Tyler Higbee made his long-awaited return to the field on Sunday after missing the first 14 games of the season and fittingly, he found the end zone in his 2024 debut. He was expected to play a limited role in his first game back and though he didn’t have a normal workload, his impact on the offense was certainly felt.
On defense, it was much of the same for the Rams in terms of playing time and positional rotations, but Cobie Durant was noticeably absent despite being cleared to play after bruising his lung two weeks ago.
Here’s a look at the full snap counts on each side of the ball from the Rams’ Week 16 win over the Jets on Sunday.
Offense
Every time it seems like Blake Corum is carving out a role for himself, Kyren Williams gets the lion’s share of carries and snaps. Williams played 43 of a possible 52 snaps, with Corum playing just nine snaps in the win.
At wide receiver, Puka Nacua led the way with an 81% snap share, followed by Cooper Kupp (77%) and Demarcus Robinson (73%). Sean McVay has been reluctant to get anyone else involved, giving Jordan Whittington only 12 snaps and Tutu Atwell 11.
Higbee got the start in his return, playing the first snaps with the offense, but he was technically third on the depth chart in playing time. He saw just 14 snaps in his return, fewer than Hunter Long (19) and Colby Parkinson (17). Davis Allen played 12 snaps, too, so it was a collective group effort from that position group.
Defense
For the second straight week, Ahkello Witherspoon got the start and played every snap. Durant was active after missing Week 15 but he never got on the field, likely because of the lingering effects from his lung contusion – an injury that doesn’t mix well with frigid conditions. Darious Williams was the other starting cornerback once again, with Quentin Lake and Kamren Curl playing every snap, too.
Kamren Kinchens played 72% of the snaps as the second safety alongside Curl, with Jaylen McCollough playing 45%. McCollough had a career-high nine tackles in only 31 snaps. No other defensive backs got on the field.
Christian Rozeboom played 96% of the defensive snaps as the top inside linebacker, with Omar Speights playing 55% next to him. The Rams were in nickel and dime packages often to match the Jets’ personnel.
Jared Verse led the edge rushers with an 80% snap share, higher than usual for him. Byron Young played 71%, with Michael Hoecht playing 54% of the snaps. No other edge rushers got on the field.
Along the defensive line, Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske played 50 and 49 snaps, respectively. Bobby Brown III saw a much lower snap share with only 14 plays, fewer than even Tyler Davis (20) and Neville Gallimore (17). Desjuan Johnson played seven total snaps.