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Chiefs snap counts: Juan Thornhill sees just 11 snaps in Week 2

Charles Goldman
·3 min read

The Kansas City Chiefs got a healthy dose of defensive snaps in Week 2 with 76 total snaps compared to 51 total snaps on offense. It goes to show you just how tough it was for the defense to get off the field and give the ball back to the offense in Kansas City. The few times they did manage to get off the field, the offense didn’t hold onto the ball for very long.

What more can we learn from this week’s snap counts? Here’s a look at how the snaps played out in Week 2:

*Snap counts via NFL Game Statistics and Information System

Observations

  • Mecole Hardman had the third-most offensive snaps by a skill player, with 40 snaps against Baltimore. He always does a good job against the Ravens and that didn’t change in this matchup.

  • Clyde Edwards-Helaire played 65% of the offensive snaps for Kansas City, the most by a running back on the team by over 15 snaps. He had a forgettable game, along with the rest of the running game for the Chiefs. I wonder if they’ll try to split things more evenly among backs in the future.

  • Blake Bell was in for 20 offensive snaps and had a solid showing for Kansas City. He’s clearly the team’s best blocking tight end, but he also reminded us that he can be a weapon in the passing game, taking a tight end screen for 20 yards.

  • Byron Pringle (11), Michael Burton (5), Jerick McKinnon (4) and Jody Fortson (2) seemed to do a lot with their snaps. I think their production with limited snaps in Week 2 should warrant more opportunities to contribute moving forward.

  • A week after playing a significant role in the Chiefs’ Week 1 win against the Browns, Juan Thornhill played just 11 snaps against the Ravens. Sure, Tyrann Mathieu was back in action, but the Chiefs definitely could have used Thornhill’s coverage on the back end more frequently.

  • In his first start since returning from the Reserve/COVID-19 list, Tyrann Mathieu played 100% of the defensive snaps for Kansas City. He was spotted receiving oxygen on the sideline during the game. The guy just embodies toughness and leadership every time he’s out there on the field.

  • Frank Clark played 70% of the defensive snaps in his return from a hamstring injury. That’s frankly more than I expected him to play in his first action of the season.

  • Chris Jones played 75% of the defensive snaps and managed just one tackle. The option game took away his aggression playing the edge and this was really the first time that his transition to defensive end looked like a mistake.

  • Nick Bolton played a career-high in snaps with 63. It was also the second-most by a Chiefs linebacker in Sunday’s loss. He was perhaps the most solid defender the Chiefs had against the run, which is saying something because at times it felt like he was guessing.

  • Four defenders played special teams only snaps (Armani Watts, Darius Harris, Chris Lammons and Dorian O’Daniel). With how poorly the defense played, I have a hard time believing that the Chiefs couldn’t have found a way to get some fresh legs in there to try and make a difference.

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