Chris Jones, Tanoh Kpassagnon set career-high snap counts in Chiefs-Chargers

A look back at snap counts during the Chiefs 23-20 overtime win over the Chargers.

Another week into the Kansas City Chiefs season and the snap counts from their victory in Week 2 gives us a closer look at how the coaching staff views the roster.

On offense, the Chiefs deployed their same offensive line from Week 1, with (from left to right) Eric Fisher, Kelechi Osemele, Austin Reiter, Andrew Wylie, and Mitchell Schwartz again playing 100% of the team’s 77 offensive snaps. Newcomer Mike Remmers also played one snap as a tackle-eligible.

In the backfield, Patrick Mahomes of course played 100% of snaps, which was an accomplishment on a day in which he was hurried and knocked down relentlessly. Rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire started and played 48 snaps (62%), which was almost identical to his Week 1 total. Reserve back Darrel Williams charted 10 snaps before leaving the game with an ankle injury suffered on his only touch of the game, a 12-yard reception in the 2nd quarter.

Second-year back Darwin Thompson got 15 snaps after Williams left, and he made the most of his opportunity, finishing with 4 carries for 21 yards. That included a 14-yard scamper on the play after Williams left, and it should not go unnoticed that Thompson got the call on a crucial 4th-and-1 conversion on the game-winning drive in overtime. Fullback Anthony Sherman also played 7 snaps in this contest.

At receiver, the Chiefs deployed Tyreek Hill for 69 snaps (90%), but other than that, they kept a healthy balance between Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson, and Sammy Watkins (before he left the game in the 4th quarter). Hardman got the start and was on the field for 50 plays, a big uptick from the 20 snaps he received in Week 1. Tight end Travis Kelce played all but three of the team’s 77 snaps, and second-stringer Nick Keizer saw the field for 11 plays, down from his 30 snaps in Week 1.

On the defensive side, the secondary hardly left the field. Safety Tyrann Mathieu played all 83 defensive snaps, while Juan Thornhill, L’Jarius Sneed, and Rashad Fenton (in his first start) each logged 82 snaps. In spite of the early injury to Antonio Hamilton, we did not get to see cornerback Bopete Keyes, the Chiefs 7th round pick, on defense.

Defensive linemen continue to see major snaps in this year’s version of the defense. In two weeks, the Chiefs have had three defensive lineman tally 90% or more of their team’s defensive snaps in a game. That only happened once in 2019, when Emmanuel Ogbah racked up exactly 90% of snaps against Green Bay while Chris Jones and Frank Clark were both out with injuries.

In Week 2, Jones played a career-high 75 snaps (11 more than his previous high, in 2017). Tanoh Kpassagnon logged 78 snaps; his previous career high was 65. Fortunately, the team gets an extra day to rest before their Week 3 game next Monday, but the Chiefs also have quite a bit of travel this week, coming home from Los Angeles before flying to Baltimore.

Other notables on defense: Rookie defensive end Mike Danna continues to see favor from his coaches, racking up 40 snaps. Tershawn Wharton and Taco Charlton logged 25 and 22 snaps, respectively. Rookie linebacker Willie Gay, who somewhat famously did not see the field in Week 1, was able to get 6 reps against the Chargers.