Chiefs Week 15 Snap Counts: The Jerick McKinnon Game
In Week 15, the Kansas City Chiefs were facing off against a team with one win on the year. No one would've been able to tell judging by the game, though.
The Houston Texans went toe-to-toe with Kansas City on Sunday despite getting outgained by quite a bit on offense, forcing the Chiefs into a few mistakes and scoring opportunistic points throughout the afternoon. Both clubs needed overtime in order to settle on an outcome, with the Chiefs ultimately escaping with a one-score road win. It was a team effort through and through, as multiple players on both sides of the ball made their marks.
Now that snap counts have been released, what jumped off the page? Let's take a look at three notable takeaways from another week of Chiefs football.
1. Jerick McKinnon was the star of the show
All season long, Jerick McKinnon has been the veteran presence in the Chiefs' running back room and has shared snaps with either Clyde Edwards-Helaire or Isiah Pacheco atop the team's depth chart. Against the Texans, the 30-year-old matched a 2022 season-best by playing in 62% of Kansas City's available offensive snaps. This is partially due to Pacheco fumbling in the first half and also missing a critical blitz pickup, paving the way for the more experienced and reliable McKinnon to see the field more often. To say that McKinnon had a solid game would be an understatement.
Recording a season-high 10 carries, McKinnon amassed 52 rushing yards and the game-winning touchdown run in overtime. Through the air, he was targeted eight times and made all eight receptions while contributing 70 yards and another touchdown. In his last three games, McKinnon has averaged 5.2 yards per rush while also hauling in 17 passes. Over that span, he has 316 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns. McKinnon came on strong late last season and into the playoffs for the Chiefs, and his star is shining extremely bright for Andy Reid's offense as the 2022 regular season winds down.
2. Was Chris Jones on a pitch count of sorts?
Late in the week, Friday to be exact, defensive tackle Chris Jones missed practice due to an illness and was ruled questionable heading into Sunday's game. Despite that, most expected the designation to be merely precautionary, and that's exactly what it was. Jones got the start for Kansas City down in Houston, but he didn't log a single box score stat aside from his snap count and wasn't very productive when playing.
Logging 40 snaps, Jones saw the field a season-low 63% of the time. This matched the second week in a row in which he didn't hit the 70% threshold, which is something to watch considering he was at 85% or higher in all five games prior to Week 14. Part of this was probably just the Chiefs being cautious with a star player who wasn't fully healthy, although the importance of Jones to Steve Spagnuolo's defense is sky-high. Jones needs to be effective in order for things to work well elsewhere and for Kansas City's sake, the team will hope that this pseudo-pitch count doesn't last much longer.
3. Mike Danna is a legitimate part of the Chiefs' defense
Speaking of important parts of the Spagnuolo's defense, defensive lineman Mike Danna has emerged as a legitimate standout in his role player capacity for Kansas City. The 2020 fifth-round pick is displaying some versatility along the defensive line, having the ability to serve as either a traditional defensive end with lower-end athleticism or a high-level, undersized athlete on the interior. Since his return from an injury on Nov. 6, Danna has 20 tackles (three for loss), six quarterback hits and three sacks in seven games. His production was on full display against the Texans in Week 15, too.
Playing 31 snaps, Danna was on the field for nearly half (49%) of the Chiefs' available defensive reps. That matched his percentage from Week 14 and is nearly on par with his season average of 53%. In addition to recording a quarterback hit in the game, Danna got pressure up the middle to wreck Houston's first offensive drive and then came up with a critical third-down stop on the following possession. Danna's ascension is one of the Chiefs' best storylines on defense this season, and that story continued to be written on Sunday.
