A look at the Detroit Lions’ Week 7 snap counts against the Minnesota Vikings, including how the defense adjusted to life without Aidan Hutchinson.
Let’s take a detailed look at the Detroit Lions Week 7 snap counts from their win over the Minnesota Vikings.
Offense
Quarterbacks
Jared Goff: 57 (100%)
Hendon Hooker: 0 (0%)
Goff was sensational once again, and the praise for his last four performances are pouring in.
Running backs
Jahmyr Gibbs: 33 (58%)
David Montgomery: 22 (39%)
Craig Reynolds: 2 (4%) — 21 special teams snaps (68%)
Sione Vaki: 0 (0%) — 21 (68%)
With Montgomery getting hurt and then later fumbling, the Lions leaned on Gibbs quite a bit more in this game and it paid off as he torched the Vikings for 160 all-purpose yards. Reynolds saw just two snaps, spelling Gibbs, while Vaki’s most noteworthy play was being the option player on the Lions failed fake-punt in the first quarter.
Tight ends
Sam LaPorta: 54 (95%)
Brock Wright: 28 (49%) — 12 (39%)
Shane Zylstra: 3 (5%) — 15 (48%)
Parker Hesse: INACTIVE
While Zylstra got the practice squad elevation, the Lions stuck with their top two tight ends. All three were mainly put in blocking situations, per PFF, as LaPorta was a designated blocker on 30 of his 54 snaps, Wright was asked to block on 18 of his 28 snaps, and Zylstra was blocking on two of his three snaps on offense.
Wide receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 54 (95%)
Jameson Williams: 43 (75%)
Tim Patrick: 30 (53%)
Kalif Raymond: 16 (28%) — 10 (32%)
Allen Robinson: 0 (0%)
Isaiah Williams: INACTIVE
The Lions spend around half their snaps in 11 personnel, and like at tight end and running back, they heavily leaned on their top options. Unlike tight end and running back, all the wide receivers got involved in this game. St. Brown and Raymond scored touchdowns, while Williams and Patrick were highly-impressive blockers in the run game.
Offensive line
Taylor Decker: 57 (100%)
Graham Glasgow: 57 (100%) — 5 (16%)
Frank Ragnow: 57 (100%)
Kayode Awosika: 57 (100%) — 5 (16%)
Penei Sewell: 57 (100%) — 5 (16%)
Dan Skipper: 0 (0%) — 5 (16%)
Michael Niese: 0 (0%) — 5 (16%)
Colby Sorsdal: 0 (0%) — 5 (16%)
Kevin Zeitler: INACTIVE
Giovanni Manu: INACTIVE
After opening up the flood gates with multiple extra offensive linemen against the Cowboys, the Lions played the Vikings more traditionally, electing not to use an extra lineman in any situation. This was a mild surprise, but considering the disguising nature of the Vikings attacking defense, this kept the Lions options open when it came to adjusting on the move.
Defense
EDGE:
Josh Paschal: 52 (87%)
Isaac Ukwu: 34 (57%)
Levi Onwuzurike: 26 (43%) — 5 (16%)
Mekhi Wingo: 11 (18%) — 5 (16%)
James Houston: 9 (15%) — 6 (19%)
Isaiah Thomas: INACTIVE
This is the first look at how the Lions may attempt to adjust their defense without Aidan Hutchinson.
Paschal saw his snap count increase, despite dealing with an injury, as he appears to be taking on a larger role, mainly on the left side of the defense (38 snaps). Ukwu stepped into the other starting role, and was supplemented with a variety of players.
Onwuzurike split his reps between the edge (15 snaps) and inside at defensive tackle (11 snaps), while Wingo—who is primarily a defensive tackle—surprisingly saw all 11 of his snaps on the edge. Houston split his snaps on both sides of the line and managed to register two of the Lions’ 15 team pressures.
DT:
Alim McNeill: 50 (83%) — 5 (16%)
DJ Reader: 32 (53%)
Pat O’Connor: 12 (20%) — 5 (16%)
For the third time this season, McNeill played over 80% of the team’s defensive snaps. He registered a team-leading three pressures but did not manage to secure a tackle. Reader played his normal allotment of snaps, while O’Connor saw all of his snaps come on the interior.
While the starting defensive line of Paschal, Ukwu, McNeill, and Reader played their roles as expected, the reserves were used a bit differently than they have been in the past, most notably Wingo and O’Connor almost flipped roles from what was anticipated.
Additionally, the Lions also went a bit lighter with their defense as a whole, opting to go with fewer defensive tackle reps and leaning on their linebackers and defensive backs more than in recent weeks. Now, this could be matchup dependent, but it could also be a glimpse into what the Lions plan to do moving forward.
Linebackers
Alex Anzalone: 60 (100%)
Jack Campbell: 47 (78%) — 11 (35%)
Malcolm Rodriguez: 32 (53%) — 23 (74%)
Trevor Nowaske: 14 (23%) — 26% (84%)
Jalen Reeves-Maybin: 10 (17%) — 26 (84%)
Ben Niemann: 0 (0%) — 21 (68%)
The Lions have invested a lot in their linebackers and they’re willing to use them in a lot of different situations. While the Lions split their time evenly between base (three linebackers) and subpackages (five or more defensive backs) they also utilized their linebackers to supplement their defensive linemen’s snaps.
Anzalone never left the field, as is typical, while Campbell and Rodriguez saw the same amount of snaps they’ve seen over the last month. In most situations, all three played off-the-ball roles, including shifting into the slot for coverage. Nowaske continues to see snaps in the SAM role that was originally held by Derrick Barnes, while Reeves-Maybin is being used in passing situations.
Cornerbacks
Carlton Davis: 60 (100%)
Terrion Arnold: 60 (100%)
Amik Robertson: 31 (52%)
Khalil Dorsey: 0 (0%) — 26 (84%)
Ennis Rakestraw: 0 (0%) — 21 (68%)
Kindle Vildor: 0 (0%) — 13 (42%)
Safety
Kerby Joseph: 60 (100%) — 5 (16%)
Brian Branch: 60 (100%)
Brandon Joseph: 0 (0%) — 3 (10%)
Loren Strickland: INACTIVE
Pretty straightforward usage in the secondary. Davis and Arnold played every snap on the outside while Robertson was on the field in nickel sets. Joseph and Branch played on every defensive snap at safety.
Special teams
Jake Bates: 11 (35%)
Jack Fox: 10 (32%)
Hogan Hatten: 10 (32%)
The Lions specialists were excellent against the Vikings, seizing every opportunity to prove themselves.
