Exactly. Say you run 15/45 sprockets and 135 links. You chip the rear wheel sprocket. That chip will bang the same three links on the chain over and over. Once the links are damaged, those three links will bang the same tooth on the countershaft sprocket every third time it goes around. That damaged tooth will in turn damage every 15th link in the chain, which will damage every 15th tooth on the rear wheel sprocket.
Now suppose you run 15/47 sprockets and 122 links. You damage a tooth on the rear wheel sprocket. Every time the sprocket goes around, it hits a different link. The rear wheelm sprocket rotates 122 times before the same tooth hits the same link again. More than likely, before any one link is damaged enough to damage the countershaft sprocket, every link is just slightly damaged and the damage to the rear wheel sprocket is worn smooth. The process of progressive damage stops.