78%) |
29 (83%) |
21 (72%) |
| Xavier Worthy | 49 (77%) |
29 (83%) |
20 (69%) |
| Kareem Hunt | 38 (59%) |
22 (63%) |
16 (55%) |
| Noah Gray | 29 (45%) |
15 (43%) |
14 (48%) |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 24 (38%) |
9 (26%) |
15 (52%) |
| Marquise Brown | 22 (34%) |
17 (49%) |
5 (17%) |
| Isiah Pacheco | 21 (33%) |
9 (26%) |
12 (41%) |
| Tyquan Thornton | 19 (30%) |
11 (31%) |
8 (28%) |
| Brashard Smith | 5 (8%) |
3 (9%) |
2 (7%) |
| Robert Tonyan | 4 (6%) |
1 (3%) |
3 (10%) |
| Wanya Morris | 1 (2%) |
0 (0%) |
1 (3%) |
Defense
| Defense | All | Pass | Run |
| Total | 65 (100%) |
34 (100%) |
31 (100%) |
| Nick Bolton | 65 (100%) |
34 (100%) |
31 (100%) |
| Chamarri Conner | 65 (100%) |
34 (100%) |
31 (100%) |
| Bryan Cook | 65 (100%) |
34 (100%) |
31 (100%) |
| Jaylen Watson | 65 (100%) |
34 (100%) |
31 (100%) |
| Drue Tranquill | 58 (89%) |
27 (79%) |
31 (100%) |
| Nohl Williams | 58 (89%) |
31 (91%) |
27 (87%) |
| Chris Jones | 51 (78%) |
28 (82%) |
23 (74%) |
| George Karlaftis | 51 (78%) |
27 (79%) |
24 (77%) |
| Mike Edwards | 35 (54%) |
22 (65%) |
13 (42%) |
| Ashton Gillotte | 35 (54%) |
23 (68%) |
12 (39%) |
| Michael Danna | 31 (48%) |
12 (35%) |
19 (61%) |
| Charles Omenihu | 30 (46%) |
18 (53%) |
12 (39%) |
| Leo Chenal | 26 (40%) |
7 (21%) |
19 (61%) |
| Derrick Nnadi | 19 (29%) |
4 (12%) |
15 (48%) |
| Mike Pennel | 17 (26%) |
7 (21%) |
10 (32%) |
| Jerry Tillery | 17 (26%) |
9 (26%) |
8 (26%) |
| Jaden Hicks | 10 (15%) |
10 (29%) |
0 (0%) |
| Kevin Knowles II | 9 (14%) |
9 (26%) |
0 (0%) |
| Trent McDuffie | 8 (12%) |
4 (12%) |
4 (13%) |
Special Teams
| Special Teams | Snaps |
| Total | 27 (100%) |
| Leo Chenal | 24 (89%) |
| Jack Cochrane | 24 (89%) |
| Jaden Hicks | 24 (89%) |
| Kevin Knowles II | 24 (89%) |
| Jeff Bassa | 20 (74%) |
| Cooper McDonald | 20 (74%) |
| Joshua Williams | 20 (74%) |
| Nohl Williams | 20 (74%) |
| Noah Gray | 16 (59%) |
| Mike Edwards | 12 (44%) |
| Xavier Worthy | 8 (30%) |
| Matt Araiza | 7 (26%) |
| James Winchester | 7 (26%) |
| Harrison Butker | 6 (22%) |
| Robert Tonyan | 5 (19%) |
| Nick Bolton | 4 (15%) |
| Bryan Cook | 4 (15%) |
| Michael Danna | 4 (15%) |
| George Karlaftis | 4 (15%) |
| Derrick Nnadi | 4 (15%) |
| Jerry Tillery | 4 (15%) |
| Drue Tranquill | 4 (15%) |
| Mike Caliendo | 3 (11%) |
| Chamarri Conner | 3 (11%) |
| Ashton Gillotte | 3 (11%) |
| Creed Humphrey | 3 (11%) |
| Jaylon Moore | 3 (11%) |
| Hunter Nourzad | 3 (11%) |
| Esa Pole | 3 (11%) |
| Kingsley Suamataia | 3 (11%) |
| Tyquan Thornton | 3 (11%) |
| Jared Wiley | 3 (11%) |
| Brashard Smith | 2 (7%) |
All Snaps
| All Snaps | Off | Def | ST | Total |
| Total | 64 (100%) |
65 (100%) |
27 (100%) |
156 (100%) |
| Matt Araiza | 0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
7 (26%) |
7 (4%) |
| Jeff Bassa | 0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
20 (74%) |
20 (13%) |
| Nick Bolton | 0 (0%) |
65 (100%) |
4 (15%) |
69 (44%) |
| Marquise Brown | 22 (34%) |
0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
22 (14%) |
| Harrison Butker | 0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
6 (22%) |
6 (4%) |
| Mike Caliendo | 64 (100%) |
0 (0%) |
