Chiefs’ snaps vs. Chargers: Numerous young players saw action with the starters resting
The Chiefs finished the 2020 regular season with a 14-2 record following Sunday’s 38-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium.
Week 17’s matchup, however, featured numerous Chiefs backups because coach Andy Reid elected to rest multiple starters, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, in advance of the postseason.
“This was a lot like a fourth preseason game where we asked these guys to play offense, defense and special teams and there weren’t a lot of backup players that were going to play,” Reid said after the game. “So, they really had to push through it and in most cases it all worked out well.
In total, the Chiefs sat 19 key contributors.
Mahomes, safety Tyrann Mathieu, wide receiver Tyreek Hill (hamstring), rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle), wide receiver Sammy Watkins (calf), right tackle Mike Remmers (back) and linebacker Ben Niemann (hamstring) were inactive.
Tight end Travis Kelce, running back Le’Veon Bell, left tackle Eric Fisher, defensive end Frank Clark, cornerback Charvarius Ward, cornerback Bashaud Breeland, rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, center Austin Reiter, right guard Andrew Wylie, safety Daniel Sorensen, defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi and backup quarterback Matt Moore did not play.
With so many starters and key contributors taking the night off, the Chiefs used the opportunity to evaluate numerous players.
“We were able to get a good look at some of the young guys,” Reid said. “Some of the old guys were able to knock some of the rust off that they might have and all of them had a great attitude with it.”
Here’s how the snap counts worked out in Week 17.
QUARTERBACKS: Chad Henne (53)
Henne looked sharp early in the game, connecting on his first nine passes before finishing the contest completing 23 of 32 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns for a 111.2 passer rating.
“I thought Chad did a real nice job,” Reid said. “I thought he maneuvered around in the throw game well, the run game, he was accurate with the RPO part of it.”
Henne’s lone mistake was not getting rid of the ball in the end zone, resulting in a sack and safety.
“That was just a bad decision on me,” he said.
Henne’s touchdown passes were his first since the 2014 season, when he was a starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
RUNNING BACKS: Darwin Thompson (49), Darrel Williams (4, 8 on ST), Anthony Sherman (4, 18 on ST)
Thompson carried the load and totaled 110 yards (45 rushing) with two touchdowns, marking the first multi-touchdown game in his career.
The second-year pro has taken a backseat this season with the drafting of Clyde Edwards-Helaire and signing of Le’Veon Bell, but Thompson’s performance against the Chargers drew praise from his head coach.
“I’m happy for him because he hasn’t had much playing time since early in the season before we got Le’Veon and all of the sudden now he gets to go in there,” Reid said. “He was so excited to have an opportunity to play.
“He got to show that he can catch the ball, he can run the ball and block and all the things that we ask a running back to do, so it was great for him.”
As a team, the Chiefs rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Demarcus Robinson (47), Byron Pringle (45, 15 on ST), Mecole Hardman (32, 3 on ST), Gehrig Dieter (20, 18 on ST)
Robinson led the position group with six catches for 58 yards. Pringle snatched four passes for 52 yards and a touchdown and totaled three kickoff returns for 77 yards.
Hardman produced two catches for 25 yards on two targets but muffed a punt, which was recovered by the Chargers, while Dieter hauled in a catch for 10 yards on two targets.
TIGHT ENDS: Deon Yelder (44, 12 on ST), Nick Keizer (20, 13 on ST)
Yelder recorded a season-high 44 offensive snaps and caught two passes for 6 yards on six targets.
Keizer wasn’t targeted in the game.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Martinas Rankin (53, 3 on ST), Stefen Wisniewski (53, 3 on ST), Daniel Kilgore (53, 3 on ST), Yasir Durant (53, 3 on ST), Patrick Omameh (53, 3 on ST), Nick Allegretti (3 on ST)
The Chiefs went with Rankin at left tackle, Wisniewski at left guard, Kilgore at center, Durant at right guard and Omameh at right tackle.
Allegretti was the lone starter from the front five to see action, with three snaps on special teams.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Tershawn Wharton (63, 4 on ST), Mike Danna (60, 4 on ST), Tim Ward (57), Khalen Saunders (51, 4 on ST), Mike Pennel (39, 4 on ST), Tanoh Kpassagnon (26, 4 on ST), Alex Okafor (18), Chris Jones (1)
Ward, who joined the Chiefs in 2019 as an undrafted free agent out of Old Dominion, was one of the more intriguing players to see action Sunday. He didn’t disappoint, with five tackles, a sack and two quarterback hits in his first regular-season action in a Chiefs uniform.
“He’s shown it on the scout team every day, working our guys hard, and we kind of looked forward to seeing what he would do when he wasn’t doing it off a card,” Reid said. “So, he got in and did a heck of a job I thought.”
Okafor recorded his third sack of the season.
LINEBACKERS: Darius Harris (71, 19 on ST), Damien Wilson (46, 4 on ST), Willie Gay Jr. (2, 1 on ST)
Wilson made his return to action for the first time since suffering a knee injury in Week 13 and totaled five tackles.
Harris played all defensive snaps and recorded a team-high 10 tackles and a pass defensed.
Gay suffered an ankle sprain in the first quarter and did not finish the game.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Armani Watts (71, 19 on ST), Juan Thornhill (71, 13 on ST), BoPete Keyes (67, 6 on ST), Rashad Fenton (51, 13 on ST), Deandre Baker (44, 4 on ST), Antonio Hamilton (43, 19 on ST)
Baker, whom the Chiefs called up Saturday from the practice squad, was having a strong performance with five tackles, a sack, a quarterback hit and a pass defensed before going down with a broken left femur in the second half.
“My heart goes out to the kid,” Reid said. “He busted his tail, and he’s really done a nice job for us. He’ll be able to come back from this, so that’s a positive as we go forward.”
Keyes logged his first defensive snaps of the season and totaled seven tackles. Watts also recorded seven tackles, while Thornhill chipped in five.
Fenton, who had three tackles and a pass defensed, saw his first action as a kickoff returner and showed explosion en route to a team-high 89 yards on three returns.
SPECIALISTS: Harrison Butker (7), Tommy Townsend (6), James Winchester (5)
This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Chiefs’ snaps vs. Chargers: Numerous young players saw action with the starters resting."
