It's time for our weekly look at the San Francisco 49ers snap counts from the team's Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Below are all the notable takeaways from who played, how much they played and what it might mean moving forward. As a reference point for percentage of snaps played, the offense was on the field for 68 snaps and the defense played 76. The defense has now been on the field longer than the offense in each of the team's first three games.
- Malcolm Smith played 34 snaps at SAM linebacker in his official debut for the 49ers. He made one tackle and had one quarterback hit. Most importantly, Smith's hamstring appeared to have made it out of the game without a setback.
- Jimmie Ward started at corner in place of Ahkello Witherspoon and played 71 snaps. Witherspoon (40 snaps) did enter the game in the second quarter once Richard Sherman left with a calf injury (36 snaps).
- Erik Magnuson made his 2018 debut as he's fully recovered from his hamstring. He played seven snaps while Mike Person (61 snaps) got a quick break. Person continues to deal with a painful foot sprain.
- Kyle Juszczyk played 53 snaps as his usage rate continues to climb. It appears that he's one of the 49ers primary options in the backfield on third down. Juszczyk caught two passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. He also had a nifty option-style pitch to Matt Breida on a unique play design from Kyle Shanahan.
- Raheem Mostert saw his first three snaps on offense. Mostert caught one pass for eight yards and carried the ball once for no gain.
- D.J. Reed played 52 snaps at free safety after Adrian Colbert (25 snaps) left the game with a hip injury. Tarvarius Moore also saw his first five career snaps on defense while Ward left briefly due to injury.
