The Kansas City Chiefs lost the eighth game of the 2025 season to the Los Angeles Chargers by a 16-13 score. It was the last meaningful game the Chiefs will play until 2026. Let’s look at how Kansas City used its players in the defeat:
Starters (offensive): TE Travis Kelce, LT Esa Pole, LG Kingsley Suamataia, C Creed Humphrey, RG Mike Caliendo, RT Jaylon Moore, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR Tyquan Thornton, WR Rashee Rice, QB Patrick Mahomes and RB Isiah Pacheco.
Starters (defensive): DE George Karlaftis, DT Chris Jones, DT Derrick Nnadi, DE Michael Danna, LB Drue Tranquill, LB Nick Bolton, LB Leo Chenal, DB Chamarri Conner, CB Nohl Williams, CB Jaylen Watson and S Bryan Cook.
Did not play: WR Jalen Royals.
Inactive: WR Marquise Brown, TE Jared Wiley, CB Trent McDuffie, RB Elijah Mitchell, G Trey Smith, T Jawaan Taylor and DT Zacch Pickens.
If that was the last meaningful game we ever saw legendary tight end Travis Kelce play, it was one of his greatest efforts. He totaled 70 yards and seven catches over nine targets, but it was his constant presence on the field that deserves recognition.
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Against Los Angeles, Kelce was in formation for 98% of the offensive plays, including every run play. It is the fourth time this season — and in the last six games — he has played more than 90% of the snaps.
According to Pro Football Reference’s snap-count data, Kelce has not played at least 98% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps since Week 14 of the 2019 season.
It felt necessary against the Dallas Cowboys, when tight end Noah Gray was in concussion protocol on a short week, but this situation appears to be a future Hall of Fame player going all out with the season on the brink. There was a very slim chance of making the playoffs going into Week 15, but that did not stop Kelce from giving it his all. That started on the opening drive when he laid out for a block to help Mahomes cross the goal line.
It would not be sensible for this to continue through the remainder of the season, especially with quarterback Patrick Mahomes out, but the four-time All-Pro tight end left it all out on the Arrowhead grass against the Chargers.
The Chiefs’ wide receivers have become a focal point among an overall sluggish offense in recent weeks. Starter Hollywood Brown (personal) did not play against the Chargers, and that led to interesting movement in the lineup.
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Wide receiver Xavier Worthy did not see additional playing time due to Brown’s injury. In fact, Worthy was on the field for the third-lowest rate since Week 3. He was in formation for just 71% of pass plays, tied for the lowest rate in that stretch.
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Wide receiver Tyquan Thornton was the biggest beneficiary of Brown’s absence on the field. He was part of 53% of pass plays, the highest rate he has seen since Week 3. He caught two passes for 47 yards; it was his first performance with multiple catches and 40 or more yards since Week 5.
Moving forward, the impossibility of the postseason may lead to a continued reduction of Worthy’s snaps; he has dealt with multiple injuries throughout this season.
Undrafted rookie Kevin Knowles has been a constant presence on the Chiefs’ special teams this year. Over the last two weeks, he was forced to play more on defense with injuries piling up in the secondary.
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Against Los Angeles, Knowles played 44% of defensive snaps — including 61% of pass plays. In a must-win game, it is borderline unacceptable for the game plan to not include defensive backs Jaden Hicks, Mike Edwards or Kristian Fulton in some capacity rather than the inexperienced Knowles, who did make three tackles and break up an important pass.
Knowles deserves credit for making an impact in a tight spot, but Kansas City needs more from the players who were expected to be on the field.
