KC Chiefs Wild Card Snap Counts vs. Miami Dolphins: Playoff Portions
The first round of the NFL playoffs is in the books for the Kansas City Chiefs, with Andy Reid's team advancing on the heels of a win over the Miami Dolphins.
It was a dominant performance for Kansas City, featuring mostly efficient offense and some downright elite defense. Both sides of the ball complemented each other well and contributed to a lopsided final score. As expected, some coaching tweaks and personnel adjustments helped bring home the 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.
A thinner wideout rotation leads to everyone getting significant snaps
Kansas City's wide receiver carousel never truly stopped spinning this year. All season long, different players came and went while watching their workloads fluctuate by considerable amounts. With Justyn Ross and Kadarius Toney sitting out of Wild Card Weekend due to injuries, the Chiefs focused on involving a primary group of five wideouts against the Dolphins.
Leading the way on Saturday, as expected, was rookie Rashee Rice with 61 offensive snaps. The duo of Justin Watson (54) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (32) followed him up and both Mecole Hardman (27) and Richie James (16) got some work in. James's reps were still good for 20% of those available, highlighting multiple things. The Chiefs made a concerted effort to throw the football despite the weather conditions, but they also leaned on a variety of players to assist in that effort. The results were mixed; how Kansas City attacks splitting up snaps when and if Ross or Toney returns will be worth monitoring.
Derrick Nnadi's injury shakes up the interior defensive line rotation
Re-signed on a one-year deal during the offseason, Derrick Nnadi has been the Chiefs' primary nose tackle this season. The draft pick of Keondre Coburn didn't work out and while players like Neil Farrell and Mike Pennel are solid depth, they aren't starting-caliber players right now. Tershawn Wharton, more of a pass-rusher and "tweener" than anything else, also can't take too many of Nnadi's reps. This led to the fifth-year man averaging around 50% of snaps played to end the regular season, although an elbow injury forced several others into more prominent roles versus Miami.
Wharton played 41% of available snaps on Saturday, up just a tick from his average of 37% in the regular season. Pennel got a 25% split after getting called up from the practice squad. According to Pro Football Focus tracking from the Wild Card round, defensive end Charles Omenihu even spent some time rushing from the inside. It was a by-committee effort replacing Nnadi once he went down with the injury, and the Chiefs' run defense didn't seem to suffer much despite the run-stuffer leaving the field. The interior of Joe Cullen's defensive front, anchored by All-Pro Chris Jones, remained stout.
Jaylen Watson's role reduced on Wild Card Weekend
In the week leading up to Saturday's game, cornerback Jaylen Watson was on the injury report with a calf ailment. While he was a full participant in practice during the week, the fact that Kansas City elevated Keith Taylor from the practice squad and made him inactive at the last minute made it seem like something was off. Regardless of the reason for Watson's low snap count against Miami, it was a notable decline from the snaps he's logged for most of the season.
Watson played just 11 snaps on defense on Saturday, which was his lowest mark since Week 1 when he didn't get any. In relief of him, the Chiefs shifted to Joshua Williams (33 snaps) as the third cornerback on the depth chart. Williams never left the field the week prior, although that was more of a showcase game for depth pieces to close out the regular season. It appeared to indicate that he was lower on the hierarchy. The Watson-Williams dynamic has shifted multiple times during their brief careers thus far — next weekend's workload ratio could represent who's in favor or who's healthier at this stage of the season.
