Tag: snap count

Lions snap count notes vs. Colts: The rise of the reserves

The Lions defensive depth played a lot by necessity in Detroit’s Week 12 win in Indianapolis

Already banged up and missing several regulars on defense entering the Week 12 trip to Indianapolis, the Detroit Lions found themselves scrambling even more to field 11 healthy bodies when the Colts were on offense. It led to a stern test of Detroit’s team depth.

Aaron Glenn and the Lions passed with flying colors in a 24-6 win, the second consecutive game the Detroit defense didn’t allow a touchdown.

With Terrion Arnold ruled out on Saturday and Ennis Rakestraw placed on I.R., the Lions cornerback room was in full triage mode. The team turned to Kindle Vildor to start on the outside with Carlton Davis, who is playing with a broken thumb. Vildor played all 55 defensive snaps, one of four iron men on the Detroit defense.

Emmanuel Moseley only played on special teams in his return to the lineup. Moseley did not get in on defense.

Vildor, Brian Branch, Jack Campbell and Kerby Joseph all played every snap. Davis, who left late with a knee issue, joined DL Josh Paschal and LB Malcolm Rodriguez in playing 49 of the 55 snaps. DT Alim McNeill continued his heavy workload by playing over 80 percent of snaps for the fourth time in five games, logging 46 reps in Indianapolis.

SAM LB Trevor Nowaske outrepped nickel CB Amik Robertson, 21 to 18. The Colts use a base offense that features two tight ends, which reduced Robertson’s role in the slot. That also meant more playing time for linebackers Ezekiel Turner and Ben Niemann (11 each). David Long topped them with 13 snaps in his Detroit debut, playing as a practice squad elevation.

Pat O’Connor saw nine snaps and James Houston played four in the reserve EDGE roles. Levi Onwuzurike ticked up to 40 percent of snaps this week after having his reps decline precipitously in Week 11.

On offense, the main characters stayed in their primary roles. Other than LT Taylor Decker leaving temporarily with a leg injury, the offensive line and QB Jared Goff played all 72 offensive reps. Decker missed 14 snaps, filled primarily by Dan Skipper, who logged 15 snaps–including two as an extra tackle. Michael Niese saw one odd snap at left guard while regular LG Graham Glasgow kicked to Decker’s spot at LT.

The running back splits were impacted by David Montgomery’s departure with a shoulder injury.

Jahmyr Gibbs – 48
Montgomery – 21
Craig Reynolds – 3
Sione Vaki – 1

No. 3 wide receiver Tim Patrick and No. 2 TE Brock Wright played almost the same amount, with Patrick getting two more snaps, 36 to 34.

Texans-Cowboys Week 11: Offense, defense and special teams snap counts

Here’s the snap count total from the Houston Texans’ 34-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Monday Night Football.

That’s more like the Houston Texans fans expected to see in 2024.

Behind a three-touchdown performance from running back Joe Mixon, the Texans secured bragging rights in the Lone Star State with a 34-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on “Monday Night Football.”

Mixon, who’s averaged 101.3 yards per game over his last five outings, finished with 109 rushing yards and 53 total yards while helping Houston break its nine-quarter drought without a touchdown in the second half.

“Joe, when he’s on, he’s a force for us,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “The run game starts with our offensive line. I challenged them to play fast, play aggressive. I thought they did a really nice job. I really like the way we just kept churning it in the run game, and proud of the guys for stepping up to the challenge.”

Mixon tied a Texans single-game record for rushing touchdowns, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat. He also secured his 10 rushing touchdown of the season, which marks the highest number of rushing scores by a Texans player since Arian Foster in 2012.

The 24-point victory margin was the Texans’ largest win since a 31-point swing over the Cleveland Browns during last year’s postseason run. It was also Houston’s most lop-sided victory over the Cowboys in seven meetings dating back to its inaugural season.

To emphasize how Houston looked, the Texans’ defense scored as many points as Dallas’ offense in one drive compared to 60 minutes. Defensive end Derek Barnett strip-sacked Cooper Rush in the fourth quarter, but the ball was recovered by Cowboys offensive tackle Tyler Guyton.

The rookie left tackle was then stripped by safety Jalen Pitre, landing in Barnett’s hands en route to the end zone for a 28-yard scoop-and-score.

“They flipped the momentum and got everybody juiced up on the sideline. It was just a huge play,” Ryans said.
Here’s the snap count from Monday night’s success:

Offensive snaps: 64
Defensive snaps: 83
Special teams snaps: 18

Nico Collins, who returned for the first time since Week 5 and finished with four catches for 54 yards, played only 32 snaps. John Metchie III, who caught three passes for 33 yards, finished second among receivers with 39 snaps while Tank Dell was credited with 41.

