Chiefs' Week 11 snap counts vs. Bills reveal unfortunate trend among recent trade acquisitions
The Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) suffered the season's first loss in Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills (9-2). The result isn't what Chiefs Kingdom had hoped for, but it won't immediately set the team back in the playoff race. They'll look to bounce back in Week 12 against the Carolina Panthers, but they'll have to lean on […]
The Kansas City Chiefs (9-1) suffered the season's first loss in Week 11 against the Buffalo Bills (9-2).
The result isn't what Chiefs Kingdom had hoped for, but it won't immediately set the team back in the playoff race. They'll look to bounce back in Week 12 against the Carolina Panthers, but they'll have to lean on some of their newest players to get things back on track. An unfortunate trend has blossomed in Kansas City, raising some major concerns about the team's trade acquisitions.
What exactly can we learn about the win from the snaps? Here’s a look at how the snaps came down in Week 11:
Snap counts via NFL Game Stats Information System
Joshua Uche's snaps are going in the wrong direction and it could get worse
Uche finished his third week with Kansas City without a single defensive stat and with his fewest snaps on defense (5) and special teams (3) since arriving via trade with the New England Patriots. The perplexing thing here is that the Chiefs were in clear passing down-and-distance, where he should be on the field, for a good chunk of the day.
Uche's still clearly learning Steve Spagnuolo's system in Kansas City and the coaches are still learning how to use him. With DE Charles Omenihu's practice window opening this past week, he's slated to return by Week 13 vs. the Las Vegas Raiders. That'll only continue to bleed into Uche's snaps and opportunities to get on the field.
DeAndre Hopkins sees his fewest snaps since his first week in Kansas City
In perhaps the biggest game of the year, the Chiefs went away from their top trade acquisition. Hopkins saw just 26 offensive snaps (47%), his lowest amount and percentage of offensive snaps since his K.C. debut game in Week 8. Part of this probably is because of the return of WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (20 snaps in Week 11) and some redundancy in their roles. However, Chiefs OC Matt Nagy stressed this as a "good problem" to have. It didn't quite seem like it in Week 11 against the Bills, especially when the team has been touting the quick chemistry between Hopkins and Mahomes. Some of this could be related to the trade conditions on the draft pick in the Hopkins trade.
Right now, things are trending in the wrong direction for both Hopkins and Uche. Either player could have been a difference-maker in Week 11 had they earned some more opportunities. Uche has yet to see his first sack in Kansas City, though he's been close a few times during his first two weeks. Meanwhile, Hopkins has caught 17-of-21 targets so far during his tenure with the Chiefs.
Chiefs’ tough loss to Bills won’t sting immediately, but it could burn them in the race for AFC No. 1 seed
The Kansas City Chiefs will remain atop the AFC as the No. 1 seed for now.
