Colts vs. Chiefs Snap Counts | Week 3

What stood out about players' playing time in the Colts' 20-17 win over the Chiefs?

The Indianapolis Colts had to make some changes if they were going to come out victorious on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

They began the season 0-1-1 after a tie with the Houston Texans in Week 1 and then a brutal shutout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2, both opponents being division foes.

The Colts did what was necessary — at least on the defensive side of the ball — and made adjustments that worked wonderfully against a potent Chiefs offense, winning their home opener at Lucas Oil Stadium by a score of 20-17.

Some of those adjustments were based on the playing time that certain players received. Today, we'll take a look at how many snaps players got on offense, defense, and special teams.

Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

OFFENSE

• 71 (100%) — QB Matt Ryan, LT Matt Pryor, LG Quenton Nelson, C Ryan Kelly, RG Danny Pinter, RT Braden Smith
• 67 (94%) — WR Michael Pittman Jr.
• 58 (82%) — WR Parris Campbell
• 54 (76%) — RB Jonathan Taylor
• 42 (59%) — TE Mo Alie-Cox
• 32 (45%) — RB Nyheim Hines, WR Alec Pierce
• 30 (42%) — TE Kylen Granson
• 18 (25%) — WR Ashton Dulin
• 16 (23%) — TE Jelani Woods
• 6 (8%) — WR Mike Strachan
• DNP/Inactive — QB Nick Foles, QB Sam Ehlinger, WR Dezmon Patmon, OL Bernhard Raimann, OT Luke Tenuta, IOL Wesley French

With rookie offensive lineman Raimann out with an ankle injury, there was no rotation at left tackle, allowing Pryor to play all 71 snaps. There's a pretty good chance the rotation continues once Raimann returns.

Many onlookers have clamored for the Colts to get Hines more involved in the offense. On Sunday, his 32 snaps were his most of the season so far.

Rookie wide receiver Pierce missed Week 2 with a concussion, which gave Strachan a bigger role. However, Pierce returned in Week 3, leading Strachan to see his fewest snaps of the season.

Rookie tight end Woods had 16 total offensive snaps through the first two weeks, but he doubled that with 16 against the Chiefs.

Mandatory Credit: Jenna Watson/IndyStar Staff-USA TODAY Sports

DEFENSE

• 63 (100%) — LB Zaire Franklin, S Rodney McLeod
• 61 (97%) — CB Kenny Moore II
• 56 (89%) — LB Bobby Okerke
• 53 (84%) — CB Stephon Gilmore
• 51 (81%) — S Rodney Thomas II
• 49 (78%) — DT DeForest Buckner
• 46 (73%) — CB Brandon Facyson
• 43 (68%) — DE Yannick Ngakoue
• 40 (63%) — DE Kwity Paye, DT Grover Stewart
• 38 (60%) — DL Tyquan Lewis
• 24 (38%) — CB Isaiah Rodgers
• 16 (25%) — LB E.J. Speed
• 13 (21%) — DL Dayo Odeyingbo
• 12 (19%) — S Julian Blackmon
• 9 (14%) — DT Byron Cowart
• 8 (13%) — DE Ifeadi Odenigbo
• 4 (6%) — DE Ben Banogu
• 3 (5%) — DT Eric Johnson II
• 1 (2%) — S Nick Cross
• DNP/Inactive — LB Shaquille Leonard, CB Dallis Flowers

The Colts employed more Cover-2 looks on defense against Kansas City, which changed things for the safeties. Normally, Blackmon and Cross are the starters for the Colts, with McLeod the next man up providing depth. However, coordinator Gus Bradley's approach placed McLeod next to Blackmon over the rookie Cross in order to better combat Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his offense. Blackmon left the game in the first half with an ankle injury, and the Colts put rookie seventh-round pick Thomas into the game, easily playing his most snaps.

Like Hines on offense, Rodger's lack of use was inexplicable but he'd actually seen zero snaps through two weeks. The Colts got Rodgers into the game on Sunday, and then they really needed him for a bit when Gilmore briefly left with a hamstring injury.

Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

SPECIAL TEAMS

• 17 (%) — E.J. Speed
• 16 (%) — Tony Brown
• 15 (%) — Grant Stuard
• 13 (%) — JoJo Domann, Ashton Dulin, Ben Banogu
• 11 (%) — Rodney McLeod
• 10 (%) — Deon Jackson
• 9 (%) — Chase McLaughlin, Zaire Franklin, Isaiah Rodgers, Grover Stewart
• 7 (%) — Matt Haack, Luke Rhodes, Kylen Granson, Bobby Okereke, Rodney Thomas II, DeForest Buckner
• 6 (%) — Ifeadi Odenigbo, Kenny Moore II
• 5 (%) — Nick Cross, Mo Alie-Cox, Byron Cowart
• 4 (%) — Julian Blackmon, Dennis Kelly, Will Fries, Matt Pryor, Quenton Nelson, Danny Pinter, Jelani Woods
• 3 (%) — Nyheim Hines, Eric Johnson II, Kwity Paye
• 1 (%) — Tyquan Lewis, Yannick Ngakoue, Stephon Gilmore

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