3 (11%) |
67 (43%) |
| Leo Chenal | 0 (0%) |
26 (40%) |
24 (89%) |
50 (32%) |
| Jack Cochrane | 0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
24 (89%) |
24 (15%) |
| Chamarri Conner | 0 (0%) |
65 (100%) |
3 (11%) |
68 (44%) |
| Bryan Cook | 0 (0%) |
65 (100%) |
4 (15%) |
69 (44%) |
| Michael Danna | 0 (0%) |
31 (48%) |
4 (15%) |
35 (22%) |
| Mike Edwards | 0 (0%) |
35 (54%) |
12 (44%) |
47 (30%) |
| Ashton Gillotte | 0 (0%) |
35 (54%) |
3 (11%) |
38 (24%) |
| Noah Gray | 29 (45%) |
0 (0%) |
16 (59%) |
45 (29%) |
| Jaden Hicks | 0 (0%) |
10 (15%) |
24 (89%) |
34 (22%) |
| Creed Humphrey | 64 (100%) |
0 (0%) |
3 (11%) |
67 (43%) |
| Kareem Hunt | 38 (59%) |
0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
38 (24%) |
| Chris Jones | 0 (0%) |
51 (78%) |
0 (0%) |
51 (33%) |
| George Karlaftis | 0 (0%) |
51 (78%) |
4 (15%) |
55 (35%) |
| Travis Kelce | 58 (91%) |
0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
58 (37%) |
| Kevin Knowles II | 0 (0%) |
9 (14%) |
24 (89%) |
33 (21%) |
| Patrick Mahomes | 64 (100%) |
0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
64 (41%) |
| Cooper McDonald | 0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
20 (74%) |
20 (13%) |
| Trent McDuffie | 0 (0%) |
8 (12%) |
0 (0%) |
8 (5%) |
| Jaylon Moore | 64 (100%) |
0 (0%) |
3 (11%) |
67 (43%) |
| Wanya Morris | 1 (2%) |
0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
1 (1%) |
| Derrick Nnadi | 0 (0%) |
19 (29%) |
4 (15%) |
23 (15%) |
| Hunter Nourzad | 0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
3 (11%) |
3 (2%) |
| Charles Omenihu | 0 (0%) |
30 (46%) |
0 (0%) |
30 (19%) |
| Isiah Pacheco | 21 (33%) |
0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
21 (13%) |
| Mike Pennel | 0 (0%) |
17 (26%) |
0 (0%) |
17 (11%) |
| Esa Pole | 63 (98%) |
0 (0%) |
3 (11%) |
66 (42%) |
| Rashee Rice | 50 (78%) |
0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
50 (32%) |
| Brashard Smith | 5 (8%) |
0 (0%) |
2 (7%) |
7 (4%) |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster | 24 (38%) |
0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
24 (15%) |
| Kingsley Suamataia | 64 (100%) |
0 (0%) |
3 (11%) |
67 (43%) |
| Tyquan Thornton | 19 (30%) |
0 (0%) |
3 (11%) |
22 (14%) |
| Jerry Tillery | 0 (0%) |
17 (26%) |
4 (15%) |
21 (13%) |
| Robert Tonyan | 4 (6%) |
0 (0%) |
5 (19%) |
9 (6%) |
| Drue Tranquill | 0 (0%) |
58 (89%) |
4 (15%) |
62 (40%) |
| Jaylen Watson | 0 (0%) |
65 (100%) |
0 (0%) |
65 (42%) |
| Jared Wiley | 0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
3 (11%) |
3 (2%) |
| Joshua Williams | 0 (0%) |
-1 (-2%) |
20 (74%) |
19 (12%) |
| Nohl Williams | 0 (0%) |
58 (89%) |
20 (74%) |
78 (50%) |
| James Winchester | 0 (0%) |
0 (0%) |
7 (26%) |
7 (4%) |
| Xavier Worthy | 49 (77%) |
0 (0%) |
8 (30%) |
57 (37%) |
Editor’s Note: Arrowhead Pride obtains snap count data from the NFL’s game stats and information system, which allows us to break out snap counts by run or pass on offensive and defensive plays. Because GSIS data ignores plays that were nullified by penalties, total offensive and defensive snap counts will vary from other sources, which get their data from NFL Gamebooks