Mixon, who now ranks eighth overall in rushing yards despite missing three games, saw action on 81% of reps and finished with 153 total yards. Tight end Dalton Schultz was credited with 48 snaps while Cade Stover saw action on 45% of plays.

Defensively, Calen Bullock totaled his fourth straight game with 100% of reps. Derek Stingley Jr, who intercepted Rush and broke up a pair of passes intended for CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Tolbert, played 74 snaps along with linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.

The Texans return home next week to face off against the Tennessee Titans in an AFC South showdown. They could have back defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who’s missed the previous two games while dealing with an ankle injury.

Kickoff from AT&T Stadium is scheduled for noon CT.

Lions snap count notes: Dan Campbell rode his starters heavily vs. Texans

Lions snap count notes: Dan Campbell rode his starters heavily in the Week 10 win over the Houston Texans

Injuries across the Detroit Lions roster forced head coach Dan Campbell to ask a lot of his healthy regular starters, and also more than expected from several reserves. It wasn’t always pretty of confidence-inducing, but the Lions delivered in a thrilling 26-23 comeback win.

The snap counts from Detroit’s Week 10 trip to Houston reveal just how strapped for healthy bodies the Lions were in a few spots. It starts on the defense.

Nine defensive starters played at least 58 of the 68 snaps in the game. That includes five iron men:

Safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch
Linebackers Alex Anzalone and Jack Campbell
Cornerback Terrion Arnold

Cornerback Carlton Davis missed three plays after leaving briefly with a minor injury.

Linemen Josh Paschal, Alim McNeill and Levi Onwuzurike all played an absurd amount of snaps for big men thanks to the myriad injuries around them. Paschal was on the field for 61 snaps, with McNeill at 59 and Onwuzurike at 58. That’s over 85 percent for each.

In the third LB vs. third CB snap rate–the Lions almost always have one or the other, but not both, on the field–SAM Trevor Nowaske played more than nickel/slot Amik Robertson, 33 to 29.

The Lions only used No. 4 CB Kindle Vildor on three plays–the ones Davis sat out. No other corners played beyond special teams. Joseph and Branch were the only safeties who played. Reserve Brandon Joseph only played on special teams, while rookie Loren Strickland was inactive in Week 10.

On offense, the starting line and QB Jared Goff all played all 65 snaps. Veteran Dan Skipper got the nod at left tackle with Taylor Decker inactive due to a shoulder injury.

Jamarco Jones made his Lions debut with one official snap as an extra tackle (Skipper’s normal role), though he had two other plays that were negated due to penalties. No other linemen played outside of special teams.

The ever-popular running back splits saw Jahmyr Gibbs getting 60 percent of the workload to David Montgomery’s 40 percent. The Lions had one or the other in on every snap, but never played more than one. Gibbs and Montgomery were the only RBs who played on offense, with Craig Reynolds and Sione Vaki very busy on special teams.

Jameson Williams returned from his two-game suspension and quickly resumed his WR2 role. He played 48 of the 65 offensive snaps, followed by Tim Patrick (32), Kalif Raymond (16) and Allen Robinson (4). Third TE Shane Zylstra got 19 snaps, behind Sam LaPorta (39) and Brock Wright (37), showing the Lions’ need for auxiliary blocking with Decker sidelined.

Snap count notes: Sorting the Lions defensive line mix against the Titans

Snap count notes: Sorting the Lions defensive line mix against the Titans to cover for all the injuries at EDGE

Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn had to do a lot of patchwork along the defensive front in the Detroit Lions’ Week 8 win over the Tennessee Titans. Thanks to recent injuries to the top three pass rushers on the roster (Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes, Aidan Hutchinson in order of injury) and top replacement starter Josh Paschal being inactive due to illness, the roster scramble was real.

The Lions started the game with Levi Onwuzurike and practice squad elevation Al-Quadin Muhammad as the starting EDGE players, going heavy on the front. Muhammad wound up playing the most snaps of any defensive lineman with 49, edging past DT Alim McNeill (45) and Onwuzurike (44). Starting nose tackle DJ Reader saw 39 reps.

Newcomer Isaiah Thomas made his Lions debut with 38 snaps. Rookie Mekhi Wingo, like Onwuzurike, played both inside and outside during his 30 reps. The same was true for Pat O’Connor in his 31 reps, though Wingo was outside a little more frequently than No. 95. James Houston played 19 snaps, with 13 from the right side and six on the left per Pro Football Focus tracking.

The disparity between the offensive and defensive snap counts was stark, with Detroit only running 48 offensive plays and the Titans offense on the field for 76. Fantastic special teams by the Lions and four Tennessee turnovers played a huge role in the lack of need for Detroit’s offense to play a lot of snaps en route to 52 points.

Quick notes:

–Jalen Reeves-Maybin was injured Malcolm Rodriguez’s primary replacement, with 14 snaps. Ben Niemann played seven in that LB role.

