One of the questions regarding the Detroit Lions entering Monday night’s game against the Seattle Seahawks was, how will the Lions coaches replace the players lost to recent injuries?
The snap counts from the game reflect some pretty clear answers.
Detroit played just 53 total offensive snaps, a total that is normally on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Jared Goff not throwing a single incompletion and the big plays that produced quick touchdowns held back the play count on the offense.
Graham Glasgow switched from left guard to center and played every snap. Kayode Awosika slid into the LG spot and also went the whole way.
Extra tackle Dan Skipper was on the field for four snaps. All four of those came as part of a “jumbo” package that also included No. 3 TE Parker Hesse, who saw seven total reps. Top TE Sam LaPorta had no issues in playing 47 snaps, the same number as WR Amon-Ra St. Brown.
At receiver, Tim Patrick has run away with the No. 3 role. He played 21 snaps to just six for Kalif Raymond. Running back saw Jahmyr Gibbs out rep David Montgomery, 30-21, with No. 3 back Craig Reynolds playing the final two kneeldowns. Sione Vaki didn’t rep on offense in this game.
With so few offensive plays, the defense was on the field a lot. Detroit’s defense had 90 snaps, the highest of any team that’s won a game all year. Keep in mind that plays negated by penalty don’t count, so the Lions defense was out there for 99!
Replacing EDGE Marcus Davenport was a group chore. Levi Onwuzurike got the lion’s share with 56 reps, though he moved around the formation. Josh Paschal was on the field for 53, which seems a very high total until looking at Aidan Hutchinson playing 78–an 87 percent snap rate. James Houston had his biggest outing of the season with 14 reps.
The LB reps from injured Derrick Barnes divvied up across Malcolm Rodriguez (31), Ben Niemann (23), Jalen Reeves-Maybin (18) and Trevor Nowaske (8). Alex Anzalone was the only defensive player on the field for all 90 snaps in his return from missing Week 3 with a concussion.
Safety turned into the Joseph and Joseph show without injured Brian Branch. Both Josephs, Kerby and Brandon, played 89 of 90 snaps at safety. Undrafted rookie Loren Strickland only played on special teams.
At cornerback, Amik Robertson played 52 snaps as the slot corner. Kindle Vildor (5) and rookie Ennis Rakestraw (1) only saw action when starters Terrion Arnold (84) and Carlton Davis (88) had brief interruptions.
