Chiefs’ snap counts vs. Ravens: Juan Thornhill, Sammy Watkins, Charvarious Ward + more
Chiefs coach Andy Reid complimented a total team effort from Monday night’s 34-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens, and the snap counts reflected that praise.
The victory gave the Chiefs a fourth consecutive 3-0 start to a regular season and the team its 12th consecutive win, combining the regular season and postseason going back to Week 11 of the 2019 campaign.
Kansas City’s run of nine straight regular-season wins is tied for the second-longest streak in team history.
Here’s how the snap counts shape out from Week 3’s win:
QUARTERBACKS: Patrick Mahomes (75)
Is there anything left to say about Mahomes, especially after he shredded a blitz-happy Ravens defense?
The superstar signal-caller produced a masterpiece, completing 31 of 42 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns with a 133.5 passer rating. He added 26 yards rushing and a touchdown on four carries.
Mahomes also entered the NFL record book by becoming the fastest quarterback to reach 10,000 career passing yards, accomplishing the feat in his 34th game. Hall of Famer Kurt Warner previously held the record at 36 games.
RUNNING BACKS: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (52), Darrel Williams (16), Darwin Thompson (6, 11 on special teams), fullback Anthony Sherman (10, 18 on ST)
Edwards-Helaire was a busy man in the passing game, totaling five catches for 70 yards on six targets. On the ground, he totaled 64 yards on 24 carries to finish the game with 134 total yards.
Thompson played six offensive snaps, totaling 11 yards on two carries, but lost a fumble in the second half.
Sherman made the most of his time on the field with a 5-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Sammy Watkins (65), Tyreek Hill (60), Demarcus Robinson (41, 3 on ST), Mecole Hardman (29, 12 on ST), Byron Pringle (3, 15 on ST), Marcus Kemp (15 on ST)
What neck injury? Watkins, who entered the game as questionable, showed he was 100 percent healthy by pacing the wide receivers group with a team-high seven catches, which he turned into 62 yards.
Hill and Hardman each scored from long-distance.
Since the beginning of the 2018 season, Mahomes and Hill have connected on 10 touchdowns of 20-plus yards, most of any quarterback-wide receiver duo during that span.
And Hardman, whose touchdown came on a 49-yard bomb, now owns seven career receiving touchdowns from 20-plus yards.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (61), Nick Keizer (20, 12 on ST), Deon Yelder (9)
Kelce turned in another fine day at the office with six catches for a team-high 87 yards on seven targets.
Keizer was targeted once on the game, but his role is cemented as the blocking component to Kelce in the team’s two-tight end set.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Mitchell Schwartz (75, 6 on ST), Eric Fisher (75, 6 on ST), Austin Reiter (75, 6 on ST), Kelechi Osemele (75, 6 on ST), Mike Remmers (75, 6 on ST), Nick Allegretti (3, 6 on ST)
Remmer drew the start in place of Andrew Wylie, who was taken to the hospital with a stomach illness before kickoff.
Fisher caught a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter after reporting as an eligible receiver on the play. The touchdown catch marked the first of Fisher’s career and he became the third offensive lineman in team history to accomplish the feat, joining Mark Adickes and Joe Valerio.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Tanoh Kpassagnon (46, 4 on ST), Frank Clark (45), Chris Jones (39, 3 on ST), Derrick Nnadi (27, 4 on ST), Mike Danna (24, 4 on ST), Mike Pennel (18, 4 on ST), Taco Charlton (14), Tershawn Wharton (11, 1 on ST)
Jones turned in a monster game, with five tackles, two sacks, two quarterback hits and two forced fumbles before suffering a tweaked groin late in the evening.
Clark also recorded a sack.
In his first action since returning from a two-game suspension, Pennel recorded as assist as part of the interior defensive line rotation.
LINEBACKERS: Damien Wilson (36, 4 on ST), Anthony Hitchens (36, 4 on ST), Ben Niemann (24, 13 on ST), Willie Gay Jr. (9, 15 on ST), Dorian O’Daniel (19 on ST)
Wilson paced the linebacker group with four tackles, a pass defensed and a forced fumble.
Gay’s time on defense increased by three snaps after he recorded six snaps in Week 2. The Chiefs appear to be easing their second-round pick into the defensive scheme.
O’Daniel continues his exceptional play on special teams with a team-high 19 snaps. He finished with a tackle on special teams. And Niemann got the first sack of his career.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Tryann Mathieu (56), Juan Thornhill (56), Rashad Fenton (54), Daniel Sorensen (46, 8 on ST), Charvarius Ward (33), L’Jarius Sneed (22), Tedric Thompson (20, 6 on ST), Armani Watts (19 on ST), Antonio Hamilton (18 on ST)
Fenton and Sneed drew the starts, but Ward, who made his return from a hand fractured in Week 1, was thrust into action after Sneed suffered a right-shoulder injury in the first half. Ward finished the game with one tackle and a pass defensed.
Mathieu and Thornhill played every defensive snap.
For Thornhill, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the season finale of 2019, it was the first time this season he was on the field for every snap. The second-year safety produced a team-high six tackles to go along with a quarterback hit.
SPECIALISTS: Harrison Butker (12), Tommy Townsend (7), James Winchester (7)
After booting two 58-yard field goals, including the game-winning kick, in Week 2, Butker had a night to forget with a missed extra point and a missed field goal.
DID NOT PLAY: Quarterback Chad Henne, center Daniel Kilgore, offensive lineman Yasir Durant
INACTIVES: Defensive end Alex Okafor (hamstring), guard Andrew Wylie (illness), tight end Ricky Seals-Jones, defensive end Demone Harris, cornerback BoPete Keyes
Seals-Jones and Harris were healthy scratches for the third consecutive game, whole Okafor missed his second straight since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 1.
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Chiefs’ snap counts vs. Ravens: Juan Thornhill, Sammy Watkins, Charvarious Ward + more."
