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

Nick Bolton plays less than ever

Here’s the single most frustrating aspect of anything related to the Chiefs’ snap counts on Sunday: Nick Bolton played less on Sunday than he has ever played so far this season.

After showing up so strong for the last month, especially in the last couple of weeks as Anthony Hitchens was injured, Bolton was now relegated to less playing time than ever during his rookie season. On Sunday, he played in only 43 percent of snaps, his only game with less than 50 percent of the snaps coming to him. This comes on the heels of his win for Defensive Rookie of the Month for October after he dominated the run and looked great in the heart of the Chiefs defense next to Willie Gay.

There’s likely something to be said for Bolton getting a bit of rest given the long season that’s still ahead. Rookies aren’t accustomed to the sort of stamina required to make it this long. Beyond that line of reasoning, however, it just doesn’t make sense to halt the ascent of a player who was performing so well.

Over the last two weeks, Bolton had 26 tackles, including 4 for a loss, and 1 quarterback hit. On Sunday, he had 5 tackles. The Chiefs defense looked great on Sunday overall, or else this would be a much bigger talking point on Monday. Perhaps Spags is fortunate that’s the case.