Arrowhead Pride
In Week 16, the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Tennessee Titans by a score of 26-9. It was the ninth loss of the season in a game that had no consequences, as both teams were already eliminated from playoff contention.
Let’s look at how Kansas City used its players in the defeat:
Starters (offensive): WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, TE Travis Kelce, LT Esa Pole, LG Kingsley Suamataia, C Creed Humphrey, RG Trey Smith, RT Chukwuebuka Godrick, TE Noah Gray, WR Xavier Worthy, QB Gardner Minshew and RB Isiah Pacheco.
Starters (defensive): DE George Karlaftis, NT Mike Pennel, DT Chris Jones, DE Michael Danna, LB Drue Tranquill, LB Nick Bolton, LB Jack Cochrane, CB Nohl Williams, CB Jaylen Watson, DB Chamarri Conner and S Bryan Cook.
Did not play: T Matt Waletzko.
Inactive: WR Rashee Rice, CB Trent McDuffie, RB Dameon Pierce, OL C.J. Hanson, OL Jaylon Moore, WR Tyquan Thornton and DT Derrick Nnadi.
In the first inconsequential game for the Chiefs under head coach Andy Reid since the 2014 season finale, there was little change in the lineup to reflect the dead end, even with injuries to account for. With a chance to shake things up and evaluate the future roster, the team featured the usual suspects for the majority of the game.
The gameday inactive list included running back Dameon Pierce, who was a healthy scratch after being signed to the 53-man roster on Saturday.
Five members of the Chiefs’ 2025 draft class were available to play; cornerback Nohl Williams and defensive end Ashton Gillotte continued a season-long ascension in the lineup, while the other three — wide receiver Jalen Royals, linebacker Jeffrey Bassa and running back Brashard Smith — combined for 11 snaps between offense and defense.
On offense, it was a clear opportunity for the Chiefs to play young weapons like Royals and Smith. Instead, 65% of the skill-position snaps and 85% of the opportunities to touch the ball went to players slated to be unrestricted free agents.
Wide receivers Juju Smith-Schuster (91% of offensive snaps) and Hollywood Brown (53%) took substantial reps after a long season of being featured in the offense. Royals, a rookie wide receiver who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds with a 93rd-percentile 10-yard split, played three snaps; each was a run play. Second-year tight end Jared Wiley, a fourth-round pick like Royals, played two snaps.
On defense, Bassa was shut out from seeing the field in favor of special teams ace and linebacker Jack Cochrane, who is set for unrestricted free agency. Cochrane played 40% of the defensive snaps behind starting outside linebacker Drue Tranquill, who was on the field 94% of the time; Tranquill is signed through 2026.
Kansas City’s backfield was handled by two players set to test the open market in March: running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt.
Pacheco played 73% of the offensive snaps, including 75% of the pass plays called; he led the team in...