Offense All Pass Run
Total 59
(100%) 38
(100%) 21
(100%)
Mike Caliendo 59
(100%) 38
(100%) 21
(100%)
Creed Humphrey 59
(100%) 38
(100%) 21
(100%)
Kingsley Suamataia 59
(100%) 38
(100%) 21
(100%)
Travis Kelce 58
(98%) 37
(97%) 21
(100%)
Esa Pole 58
(98%) 38
(100%) 20
(95%)
Patrick Mahomes 54
(92%) 33
(87%) 21
(100%)
Rashee Rice 51
(86%) 36
(95%) 15
(71%)
Xavier Worthy 39
(66%) 27
(71%) 12
(57%)
Chukwuebuka Godrick 34
(58%) 26
(68%) 8
(38%)
JuJu Smith-Schuster 31
(53%) 20
(53%) 11
(52%)
Tyquan Thornton 30
(51%) 20
(53%) 10
(48%)
Kareem Hunt 29
(49%) 22
(58%) 7
(33%)
Isiah Pacheco 27
(46%) 16
(42%) 11
(52%)
Jaylon Moore 25
(42%) 12
(32%) 13
(62%)
Noah Gray 22
(37%) 11
(29%) 11
(52%)
Gardner Minshew 5
(8%) 5
(13%) 0
(0%)
Brashard Smith 3
(5%) 0
(0%) 3
(14%)
Robert Tonyan 3
(5%) 0
(0%) 3
(14%)
Hunter Nourzad 2
(3%) 0
(0%) 2
(10%)
Nikko Remigio 1
(2%) 1
(3%) 0
(0%)
Defense All Pass Run
Total 62
(100%) 33
(100%) 29
(100%)
Chamarri Conner 62
(100%) 33
(100%) 29
(100%)
Bryan Cook 62
(100%) 33
(100%) 29
(100%)
Nohl Williams 62
(100%) 33
(100%) 29
(100%)
Jaylen Watson 60
(97%) 31
(94%) 29
(100%)
Drue Tranquill 58
(94%) 29
(88%) 29
(100%)
Nick Bolton 56
(90%) 29
(88%) 27
(93%)
George Karlaftis 48
(77%) 27
(82%) 21
(72%)
Chris Jones 39
(63%) 24
(73%) 15
(52%)
Leo Chenal 34
(55%) 14
(42%) 20
(69%)
Charles Omenihu 33
(53%) 19
(58%) 14
(48%)
Ashton Gillotte 31
(50%) 20
(61%) 11
(38%)
Kevin Knowles II 28
(45%) 20
(61%) 8
(28%)
Jerry Tillery 25
(40%) 12
(36%) 13
(45%)
Derrick Nnadi 24
(39%) 6
(18%) 18
(62%)
Michael Danna 22
(35%) 9
(27%) 13
(45%)
Mike Pennel 19
(31%) 9
(27%) 10
(34%)
Jack Cochrane 6
(10%) 4
(12%) 2
(7%)
Mike Edwards 6
(10%) 5
(15%) 1
(3%)
Jaden Hicks 5
(8%) 4
(12%) 1
(3%)
Kristian Fulton 2
(3%) 2
(6%) 0
(0%)
Special Teams Snaps
Total 24
(100%)
Leo Chenal 21
(88%)
Jack Cochrane 21
(88%)
Jaden Hicks 21
(88%)
Kevin Knowles II 21
(88%)
Cooper McDonald 18
(75%)
Jeff Bassa 17
(71%)
Joshua Williams 17
(71%)
Nohl Williams 17
(71%)
Noah Gray 9
(38%)
Nikko Remigio 9
(38%)
Mike Edwards 8
(33%)
Matt Araiza 7
(29%)
Harrison Butker 7
(29%)
James Winchester 7
(29%)
Ashton Gillotte 6
(25%)
Robert Tonyan 5
(21%)
Chamarri Conner 4
(17%)
Bryan Cook 4
(17%)
Michael Danna 4
(17%)
George Karlaftis 4
(17%)
Derrick Nnadi 4
(17%)
Jerry Tillery 4
(17%)
Drue Tranquill 4
(17%)
Nick Bolton 3
(13%)
Mike Caliendo 3
(13%)
C.J. Hanson 3
(13%)
Creed Humphrey 3
(13%)
Hunter Nourzad 3
(13%)
Esa Pole 3
(13%)
Kingsley Suamataia 3
(13%)
Jaylon Moore 2
(8%)
Tyquan Thornton 1
(4%)
Chukwuebuka Godrick 1
(4%)
All Snaps Off Def ST Total
Total 59
(100%) 62
(100%) 24
(100%) 145
(100%)
Matt Araiza 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 7
(29%) 7
(5%)
Jeff Bassa 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 17
(71%) 17
(12%)
Nick Bolton 0
(0%) 56
(90%) 3
(13%) 59
(41%)
Harrison Butker 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 7
