Here’s how the Chiefs distributed playing time in Week 18’s win over the Raiders
The Chiefs capped off the 2022 regular season in emphatic fashion with a 31-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
Kansas City finished with a 14-3 record, marking the second time in franchise history that the team totaled 14 wins in a season, and clinched the AFC’s No. 1 seed and first-round bye week in the postseason.
Saturday’s win also gave the Chiefs a sweep of the AFC West in 2022, representing the third time since Andy Reid arrived in 2013 that the Chiefs went 6-0 against their divisional foes (2016, 2019).
With the regular season in the books, the Chiefs have a week off before gearing up for an undetermined opponent in the AFC Divisional Round on Jan. 21-22.
“You don’t know exactly, but a couple of teams we’ve played and a couple of teams we haven’t,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday. “We’ll try to focus in on the ones that we think that we have a chance most of all but also cover all of them.
“While we have time, I’m saying as a coaching staff, then we’ll narrow that down for the players as we get them this week before we actually know for next week. But we’ll work on some things that we need to work on.”
Here’s how the Chiefs’ snap counts worked out in the regular-season finale:
QUARTERBACKS: Patrick Mahomes (52), Chad Henne (7)
Mahomes completed an efficient 18 of 26 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown for a 105.0 passer rating, adding 29 yards on three carries.
The Chiefs’ star quarterback established a new NFL record for most offensive yards (5,250 yards yards, 358 yards rushing, 6 yards receiving) in a single season by a quarterback with 5,614 yards. Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees held the previous record with 5,562 total yards in 2011 season.
Mahomes’ 5,250 yards passing also established a new franchise record for most yards passing in a single season.
RUNNING BACKS: Jerick McKinnon (22, 8 on special teams), Isiah Pacheco (21, 3 on special teams), Ronald Jones (17), fullback Michael Burton (4, 13 on ST)
The Chiefs enjoyed a strong performance from the running backs in Saturday’s win, as the tailbacks each found the end zone.
Pacheco paced the ground game with 64 yards and a touchdown on eight carries; Jones played a season-high 17 snaps and produced 45 yards rushing and a touchdown on a team-high 10 carries; McKinnon hauled in 2-yard touchdown catch, finishing the regular season with a touchdown catch in six straight games.
As a team, the Chiefs rushed for 168 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries, averaging a 6 yards per attempt.
WIDE RECEIVERS: JuJu Smith-Schuster (43), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (35), Justin Watson (30, 2 on ST), Kadarius Toney (18, 3 on ST), Ihmir Smith-Marsette (9, 1 on ST)
The wide receiver group was relatively quiet, but they weren’t needed too much with the running game enjoying success.
Smith-Schuster had two catches for 35 yards; Valdes-Scantling had 27 yards on three catches; Toney had two catches for 18 yards; and Watson made the most of his one catch, which he turned into a 67-yard gain.
Toney was utilized in the run game, producing 26 yards and a touchdown on three carries.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (43), Noah Gray (34, 15 on ST), Blake Bell (18, 3 on ST)
Kelce led the Chiefs in receiving, hauling in six catches for 38 yards on seven targets. With six catches in the game, Kelce established a career-high mark of 110 catches in a single season, also a franchise record.
Gray recorded a catch for 14 yards, while Bell was not targeted in the game.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Trey Smith (59, 5 on ST), Joe Thuney (59), Creed Humphrey (52, 5 on ST), Orlando Brown Jr. (52, 5 on ST), Andrew Wylie (52, 5 on ST), Nick Allegretti (7, 5 on ST), Prince Tega Wanogho (7, 5 on ST), Lucas Niang (7, 5 on ST)
If the ground game is effective and averaging 6 yards per carry, the credit goes to the offensive line for controlling the trenches and opening running lanes.
“On offense, it starts with the offensive line, just like it does on the other side with the defensive line,” Reid said after the game. “I thought we did a good job against what I thought was a good defensive front.”
Thuney, who entered the game as questionable with an ankle injury, started and played all offensive plays.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Carlos Dunlap (35), Chris Jones (46), George Karlaftis (45, 3 on ST), Mike Danna (45, 3 on ST), Khalen Saunders (36, 3 on ST, 1 on offense), Derrick Nnadi (21, 3 on ST), Brandon Williams (18), Frank Clark (17)
Jones turned in a monster game with five tackles, 2.5 sacks and six quarterback hits. He finished the season with 15.5 sacks.
Danna also enjoyed a stellar game with three tackles, two sacks and two quarterback hits, while Karlaftis split a sack with Jones. Dunlap totaled two quarterback hits and a pass defensed.
“Our defensive front, it starts with them and I thought they played well,” Reid said after the game.
Saunders produced two tackles and a quarterback hit. He also played a snap on offense, lining up as a fullback near the goal line before going out as a receiver. The pass from Mahomes, though, was off the mark in the end zone because of the Raiders’ pass rush, much to Saunders’ dismay.
“I turned around and it was a little too late because the pressure had got to him,” Saunders said after the game in the locker room. “But I had all intentions of getting on SportsCenter Top 10.”
Clark left the game in the second half with a groin injury, but the Chiefs believe he should be ready to go after the bye week.
The Chiefs’ defensive front accounted for five of the six sacks, which tied a season high. The last time the Chiefs totaled six sacks in a game was in Week 14 against the Denver Broncos.
LINEBACKERS: Nick Bolton (70, 3 on ST), Willie Gay Jr. (39), Leo Chenal (23, 18 on ST), Darius Harris (8, 15 on ST), Jack Cochrane (15 on ST)
Bolton finished the game with a team-leading 16 tackles, giving him a new team-record 180 total tackles (108 solo) in a single season. Former Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson held the previous record of 179 tackles, which he established in 2011.
Bolton’s 16 tackles against the Raiders gave him 10 games of 10 or more tackles in a single game in 2022.
Gay had five tackles, while Chenal recorded four tackles on defense and an assist on special teams. Harris contributed an assist on special teams.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Trent McDuffie (70, 2 on ST), Justin Reid (70, 3 on ST), Juan Thornhill (70), L’Jarius Sneed (70), Jaylen Watson (47, 8 on ST), Bryan Cook (24, 15 on ST), Chris Lammons (18 on ST), Deon Bush (14 on ST), Joshua Williams (10 on ST), Nazeeh Johnson (9 on ST)
The Chiefs’ starting safety group of Thornhill and Reid made their presence felt in Saturday’s win. Thornhill recorded seven tackles, an interception and a pass defensed, while Reid contributed six tackles, a sack, a quarterback hit and a team-high two passes defensed.
McDuffie had seven tackles and a pass defensed and Sneed produced three tackles.
“Our young defensive secondary also played well, especially the safeties,” coach Reid said after the game. “And they don’t get a lot of credit for what they do, but I thought they really played well and very aggressive.”
SPECIALISTS: Harrison Butker (10), Tommy Townsend (9), James Winchester (9)
Butker drilled a 44-yard field goal and converted all four extra-point attempts for a strong rebound performance after a shaky Week 17 performance.
Townsend finished the game with four punts for 196 yards, averaging 49 yards per effort.
Winchester recorded a tackle on special teams.
INACTIVES: Wide receiver Mecole Hardman (pelvis), wide receiver Skyy Moore (hand), quarterback Shane Buechele, defensive end Joshua Kaindoh, defensive end Malik Herring, offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, kicker Matthew Wright
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Here’s how the Chiefs distributed playing time in Week 18’s win over the Raiders."
