The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Detroit Lions 20-21 to kickoff the season on Thursday night. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed passes to 12 different players and 6 players had rushing attempts. That gives us a lot of data from this game to comb through.
The Chiefs were without Travis Kelce, which of course was a huge loss, but they spread the ball around a lot even when Kelce is there. Let’s take a look at the targets and snaps for this game.
Targets
WR Rashee Rice — 5
WR Kadarius Toney — 5
TE Noah Gray — 5
WR Justin Watson — 4
RB Isiah Pacheco — 4
TE Blake Bell — 3
WR Skyy Moore — 3
WR Richie James — 2
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling — 2
RB Jerick McKinnon — 2
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire — 1
WR Justyn Ross — 1
With Kelce out, no player saw more than five targets. It was notable that Rashee Rice, a rookie who wasn’t starting, commanded five targets and scored a touchdown, while a starter like Skyy Moore saw just three. This is a good sign for Rice moving forward.
Kadarius Toney was awful in this game, but did see six touches on just 16 snaps. That shows you how the team views him as a playmaker, but after multiple drops, it will be interesting to see if he gets that kind of usage next week.
Rushing attempts
QB Patrick Mahomes — 6
RB Isiah Pacheco — 8
RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire — 6
WR Skyy Moore — 1
WR Kadarius Toney — 1
WR Rashee Rice — 1
Running back snaps
Isiah Pacheco — 31
Jerick McKinnon — 20
Clyde Edwards-Helaire — 14
The Chiefs have a three-man backfield and that is going to hurt production. Isiah Pacheco remains the lead back and with four targets and eight rushing attempts, he can have value, but he’s looking more like a flex play at the moment.
McKinnon didn’t get a rush and only had two targets, but was the clear back in hurry up and near the goal line. He will have better days, but inconsistency will likely remain a problem when he doesn’t find the end zone.
Wide receiver snaps
Skyy Moore — 45
Marquez Valdes-Scantling — 41
Richie James — 23
Rashee Rice — 20
Kadarius Toney — 16
Justin Watson — 19
Justyn Ross — 6
Tight end snaps
Noah Gray — 57
Blake Bell — 26
Thankfully for the Chiefs, Travis Kelce should be back next week when they take on the Jaguars.
Skyy Moore was easily the No. 1 receiver in terms of snaps, but with three targets and no receptions, it was an awful start to his season. The snaps are something to hang our hat on though. He’ll be tough to start next week after this performance, but he’s someone to keep on your fantasy team.
We discussed Toney above, but he doesn’t look like he’ll ever be a true starter and if he can’t make plays when given the chance, his opportunities could dry up.
