KC Chiefs Week 5 Snap Counts vs. Minnesota Vikings: Working Overtime

Kansas City's snap shares from Sunday's win over Minnesota serve as an accurate reflection of how the game unfolded.

Week 5 is in the books, and the Kansas City Chiefs emerged from enemy territory with yet another win.

Sunday afternoon's game against the Minnesota Vikings was a 27-20 effort — one that saw Andy Reid's team outgain Kevin O'Connell's squad by a mere four net yards. With that said, Kansas City held narrow advantages in elements such as yards per play and time of possession while also winning the turnover battle at U.S. Bank Stadium. Additionally, the Chiefs' offense converted on 60% of its third downs and the coaching staff was better at timeout management. 

It may not have been a hugely convincing win, but it was one that stemmed from multiple smaller triumphs on the margins. Even with a couple of normal contributors out, the road team did more than enough to take care of business and get back to Kansas City on the heels of a fourth consecutive victory. 

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.

Season-high involvement for Kadarius Toney

The Chiefs had high hopes for Kadarius Toney early in the summer, but the third-year receiver suffered a knee injury that held him out of almost all of training camp and the entire preseason. Not too long after he returned for Week 1, he suffered a sprained toe that limited his workload in games three and four. Coming off a week of full participation in practice, Toney saw the field a season-high 25 times on Sunday, which was good for 38% of available snaps.

Setting a season-best mark in targets with six, Toney was a focal point on offense. He averaged a team-leading 5.5 yards of separation per target, per Next Gen Stats, further displaying his dynamic skill set. It remains to be seen whether this is the ceiling for Toney or if there's more in terms of workload, but he's making some positive strides. Elsewhere in the wideout room, snap leaders were Marquez Valdes-Scantling (43), Skyy Moore (37) and Justin Watson (29) ahead of Toney. 

Drue Tranquill continues to lead the linebacker room in Nick Bolton's absence

With Nick Bolton missing his third consecutive game as he continues to work his way back from a sprained ankle, Drue Tranquill was once again relied upon to lead the Chiefs' group of linebackers. The veteran answered by pacing the team in tackles with nine, all while battling a bum knee and being on the field for every single defensive snap (72 total). It was another respectable performance from the team's offseason free agent pickup, which drew the following praise from defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Monday afternoon: 

"We certainly got a real great replacement for Nick, didn't we? We didn't skip a beat, we didn't change things. That's a credit to Drue and how he operates."

In the three games Bolton missed, Tranquill played a combined 173 snaps and logged 21 tackles, 12 Pro Football Focus "stops," five pressures and three hurries. He was a sound run defender and a more thorough coverage option than Bolton usually is, giving the team plenty of production while its leading linebacker was out. Now that Bolton is expected to return for this week's game, Tranquill may be able to get a bit of a breather. He's earned it. 

Mike Edwards remains a critical part of Spagnuolo's defense

Speaking of Spagnuolo tidbits, he also praised safety Mike Edwards for the job he's done after being given a larger workload. He then proceeded to reason that even more snaps could be in the cards for him moving forward, which is good for the Chiefs' defense. After playing 21 snaps in each of Weeks 2 and 3 and seeing his total rise to 26 last week, Edwards logged a season-high 39 defensive snaps versus Minnesota in Week 5. In those reps, the spring signing made a noticeable impact for the third week in a row. 

At home against the Chicago Bears, it was an Edwards interception that set the tone. In New Jersey against the New York Jets, it was a sack and a stuff. In this most recent game, it was a tackle for loss and a pass broken up. Edwards is a hand-in-glove fit as a third safety in Spagnuolo's defense, as his playmaking nature is beginning to shine through on a weekly basis. Sophomore Bryan Cook remains the club's preferred No. 2 safety but as the defense gets into sub-package looks, expect to see plenty of Edwards moving forward. 

Read More: L’Jarius Sneed Is Emerging as a Star for Chiefs’ Defense