–The Lions pulled as many starters as they could for the final six offensive snaps, including Hendon Hooker coming in for Jared Goff at QB.

–Practice squad elevation TE Shane Zylstra played 13 snaps, a big uptick from the three he played in Week 7.

–Rookie RB Sione Vaki played one snap on offense.

–Safety Kerby Joseph was the only defensive player to stay on the field for every snap.

Steelers fans react to Roman Wilson’s debut: 0 catches with 0 targets

Roman Wilson’s long awaited debut left much to be desired, as he was only given five snaps of offense to participate in.

Roman Wilson made his debut against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6, and while his team picked up the win on Sunday, supporters of the rookie third-round wide receiver out of Michigan were left disappointed.

Wilson’s regular season aspirations were put on hold when the rookie wide receiver suffered an ankle injury that caused him to miss the entirety of training camp, as well as the Steelers first five games of season.

Head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith hinted that his debut would take place “sooner or later”, but it appears they were leaning towards “sooner”.

Wilson was held without a catch in his regular season debut.  To make matters worse, he also didn’t receive a single target in the Steelers victory over the Raiders.  While holding Wilson to a snap count is understandable, allowing the young receiver to only participate in five offensive snaps is ridiculous.  Frustration from fans of the black and gold is completely understandable, and here are some of the best reactions from Wilson’s lackluster debut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lions snap count notes: Big rep debuts for Tim Patrick and DJ Reader

Lions snap count notes vs. Buccaneers in Week 2: Big rep debuts for Tim Patrick and DJ Reader

The day after a game is always a good time to check back in on who played and for how long for the Detroit Lions. Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers snap counts are now out.

Before even getting to the player participation, the stark discrepancy in the number of offensive snaps jumps off the sheet. Detroit ran 85 offensive plays, while Tampa Bay ran just 48. The Lions ran 37 more plays than the Bucs.

That crazy split puts a cap on some of the Detroit defensive participation; there just weren’t nearly as many opportunities as in a normal game. Three players, all in the secondary, played every defensive snap:

Kerby Joseph
Brian Branch
Carlton Davis

Slot CB Amk Robertson played 18 snaps, including four filling in for starting outside CB Terrion Arnold when Arnold dealt with a finger injury.

Linebacker Alex Anzalone played all 40 available snaps before departing with a concussion. That left Derrick Barnes playing the most reps at LB, with 45. Jack Campbell played 35, followed by Malcolm Rodriguez with 19. Jalen Reeves-Maybin did sneak onto the field for two.

James Houston played three snaps in his return to the lineup at EDGE. With Marcus Davenport out, Levi Onwuzurike took over most of his snaps. Onwuzurike was on the field for 36 of the 48 snaps. Aidan Hutchinson played his customary 90 percent of snaps, playing 43. DJ Reader saw action on 25 in his Lions debut.

On offense, the entire starting offensive line and QB Jared Goff were iron men and never left the field.

At RB, Jahmyr Gibbs out-repped David Montgomery 53 to 30. Sione Vaki played four reps, while Craig Reynolds played three out of 85 snaps.

Tim Patrick wound up getting more snaps at wide receiver than Kalif Raymond. Patrick, called up from the practice squad, played 33 to Raymond’s 31. Tom Kennedy played five, though Kennedy was Detroit’s primary kick returner in this game.

The Lions had three reserve offensive linemen who played one snap apiece: Dan Skipper, Kayode Awosika and Michael Niese. Those came on the fake punt attempt, which counts as an offensive rep.

Snap count notes from the Lions Week 14 loss to the Bears

Lions snap count notes on the RB mix, DL rotation, Hutchinson never leaving the field, rookies and more from the loss in Chicago

It’s always interesting what stories the snap counts from a game tell about a team. For the Detroit Lions in the Week 14 loss to the Chicago Bears, it shows a team that made some questionable personnel choices.

Take the running back splits. David Montgomery played just 23 of the Lions’ 65 offensive snaps. Jahmyr Gibbs has taken over the lead-back role lately and that was reinforced in Chicago, with the rookie playing 41 snaps. Both Gibbs and Montgomery rushed for 66 yards in the game. Third RB Craig Reynolds played one. Montgomery played just one of Detroit’s 11 snaps in the third quarter.

Blocking was stable in this one. Kayode Awosika got the starting nod at right guard with Graham Glasgow playing center for the injured Frank Ragnow. The entire starting line played all 65 reps. Extra tackle Dan Skipper was on the field for five. Blocking tight end, James Mitchell played 11 snaps and still hasn’t seen one passing game target for the entire season.

Jameson Williams continues to grow into the No. 2 receiver role, trailing only Amon-Ra St. Brown (57) in snaps with his 38. That’s two more than Josh Reynolds, who led the Lions in receiving in Week 14 with three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. Williams got one target and one handoff in his time on the field.

Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson continues to play almost every snap. In this game, Hutchinson played 64 of the 71 defensive reps, a 90 percent rate. Hutchinson played very well and is in tremendous physical shape, but leaning on a pass rusher to go for 90 percent of the snaps is asking a lot. It’s a reflection that the team doesn’t trust the defensive front without its top player.

The EDGE snap count breakdown:

Hutchinson: 64

John Cominsky: 50

Julian Okwara: 17

Romeo Okwara: 8

Isaiah Buggs got the majority of the Alim McNeill replacement reps at DT, playing 43 of the 71 available snaps. Rookie Brodric Martin didn’t record a stat, but he was on the field for six snaps in his first action since Week 8. Levi Onwuzurike also failed to record a stat in 14 reps.

Kindle Vildor made his Lions debut in the secondary with 17 reps. Some of those came at the expense of Jerry Jacobs, who played 53 snaps, or 75 percent. Veteran safety Tracy Walker did not play on defense, only appearing on special teams.

Two defenders only played one snap: LB Malcolm Rodriguez and DB Will Harris. Rodriguez did not appear at fullback in this game.

Studs and duds from Eagles 37-34 win over the Bills in Week 12

We’re looking at the studs and duds from the Philadelphia Eagles 37-34 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 12

Elliott tied the game with 20 seconds remaining. After the Bills went ahead with a field goal on the first possession of overtime, Hurts put the game away with a walk-off 12-yard score that made the Eagles the only 10-1 team in the NFL.

Philadelphia overcame a 17-7 first-half deficit for the second straight game and benefited from another blown deep passing attempt, this time with Josh Allen and wide receiver Gabriel Davis getting mixed up late on a drive.

With a Week 13 showdown against San Francisco looming, here are the studs and duds from Sunday’s emotional win.

Eagles snap count vs. Bills: Breakdown, observations from 37-34 win in Week 12

We’re looking at the snap counts and playing time percentages from the Philadelphia Eagles overtime win vs. the Buffalo Bills on Sunday

Philadelphia remains the best team in the NFL after Jalen Hurts threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more, outplaying Buffalo’s Josh Allen late in the first of what could be many high-profile matchups in their careers.

The Eagles overcame a 17-7 first-half deficit for the second straight game, using a 59-yard field goal from Jake Elliott to take the Bills to overtime.

Elliott tied the game with 20 seconds remaining. After the Bills went ahead with a field goal on the first possession of overtime, Hurts put the game away with a walk-off 12-yard score that made the Eagles the only 10-1 team in the NFL.

With a Week 13 showdown against San Francisco looming, here are the snap counts and playing time percentages for Week 12.

Snap count notes and observations from the Lions loss to the Packers

Breaking down the notable snap counts from the Detroit Lions in their Week 12 loss to the Green Bay Packers

Looking at the Detroit Lions and their team snap counts from the Week 12 loss to the Green Bay Packers, a few things stand out. Many help provide more content behind the Lions’29-22 loss in Ford Field.

Take the total offensive snaps. Green Bay ran just 56 plays on offense, while Detroit snapped 84 offensive reps. The Packers outscoring the Lions despite running 28 fewer snaps indicates the inefficiency and giveaways from Detroit.

The offensive line saw an in-game xhange at left guard. Colby Sorsdal, who was replacing injured Jonah Jackson, was himself replaced by Kayode Awosika after 32 snaps. The change came after center Frank Ragnow left for one play and right guard Graham Glasgow kicked inside to cover.

At running back, Jahmyr Gibbs was on the field for more than double the reps of David Montgomery, 60 to 23. Considering Montgomery played seven of the first eight, that’s a stark shift to Gibbs, perhaps dictated by the early deficit and Montgomery’s recent pass protection issues. Craig Reynolds played exactly one snap.

Dan Skipper played a season-high nine snaps as an extra tackle. That’s more than Malcolm Rodriguez (6) st fullback or James Mitchell (4) as the third TE.

Josh Reynolds earned 54 snaps at WR, outpacing Jameson Williams (53) and Kalif Raymond (24) behind Amon-Ra St. Brown (77) on the pecking order.

Defensively, the first thing that stands out is Aidan Hutchinson playing 53 of the 56 snaps. That’s an absurdly high rate for a pass rusher; elites like Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons rarely top 80 percent.

Josh Paschal was next in line at EDGE with 29, followed by John Cominsky (23), Charles Harris (13) and Romeo Okwara (8).

The linebacker usage factors in that mix as well. Alex Anzalone left with a hand injury for two snaps but played the rest of the game. Derrick Barnes (40) and Jack Campbell (31) both playing over half the snaps while facing a Packers team with one healthy TE and playing a base 3-WR offense is an interesting choice.