The Los Angeles Rams once again trotted out a starting lineup filled with players who began the year as backups, leading to a 24-12 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Monday night. There were some interesting and surprising trends within the snap counts, seeing Cam Akers gain a firmer grasp on the starting running back spot.
Ernest Jones also played a season-low number of snaps against the Packers, while Cobie Durant remained the No. 3 cornerback behind Jalen Ramsey Troy Hill.
Here’s a look at the playing time breakdown on both sides of the ball.
Offense
Four of the Rams’ five starting offensive linemen played every snap, with the exception of Brian Allen. He injured his calf on the second play, causing Coleman Shelton to move to center and thrusting Oday Aboushi onto the field.
Van Jefferson led all receivers with 44 snaps played, followed by Tutu Atwell, who played 38 snaps. Ben Skowronek played 30 snaps, but he missed some time due to an undisclosed injury after coming up hobbling in the first half. Brandon Powell only played eight snaps, getting overtaken by Austin Trammell. Lance McCutcheon played one snap.
Tyler Higbee once again led the tight ends with an 89% snap share, only ceding five snaps to Brycen Hopkins.
Cam Akers played a season-high 76% of snaps at running back, which was 60% more than any other running back. Malcolm Brown was second with seven snaps played, followed by Kyren Williams (4).
Defense
Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill remained the top cornerbacks, with Bobby Wagner and Nick Scott also playing every snap, as they usually do.
Greg Gaines and Jonah Williams were the top defensive linemen, playing 69 and 66 snaps, respectively. Bobby Brown mixed in for 45 snaps, while Earnest Brown IV played just 11 snaps. T.J. Carter played four snaps after being elevated from the practice squad.
Leonard Floyd led the outside linebackers with 66 snaps played. Michael Hoecht was No. 2 with 55 snaps played, followed by Keir Thomas (16 snaps) and Daniel Hardy (5 snaps).
It’s surprising to see Ernest Jones play only 48% of the snaps, which was a season-low for him – especially against the Packers’ run-heavy offense. No other inside linebackers played, but the Rams went with lighter boxes to match the Packers’ personnel.
Cobie Durant was once again the third cornerback, remaining ahead of Derion Kendrick, who played only one snap. David Long Jr. was out with a groin injury.
Quentin Lake played two snaps in this one after playing just one total snap all year. He still doesn’t have much of a role, though.
