Eagles-Panthers snap counts: C.J. Gardner-Johnson toughs it out

Playing time analysis.

The official snap counts from the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 14 home win over the Carolina Panthers are in! Let’s take a look and run through some analysis.

OFFENSE

• A.J. Brown only saw four targets on 55 snaps played. It’s not enough.
• Grant Calcaterra dominated the playing time at tight end in Dallas Goedert’s absence. He caught his first career touchdown.
• 20 touches for Saquon Barkley ties his fourth-lowest total this season. He played his sixth-lowest snap count percentage. Wonder if the Eagles were intentionally trying to keep his workload down against a perceived inferior opponent.
• Johnny Wilson outsnapped Jahan Dotson once again. That was also the case in Week 12, though Wilson only played one more snap than Dotson in that game. This time it was five more snaps for the rookie wide receiver.
• C.J. Uzomah did not play much as TE2. E.J. Jenkins even less as TE3.
• Cooper DeJean filled in for Reed Blankenship again as the guy lined up deep behind the offense in victory formation.
• Fullback Khari Blasingame played one offensive snap in his Eagles debut. We’ll see if his role expands at all as the Eagles potentially elevate him from the practice squad for their next two games.
• Tyler Steen logged a snap as a sixth offensive lineman.

DEFENSE

• Quinyon Mitchell leads all Eagles defenders in snaps played this season. He didn’t leave the field in this game.
• Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean both play a lot and both fill up the stat sheet.
• Tristin McCollum basically played the whole game in his first NFL start at safety. He dropped a pick for the second week in a row.
• Jalen Carter played his fourth-highest snap count percentage of the season. 64 snaps ranks as his third-highest total from a game this season. The Eagles are really leaning on him hard. Hopefully not too hard where he’s gassed by the playoffs.
• C.J. Gardner-Johnson still logged 85% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps despite getting banged up not once but twice. He toughed it out and made two really big plays by 1) trucking Xavier Legette to force a third down incompletion/subsequent punt on the Panthers’ first drive and 2) picking off a Bryce Young deep pass.

• Nolan Smith was the Eagles’ top edge rusher again. He had a QB hit, bringing him up to eight QB hits over his last nine games.
• Jalyx Hunt set a new career high in total defensive snaps played and defensive snap count percentage. He logged four total tackles, three solo. And his athleticism was on display on a play where he chased Bryce Young around.
• 25 snaps for Jordan Davis is the sixth-most he’s played this season.
• Avonte Maddox saw some playing time at safety when CJGJ got hurt.
• Chuck Harris — who was active last week but did not actually play — made his Eagles debut with four defensive snaps played. He did not log a stat.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Kelee Ringo made a nice tackle on punt coverage.
• Andre’ Sam was limited to special teams duty in his NFL debut after being temporarily elevated from the practice squad.

DID NOT PLAY

INACTIVE: Reed Blankenship, Sydney Brown, Britain Covey, Nick Gates, Darian Kinnard, Trevon Keegan, Tanner McKee.

ACTIVE: Kenny Pickett, Ainias Smith

• Blankenship and Covey might be able to return from injury in Week 15. Maybe Brown, too? Unclear.
• Keegan is four games away from being a healthy scratch all season long. Ditto for McKee, who still dresses for game action as the emergency third quarterback.
• For the second week in a row, Smith dressed to play but did not get in the game. The Eagles have stopped trying to shoehorn him into the offense. Those plays weren’t working at all, so, that’s good.