Three Chiefs Week 6 Snap Count Trends That Stand Out

Many things jumped off the snap count page from the Chiefs' Week 6 loss to the Bills.

In the Kansas City Chiefs' loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, the home team had a mixed bag of performances on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Travis Kelce both topped the 100-yard mark and Patrick Mahomes played a very solid game outside of an interception late in the fourth quarter. Defensively, Steve Spagnuolo's unit gave up some chunk plays for touchdowns to Buffalo but otherwise had a respectable outing and allowed just 24 points on the afternoon.

All in all, it was an underwhelming game from the Chiefs but the fact that they were given an opportunity for a game-winning drive goes to show just how close they are to being able to beat the Bills. From top to bottom, Kansas City's roster remains deep enough to make a playoff run if some things break right. 

Now that snap counts have been released (courtesy of the NFL Game Statistics & Information System), what jumped off the page? Let's take a look at three notable takeaways from another week of Chiefs football.

#Chiefs snap counts vs #Bills broken up by Offense, Defense and special teams only. pic.twitter.com/OX29XFcUlC

— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) October 17, 2022

1. Kansas City is relying on Chris Jones a lot

After seeing his snap count percentages check in at 65, 75 and 80 in Weeks 1, 2 and 3, star defensive tackle Chris Jones's workload is increasing and reaching new heights as of late. In back-to-back games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Las Vegas Raiders, his 58 defensive snaps accounted for 91% of available opportunities for Kansas City. On Sunday against Buffalo, that number rose all the way up to 70 (96%).

It's been documented that Jones is having one heck of a start to the 2022 season, but he hasn't exactly been the most durable player over the course of his career. That, along with the nature of his position and the Chiefs' lack of supporting high-end talent around him on the defensive line, makes this development a scary one. Jones is capable of carrying this burden well, but it's never a good thing when a player who has historically kept his snap percentage around 70% is all the way up above 80 (and rising) in his age-28 season. How much Jones plays is worth keeping an eye on. 

2. The Khalen Saunders experience is legit

Without Tershawn Wharton, the Chiefs' interior defensive line picture alongside Jones projected to be a murky one. With Mike Danna back in the fold and playing 25 snaps (34%), though, things were expected to even out for someone in that group. It sure wasn't defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, whose 29 snaps against the Bills marked his highest total of the 2022 season. 

Six games into the year, Saunders's usage is pretty consistent with that the Chiefs have typically adopted for him. Him being healthy and available at the right time has enabled him to get opportunities, and he's making the most of them. Saunders has already notched a career-high with three quarterback hits this year, and he's three tackles away from tying his current best of 22. It's a contract year for the 26-year-old and if the former third-round pick can continue to showcase his athleticism as he did against Buffalo and multiple other squads, he'll earn another deal either in Kansas City or elsewhere. 

3. Another slim workload for Isiah Pacheco

For another week, veteran running back Jerick McKinnon led the group in snaps. This time around, however, he outgained Clyde Edwards-Helaire by just a single rep. Taking up the final spot on the leaderboard by a pretty comfortable margin, again, was rookie Isiah Pacheco. The final totals for Kansas City's running backs against Buffalo were 29, 28 and 10, and Pacheco's four total touches for 18 yards wasn't enough to get or keep him on the field very much.

Kansas City just doesn't seem to have an unbreakable trust in its rookie halfback yet, as Pacheco's dominant snap count games have been against the Arizona Cardinals (primarily in the fourth quarter of a blowout) and the Buccaneers (with the Chiefs' offense clearly in the driver's seat). The Bills game was never out of reach enough for Pacheco to establish his presence on the field, and he didn't do quite enough to separate himself from the pack when he was out there. This running back split is something worth following throughout the season but as of right now, Pacheco is still obviously running back No. 3 in Andy Reid's offense.

Read More: Chiefs Are Down but Far From Out in AFC After Loss to Bills