Welcome to Arrowhead Pride’s weekly snap-count analysis!
Let’s take a closer look at the Kansas City Chiefs’ snap counts in the 20-3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 7. 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 Kingsley Suamataia, C Creed Humphrey, RG Trey Smith, RT Joshua Ezeudu, QB Patrick Mahomes, WR Jalen Royals, 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 Mansoor Delane, CB Nohl Williams, S Alohi Gilman and S Chamarri Conner
Did not play: QB Justin Fields, OT Diego Pounds
Inactive: QB Garrett Nussmeier (Emergency third QB), DB Jadon Canady, FB Ben VanSumeren, DE Jack Pyburn, WR Rashee Rice (Hamstring) and OT Jaylon Moore (concussion)
The big takeaway: L’Jarius Sneed plays a season-low 14 snaps
Early and often, the Seahawks offense attacked Chiefs’ slot cornerback L’Jarius Sneed by throwing over the middle to wide receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp. Pro Football Focus says Sneed allowed five catches for 83 yards and four first downs.
Anecdotally, it felt like the Chiefs adjusted the lineup to exclude Sneed as the game went on, and the snap counts back that up. Sneed played just 14 snaps (11 coverage snaps), just 20% of the defense’s total snap volume.
Safety Chris Roland-Wallace (31 snaps) led the team in reps at slot cornerback, lining up there seven more times than Sneed. Roland-Wallace allowed three catches for 15 yards on three targets.
It was the least playing time Sneed has had in a single game this season. The matchup was tough for Kansas City’s secondary, but Sneed especially struggled against the slot. The next time the Chiefs face high-end slot receiving talent like Seattle’s, the plan may look different.
The Offensive takeaway: Cyrus Allen leads wideouts in production
The Chiefs’ wideouts combined for 39 receiving yards on 13 targets.
- Xavier Worthy (46 snaps): 11 yards on 6 targets
- Jalen Royals (36 snaps): 0 yards on 2 targets
- Andrew Armstrong (31 snaps): 3 yards on 2 targets
- Cyrus Allen (16 snaps): 18 yards on 2 targets
- Justin Watson (5 snaps): 7 yards on 1 target
The fifth-round rookie Allen, who saw the field for just 11 pass plays in Seattle, outproduced the rest of the room with one catch.
The Seahawks’ defense suffocated the Chiefs’ passing attack, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes offered little relief, missing a handful of throws, but it’s the second time this season Kansas City’s wide receiver corps got basically shut out. In Week 1, the Chiefs ran to victory over the Denver Broncos, but the pass game needed to step up this week and didn’t.
The Defensive takeaway: R Mason Thomas’ playing time decreases
After rookie defensive end R Mason Thomas played as many as 50 snaps at times this season, he played just 20 of the defense’s reps against Seattle, a season-low mark for the second-round pick. He was on the field for 15 pass plays, dropping into coverage on three.
Thomas was on the field for just five run plays, which matches the four times he played against the run against the Los Angeles Chargers last week. Since the bye week, Thomas’ usage has shifted more toward pass downs than in Weeks 3 and 4.
Against the Seahawks, Thomas registered four pressures, including a quarterback hit, coming off of five against the Chargers. The first-year edge rusher may be settling into a more pass-down-only role while defensive ends Felix Anudike-Uzomah (19 run snaps) and Ashton Gillotte (28 run snaps) handle most of the every-down duties.
Offensive Snaps
Defensive Snaps
Special teams snaps
