The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a disappointing 20-14 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season — and they were doomed from the very start because of their plan at a specific position.

A big part of the focus with snap counts in recent weeks has been the trends in the wide receiver room. With some injuries over the past several weeks, the Chiefs saw a major reversal in course when a potential answer to their struggles was right in front of them. 

Here’s a look at how the snaps came down in Week 16 followed by some takeaways:

Snaps Part 1

Snaps Part 2

Chiefs' wide receiver trends are going in the wrong direction

With injuries to Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney, the Chiefs were thin in the wide receiver room heading into Week 16. They had roughly 48 snaps to account for given the absence of those two players. 

The coaching staff had an opportunity to expand the roles of both Richie James and Justyn Ross against the Raiders. James played just two offensive snaps the week prior, but he only saw 23 snaps in Week 16. Ross only managed 10 snaps on offense in his return from suspension. 

The player who received the biggest jump in snaps in Week 16 — veteran WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling. After seeing career-low snap totals in Kansas City over the two weeks prior, the Chiefs gave Valdes-Scantling 80% of the offensive snaps in Week 16. That was his second-highest total of the season. He managed one target and no catches, playing the highest total of snaps of any Chiefs wide receiver on Christmas Day. 

Maybe Ross and James aren't "the answer" at the receiver position, but the team has been lessening Valdes-Scantling's snaps over the past several weeks for a reason. He hasn't been getting open consistently and when he does get open, he hasn't caught the ball. In Week 12 against the Raiders, he managed one catch for -1 yards. There was simply no evidence to suggest that Valdes-Scantling should see so much time on the field. 

Added frustration to the plan at wide receiver

Rashee Rice, who has been inarguably the team's best wide receiver, saw his snaps diminished in Week 16. Even though he saw a career-high in targets, he only played 75% of the offensive snaps, when he's played now fewer than 85% in each of the past two weeks. 

He only caught 50% of his passes, but he was still the bright spot on offense in terms of wide receiver play against the Raiders. It's just inexplicable that the team hasn't been able to better gameplan around Rice and use him as his performance and production has been realized late in the season. He's not a one-dimensional player and can contribute to some of the designed touches that they're lacking without players like Kadarius Toney, Mecole Hardman, and Skyy Moore on the field. 

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