(29%) 7
(5%)
Mike Caliendo 59
(100%) 0
(0%) 3
(13%) 62
(43%)
Leo Chenal 0
(0%) 34
(55%) 21
(88%) 55
(38%)
Jack Cochrane 0
(0%) 6
(10%) 21
(88%) 27
(19%)
Chamarri Conner 0
(0%) 62
(100%) 4
(17%) 66
(46%)
Bryan Cook 0
(0%) 62
(100%) 4
(17%) 66
(46%)
Michael Danna 0
(0%) 22
(35%) 4
(17%) 26
(18%)
Mike Edwards 0
(0%) 6
(10%) 8
(33%) 14
(10%)
Kristian Fulton 0
(0%) 2
(3%) 0
(0%) 2
(1%)
Ashton Gillotte 0
(0%) 31
(50%) 6
(25%) 37
(26%)
Noah Gray 22
(37%) 0
(0%) 9
(38%) 31
(21%)
C.J. Hanson 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 3
(13%) 3
(2%)
Jaden Hicks 0
(0%) 5
(8%) 21
(88%) 26
(18%)
Creed Humphrey 59
(100%) 0
(0%) 3
(13%) 62
(43%)
Kareem Hunt 29
(49%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 29
(20%)
Chris Jones 0
(0%) 39
(63%) 0
(0%) 39
(27%)
George Karlaftis 0
(0%) 48
(77%) 4
(17%) 52
(36%)
Travis Kelce 58
(98%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 58
(40%)
Kevin Knowles II 0
(0%) 28
(45%) 21
(88%) 49
(34%)
Patrick Mahomes 54
(92%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 54
(37%)
Cooper McDonald 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 18
(75%) 18
(12%)
Gardner Minshew 5
(8%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 5
(3%)
Jaylon Moore 25
(42%) 0
(0%) 2
(8%) 27
(19%)
Derrick Nnadi 0
(0%) 24
(39%) 4
(17%) 28
(19%)
Hunter Nourzad 2
(3%) 0
(0%) 3
(13%) 5
(3%)
Charles Omenihu 0
(0%) 33
(53%) 0
(0%) 33
(23%)
Isiah Pacheco 27
(46%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 27
(19%)
Mike Pennel 0
(0%) 19
(31%) 0
(0%) 19
(13%)
Esa Pole 58
(98%) 0
(0%) 3
(13%) 61
(42%)
Nikko Remigio 1
(2%) 0
(0%) 9
(38%) 10
(7%)
Rashee Rice 51
(86%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 51
(35%)
Brashard Smith 3
(5%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 3
(2%)
JuJu Smith-Schuster 31
(53%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 31
(21%)
Kingsley Suamataia 59
(100%) 0
(0%) 3
(13%) 62
(43%)
Tyquan Thornton 30
(51%) 0
(0%) 1
(4%) 31
(21%)
Jerry Tillery 0
(0%) 25
(40%) 4
(17%) 29
(20%)
Robert Tonyan 3
(5%) 0
(0%) 5
(21%) 8
(6%)
Drue Tranquill 0
(0%) 58
(94%) 4
(17%) 62
(43%)
Jaylen Watson 0
(0%) 60
(97%) 0
(0%) 60
(41%)
Joshua Williams 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 17
(71%) 17
(12%)
Nohl Williams 0
(0%) 62
(100%) 17
(71%) 79
(54%)
James Winchester 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 7
(29%) 7
(5%)
Xavier Worthy 39
(66%) 0
(0%) 0
(0%) 39
(27%)
Chukwuebuka Godrick 34
(58%) 0
(0%) 1
(4%) 35
(24%)
Editor’s Note: Arrowhead Pride obtains snap count data from the NFL’s game stats and information system, which allows us to break out snap counts by run or pass on offensive and defensive plays. Because GSIS data ignores plays that were nullified by penalties, total offensive and defensive snap counts will vary from other sources, which get their data from NFL Gamebooks