Chiefs' Xavier Worthy, Jaden Hicks shine with career-high snap counts in Week 14 victory over Chargers
The Kansas City Chiefs managed another last-second 19-17 win, but this time against the Los Angeles Chargers on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 14. This hotly-contested AFC West showdown came down to the wire, but in the end, Kansas City clinched the division in the same fashion they have all year. This team finds new ways to […]
The Kansas City Chiefs managed another last-second 19-17 win, but this time against the Los Angeles Chargers on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 14.
This hotly-contested AFC West showdown came down to the wire, but in the end, Kansas City clinched the division in the same fashion they have all year. This team finds new ways to win each week. Of particular note in the victory, the Chiefs saw a pair of rookies reach new heights for Kansas City in terms of their playtime.
What else can we learn about the win from the snaps? Here’s a look at how the snaps came down in Week 14:
Snap counts via NFL Game Stats Information System
Chiefs rookie WR Xavier Worthy takes a step forward
Worthy matched Chiefs TE Travis Kelce with 57 total offensive snaps (87%), which was good for the highest single-game snap total of his career. He made the most of the opportunity, with six touches for 46 yards. Only Isiah Pacheco had more yards on Sunday night. 25 of the yards produced some key third-down conversions for Kansas City, including a 14-yard catch on third-and-10 to keep the game-winning drive going.
Chiefs rookie S Jaden Hicks sees his highest defensive snap total
Worthy wasn't the only rookie to see his snap total increase. Jaden Hicks has seen an uptick in defensive snaps since 10. Over the past two weeks, he's played 50 total defensive snaps for Kansas City, with his 26 in Week 14's game marking a new career high. This has come at the expense of third-year S Bryan Cook, who has seen his snaps lessen over the past several weeks. Hicks had two total tackles on the day.
Charles Omenihu's snaps decrease in his second week back
Omenihu played more snaps than expected in Week 13 against the Las Vegas Raiders. He played 34 snaps in his first game back, which was more than the coaching staff had anticipated in his first game back off of an ACL injury. In Week 14, Omenihu saw his snaps decrease by about 14%. It's not clear if this is something that was planned after he played a bit more than anticipated, but it's certainly worth monitoring moving forward.
Other notes:
- D.J. Humphries played 60 of 69 possible offensive snaps in Week 14. He left with an injury in the fourth quarter.
- Joshua Williams played 38 of 60 possible defensive snaps in Week 14. He also left with an injury in the fourth quarter.
- Isiah Pacheco retook the lead in the snap total at the running back position. He had 12 more snaps than Kareem Hunt and 15 more snaps than Samaje Perine.
- Nikko Remigio only played special teams in his Week 14 NFL debut.