The Los Angeles Rams were a bit shorthanded on Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Falcons, missing Van Jefferson for the second straight week and being without Brian Allen due to a knee injury. Defensively, Troy Hill also got hurt in the first half and was unable to return.
As a result, the snap counts from Sunday’s 31-27 win slightly differed last week’s numbers. There were also some changes at running back, where Cam Akers got much more work but was still out-snapped by Darrell Henderson Jr.
On defense, it was a perfectly even split between Terrell Lewis and Justin Hollins at outside linebacker, and Cobie Durant got his first opportunity on defense in place of Hill. Here’s a look at the complete snap counts on both sides of the ball.
Offense
Right off the bat, you’re probably wondering why a bunch of defenders played one snap each on offense. That’s because the Rams ran an intentional safety on fourth down, which technically was an offensive play. We can ignore those numbers.
As mentioned earlier, it was a legitimate committee at running back on Sunday. Akers got 17 touches compared to 10 for Henderson, but it was Henderson who got more snaps (35) than Akers (27). That suggests the Rams prefer Henderson in obvious pass-blocking scenarios.
Tutu Atwell and Brycen Hopkins still can’t carve out a role on offense. Atwell actually played fewer snaps Sunday (2) than he did in Week 1 (7), so he’s not part of the game plan. Hopkins only played four snaps, a few of which were with Tyler Higbee on the field.
Tremayne Anchrum Jr. was limited to only two snaps before injuring his ankle and getting carted off the field. A.J. Jackson replaced him and played the remainder of the game.
Brandon Powell caught one pass for 6 yards in his six snaps played. Sean McVay prefers him to Atwell right now, though his role will likely shrink further once Jefferson returns.
Cooper Kupp essentially played every snap except for the intentional safety. Allen Robinson played 90% and caught four passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Ben Skowronek was WR3 and even played some fullback, playing a total of 54 snaps (86%).
Defense
Jalen Ramsey and Bobby Wagner didn’t come off the field for a single play, which is likely to be the case each week this season, barring injury. Ernest Jones, who is listed in the offensive section due to the intentional safety, played 79% of the snaps as the No. 2 linebacker and still led the team with 12 tackles.
Taylor Rapp and Nick Scott started at safety and played more than Jordan Fuller for the second straight week. Rapp played 82% and Scott played 87%, followed by Fuller at 59%. The Rams are fortunate to have three starting-caliber safeties, but it’s still surprising to see the way things have unraveled with Fuller going from being the defensive signal caller in 2021 to being the No. 3 safety this year.
Hill was limited to only 21 snaps before getting injured. Cobie Durant stepped up and played 23 snaps, recording his first career interception and a sack. He was the No. 3 cornerback, with David Long Jr. playing 75% of the snaps.
Lewis and Hollins evenly split the workload as the No. 2 outside linebacker. They each played 49% of the snaps, rotating in depending on the situation. Leonard Floyd played 70% of the snaps, which is less than usual for him; he did come in with a knee injury. Keir Thomas played two snaps.
Greg Gaines (80%) and A’Shawn Robinson (64%) were the starting defensive linemen alongside Donald again, with Marquise Copeland being the fourth option (21%). Jonah Williams played 11% and Michael Hoecht played one snap (2%).
Robert Rochell is behind Durant on the depth chart, playing just three snaps on Sunday. He gave up a touchdown pass on a slant to Drake London, so that didn’t help his case, either.
