Welcome to Arrowhead Pride’s weekly snap-count analysis!
Let’s take a closer look at the Kansas City Chiefs’ snap counts in the 28-24 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 8. The starting lineups are courtesy of NFL Game Stats and Information, and the snap-count data comes from Pro Football Focus’ premium stats.
Starters (offensive): LT Kahlil Benson, LG Mike Caliendo, C Creed Humphrey, RG Trey Smith, RT Jaylon Moore, QB Patrick Mahomes, WR Rashee Rice, WR Xavier Worthy, RB Kenneth Walker, TE Travis Kelce
and TE Noah Gray
Starters (defensive): DE George Karlaftis, DT Chris Jones, DT Khyiris Tonga, DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah, LB Nick Bolton, LB Drue Tranquill, LB Jack Cochrane, CB Kristian Fulton, CB Nohl Williams, S Alohi Gilman and S Chamarri Conner
Did not play: QB Justin Fields, OT Joshua Ezeudu
Inactive: QB Garrett Nussmeier (Emergency third QB), CB Mansoor Delane (Shoulder), FB Ben VanSumeren, DE Jack Pyburn, DE Tyreke Smith and OT Diego Pounds
The big takeaway: Cyrus Allen is moving up the depth chart
In Denver, wide receiver Xavier Worthy led all skill-position players in snaps (64) by playing 94% of the time the unit was on the field. It felt like wideout Rashee Rice (38 snaps, 56% of the offensive snaps), in his return from the hamstring tweak, was playing on a pitch count due to the soft-tissue injury
Rookie wide receiver Cyrus Allens stepped up to play 30 snaps, including 22 reps on pass plays. He out-snapped second-year wideouts Jalen Royals and Andrew Armstrong by 8 snaps, although those two saw more action in run-blocking situations.
Allen caught two passes on three targets, but the miss was nearly a huge play downfield; it appeared Allen wasn’t anticipating the ball in tight coverage, so he slowed down on his route. He may not have been as open as it appeared due to that hesitation, but he still could’ve had a chance at a tight-window completion, a similar play as the ones he made in training camp to originally start the hype train.
Allen’s 20 yards over the two catches were more than Worthy (13 yards) produced in less than half the playing time.
The Offensive takeaway: Emmett Johnson is earning more and more touches
Lead back Ken Walker played 55 snaps and dominated the run share, but rookie Emmett Johnson had his breakout game despite just 13 offensive snaps. He saw just one handoff, but gained 15 yards on the tackle-breaking, highlight-reel play.
Johnson saw 12 snaps on pass plays and ran routes on 11 of those snaps (staying in for pass protection just once). He caught all five of the passes thrown his way and totaled 128 yards, including the 73-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the first half.
With 143 yards from scrimmage, Johnson out-produced Walker (84 yards) in 1/4 of the playing time. He also played nine snaps on special teams and gained 44 yards on his only kickoff return of the afternoon. With return specialist Nikko Remigio struggling, Johnson should be strongly considered as the primary returner moving forward.
The Defensive takeaway: Jadon Canady emerges as L’Jarius Sneed replacement
The primary slot defender moving forward is Chris Roland-Wallace, and that seemed to be the case even before L’Jarius Sneed was placed on the Reserve/Injured list on Saturday. Roland-Wallace played 49 snaps in Denver and dominated the slot snaps.
However, rookie cornerback Jadon Canady was active for the second time this season and made an impact for the first time on defense. As the sixth defensive back in the Chiefs’ Dime defense, a pass-down package predicated on coverage, Canady took seven snaps and made two tackles on third downs that were short of the sticks.
He only defended pass plays; he may not be ready to man the slot on neutral downs and defend the run, but he looks like an asset for the Chiefs’ coverage moving forward.
Offensive Snaps
Defensive Snaps
Special teams snaps
