What the Chiefs’ snap counts quietly revealed: Mike Pennel’s rise isn’t the shock — Jaden Hicks’ vanishing act is.QQ
The Kansas City Chiefs suffered a brutal Week 9 loss to the Buffalo Bills, dropping their record to 5-4 for the 2025 NFL season.
With three losses to AFC opponents, the Chiefs will have to kick things into overdrive for the remainder of the 2025 NFL season. The team made some personnel-related changes in Week 9 heading into the bye week, some expected (like DT Mike Pennel’s usage) and some unexpected (like DB Jaden Hicks’ lack of defensive playing time). What will they stick with from the Week 9 loss, and what will they look to change when they return in Week 11?
Below, you’ll find analysis and a look at how the snaps played out in Week 9. Snap data via the NFL Game Stats & Information System.
| Player | Offense Snaps (%) | Defense Snaps (%) | Special Teams Snaps (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C – C.Humphrey | 60 (100%) | 3 (12%) | |
| OL – J.Moore | 60 (100%) | 3 (12%) | |
| G – T.Smith | 60 (100%) | 3 (12%) | |
| QB – P.Mahomes | 60 (100%) | ||
| T – K.Suamataia | 59 (98%) | 3 (12%) | |
| TE – T.Kelce | 55 (92%) | ||
| WR – X.Worthy | 50 (83%) | ||
| WR – R.Rice | 49 (82%) | ||
| RB – K.Hunt | 47 (78%) | ||
| T – J.Taylor | 43 (72%) | ||
| WR – M.Brown | 26 (43%) | ||
| TE – N.Gray | 22 (37%) | 5 (21%) | |
| OL – W.Morris | 17 (28%) | 3 (12%) | |
| WR – J.Smith-Schuster | 17 (28%) | ||
| WR – T.Thornton | 14 (23%) | 5 (21%) | |
| RB – B.Smith | 12 (20%) | ||
| TE – R.Tonyan | 6 (10%) | 5 (21%) | |
| RB – C.Edwards-Helaire | 2 (3%) | ||
| OL – M.Caliendo | 1 (2%) | 3 (12%) | |
| LB – N.Bolton | 66 (100%) | 5 (21%) | |
| DB – C.Conner | 66 (100%) | 5 (21%) | |
| CB – T.McDuffie | 66 (100%) | ||
| CB – J.Watson | 65 (98%) | ||
| LB – D.Tranquill | 61 (92%) | 5 (21%) | |
| DE – G.Karlaftis | 51 (77%) | 5 (21%) | |
| S – B.Cook | 50 (76%) | 3 (12%) | |
| DT – C.Jones | 50 (76%) | ||
| DB – N.Williams | 44 (67%) | 18 (75%) | |
| DE – M.Danna | 35 (53%) | 5 (21%) | |
| DL – J.Tillery | 34 (52%) | 5 (21%) | |
| LB – L.Chenal | 32 (48%) | 16 (67%) | |
| DE – A.Gillotte | 23 (35%) | 6 (25%) | |
| DE – C.Omenihu | 23 (35%) | ||
| NT – M.Pennel | 20 (30%) | ||
| DT – D.Nnadi | 19 (29%) | 5 (21%) | |
| CB – C.Roland-Wallace | 16 (24%) | 16 (67%) | |
| DB – J.Hicks | 4 (6%) | 21 (88%) | |
| DB – K.Knowles | 21 (88%) | ||
| LB – J.Cochrane | 21 (88%) | ||
| LB – J.Bassa | 16 (67%) | ||
| LB – C.McDonald | 16 (67%) | ||
| CB – J.Williams | 11 (46%) | ||
| K – H.Butker | 8 (33%) | ||
| WR – N.Remigio | 8 (33%) | ||
| LS – J.Winchester | 6 (25%) | ||
| P – M.Araiza | 6 (25%) | ||
| OL – H.Nourzad | 3 (12%) |
In one game back with the Chiefs, Pennel has already proven that he never should’ve been released during the 53-man roster cuts. He outsnapped Derrick Nnadi on defense by only a single snap, but that’s quite notable in his first week back in the fold. He notched two total tackles, including one defensive stop on 15 run defense snaps, and was the Chiefs’ most positively graded run defender outside of Nick Bolton, according to PFF. It might be overlooked in the loss to the Bills, but Pennel is going to help this defensive line down the stretch of the season.
Chiefs second-year safety Jaden Hicks disappears from the defensive game plan
If there’s one second-year player that’s having himself a weird season, it’s Chiefs S Jaden Hicks. After playing in 39 defensive snaps on “Monday Night Football” against the Washington Commanders in Week 8, he played just four defensive snaps against the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. A player who was once promising and looking like the future of the secondary with his performance in 2024 was seemingly relegated to mostly special teams duties against the Commanders. He has started two games this season for Kansas City: Week 1 against the Los Angeles Chargers and Week 3 against the New York Giants. The Week 3 game was his season-high in snaps with 51 total. The explanation probably falls into the Chiefs not getting into a specific personnel package, but it sure feels like they could’ve used him for more than four snaps with the running back and tight ends running free.
Kareem Hunt bogarts Chiefs’ running back snaps
As I expected, Week 9 vs. the Bills was not the Brashard Smith breakout game. Kareem Hunt played the vast majority of the team’s backfield snaps (78%), while Smith played just a portion of the snaps (20%) with Clyde Edwards-Helaire (3%) rounding things out. Hunt was the most effective back on Sunday, averaging 4.7 yards per carry on 11 backfield touches. Smith averaged 2.3 yards per carry on three touches, and Edwards-Helaire averaged 2.5 yards per carry on two touches. The main takeaway here is that Smith remains limited as a true running back but effective as a pass-catcher. Hunt is trusted with the majority of running game responsibilities and might be the team’s most well-rounded back, followed closely by Isiah Pacheco.
Other Chiefs snap count observations in Week 9:
- Nick Bolton, Trent McDuffie, and Chamarri Conner each played 100% of the defensive snaps in Week 9.
- Chris Roland-Wallace continues to get snaps as a deep safety for Kansas City. He seems to have the most range of any defensive back in single-high coverage.
- LBs Jeffrey Bassa and Cooper McDonald were among the players who only played special teams snaps on Sunday. Steve Spagnuolo might want to adjust that with some packages for the young players after Drue Tranquill struggled in coverage against the Bills’ tight ends.
