KC Chiefs: What we learned from Week 9’s snap counts vs. Packers

The only number that officially matters to anyone associated with the Kansas City Chiefs from Week 9 is the number “5” in the team’s win column, a total signifying that they were victorious over the Green Bay Packers during their most recent game. It was the team’s first win over an opponent with a winning record and it gives them consecutive wins for the first time all season.

We are also thrilled with the win and very happy to see our favorite team rising in the ranks of the AFC West and greater conference. However, we’re also curious about the numbers that defined the win—specifically, we’re into snap counts and what they tell us about the Chiefs, both in the present and the future.

Let’s take a look at some interesting notes from this week’s snap counts and how we interpret some of the numbers.

O-line chemistry

It’s becoming an understood and glossed-over fact that the Chiefs are watching brand new players up front play 100 percent of the snaps every single game except at right tackle (which we’ll get to in a minute). Let’s take a moment to appreciate this.

From rookies like Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith to new vets like Joe Thuney and Orlando Brown Jr., this Chiefs line has proved to be a reliable unit that’s clearly growing together each and every week. Remember that this is a new offense for everyone, and these rookies, in particular, were playing the likes of Kansas and Vanderbilt, respectively, in some games a year ago.

We said at the beginning of the season that this line is going to look and play much different in Week 16 or 17 than they did in Week 1, and in Week 9, we saw a leap in that shift. Mahomes had a solid pocket for the entire game. The run game can get a push when it needs. There are offensive problems, but the line is not one of them—even with injuries on the right side.