The Los Angeles Rams had been getting by without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua at wide receiver for four straight games but their returns on Thursday night made a world of difference for Matthew Stafford and the entire offense.
Their returns also had a huge impact on the wide receiver rotation and the personnel groupings that Sean McVay utilized. Though Kupp and Nacua didn’t play close to their normal snap share, they were still the two leading receivers in yardage and were the primary reasons Los Angeles pulled off the upset.
Of course, with the team’s top two receivers back, someone had to take a backseat. That player was clearly Tutu Atwell, who played just nine snaps in the Rams’ win.
Take a look at the full snap counts on offense and defense below, which shows the big changes Sean McVay made with his two best receivers back.
Offense
Demarcus Robinson may have only been targeted two times, but he played the most snaps of any receiver with 61. Kupp played 42 snaps and Nacua played 41, rotating in and out of the lineup frequently. For two players who missed four and five games, they were still working back into game shape, particularly in Nacua’s case after logging only two limited practices since Week 1.
Tyler Johnson was the fourth receiver with 27 snaps played, while Atwell’s role just about evaporated. He played only 12% of the snaps after playing at least 74% in each of the previous four games. Xavier Smith played four snaps but didn’t touch the ball. With 10 days until their next game, Kupp and Nacua should be closer to full strength in Week 9, which could further limit the snaps available for other wide receivers.
The tight end rotation was much closer than it had been all season. All three guys contributed with meaningful snaps for the first time this year. Colby Parkinson remains the top option with a 64% snap share, but that matched his season-low (Week 7). Hunter Long played 42% of the snaps and Davis Allen played 39%, which were the second-most and most for those two tight ends this season, respectively. The Rams used a lot of 12 personnel and deployed two tight ends together more than they have in most games this season, which provided a spark in the run game.
At running back Kyren Williams played his usual number of snaps, with Blake Corum playing the other 11% – also his typical usage rate. Corum is firmly entrenched in the RB2 role but he’s not a real threat to Williams’ workload right now.
Defense
Quentin Lake and Darious Williams played every snap on defense for the second straight week. Lake wore the green dot as the defensive signal caller, taking over that role with Troy Reeder landing on IR. Kam Curl likely would’ve played the entire game again if not for a knee injury that knocked him out for 13 snaps.
The biggest change in the secondary came at the No. 2 cornerback spot where Cobie Durant replaced Ahkello Witherspoon. Durant played all but one snap, while Witherspoon was dropped to fourth on the depth chart; he played only nine snaps compared to Josh Wallace’s 20.
Reeder missed this game and will sit out at least the next three, too, as he recovers from a hamstring injury, which led to a bigger role for Christian Rozeboom. He played 94% of the snaps, with rookie Omar Speights playing a career-high 22 snaps on defense as the No. 2 linebacker. Chris Shula mixed Jake Hummel in for 10 plays as the third linebacker.
Byron Young has typically played more snaps than Jared Verse but it was the rookie who played 84% compared to 78% for Young – a minimal difference, but something to watch. Michael Hoecht played 62% of the snaps as the third edge rusher, as well, so his role is still relevant. No other outside linebackers got on the field.
Along the defensive line, Kobie Turner played 82% of the snaps, the only one who played at least 60% of the game. For the fourth straight game, Braden Fiske played fewer than 60% of the snaps, so his role has been somewhat limited. Bobby Brown III played half the game, Tyler Davis played nine snaps and Neville Gallimore was limited to eight plays due to a lingering shoulder injury that caused him to leave the game.