The Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens played a game with an unusually low number of plays in Week 3. That’s among the standout takeaways from a look at the snap counts from the game.
Detroit ran 63 offensive plays, while the Ravens managed just 58. The 121 total combined snaps are more than 10 below the NFL average per game through three weeks of 2021.
Six Lions played all 63 offensive reps. As expected, the starting offensive line and QB Jared Goff never left the field. Center Frank Ragnow did not miss a snap despite getting shaken up in the second half.
The Lions also deployed some reserve offensive linemen as extra blockers in the game. Tackle Will Holden played seven reps in his Lions debut and guard Logan Stenberg also got into the game for two snaps as an extra lineman. The Lions only have two tight ends on the roster and it appears the answer to the lack of a third TE is to use extra offensive linemen.
Kalif Raymond topped the WR snap count again, playing 47 of the 63 snaps. He was followed by Quintez Cephus (45), Amon-Ra St. Brown (27), Trinity Benson (24) and KhaDarel Hodge (5).
On defense, four Lions earned Iron Man status: starting CBs Bobby Price and Amani Oruwariye, along with LB Alex Anzalone and OLB Romeo Okwara.
With starting OLB Trey Flowers out, Charles Harris almost exclusively picked up his reps. Harris played 45 of the 58 defensive snaps, the same number as DE Michael Brockers.
Dean Marlowe played just one total defensive snap in the first two weeks, but he was an integral piece against the Ravens. Marlowe played 44 snaps, the same as starter Will Harris and more than the other starter, Tracy Walker (39). The Lions used a third safety judiciously, and it came at the expense of the reserve cornerbacks; slot CB AJ Parker played 30 snaps and he was the only other CB aside from the starters to appear on defense in the entire game. Fourth safety C.J. Moore did see three snaps.
With Jamie Collins out, the Lions divided up his off-ball LB reps almost evenly between Derrick Barnes (28) and Jalen Reeves-Maybin (27).
The rookie defensive linemen didn’t play much. Levi Onwuzurike played 14 snaps at DE, one more than Alim McNeill at nose tackle.