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Vikings' snap counts vs. Bears: Brandon Powell, Andrew Booth Jr. get more work

Originally posted on FanNation Inside The Vikings
By Will Ragatz | Last updated 10/16/23

The Vikings won their second football game of the year on Sunday. They were miserable offensively and needed an incredible defensive performance to hold off a bad Bears team, but it's a win nonetheless. Kevin O'Connell's team is 1-0 in the NFC North this season and has some life ahead of a massive primetime challenge against the 5-1 49ers next week.

Let's take a look at Minnesota's offensive and defensive snap counts to see what we can learn.

Vikings offensive snap counts vs. Bears (out of 57)

QB Kirk Cousins: 57
RT Brian O'Neill: 57
RG Ed Ingram: 57
LT Christian Darrisaw: 57
C Garrett Bradbury: 57
WR K.J. Osborn: 53
WR Jordan Addison: 49
LG Ezra Cleveland: 47
RB Alexander Mattison: 45
TE T.J. Hockenson: 45
WR Brandon Powell: 34
TE Josh Oliver: 22
FB C.J. Ham: 16
LG Dalton Risner: 10
RB Cam Akers: 9
TE Johnny Mundt: 7
WR Trishton Jackson: 4
WR N'Keal Harry: 1

The Vikings' first game without Justin Jefferson went about as expected from a playing time standpoint. Osborn and Addison were nearly every-down players, Powell stepped into the WR3 role, and Jackson and Harry barely saw the field.

An injury to Cleveland in the fourth quarter led to Risner coming in at left guard. He could be in line for his first start of the season next Monday night against the 49ers.

The main thing that confuses me here is Mattison getting 45 snaps to Akers' nine. Mattison saw 18 carries and seven targets and managed just 72 yards on those opportunities. Akers had two touches for 15 yards. The disparity in playing time — which presumably has to do with playbook familiarity or pass protection or something else — just doesn't make much sense. Maybe it changes against San Francisco? The Vikings will need to be much, much better on offense to have a shot in that game.

Oliver, PFF's highest-graded tight end, continues to be dominant in his role.

Plays like this are why Josh Oliver is the highest-graded tight end in football pic.twitter.com/NtMMhdFXXL
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) October 16, 2023

Vikings defensive snap counts vs. Bears (out of 66)

S Camryn Bynum: 66
S Harrison Smith: 66
LB Jordan Hicks: 66
CB Byron Murphy Jr: 65
S Josh Metellus: 59
OLB Danielle Hunter: 56
DT Harrison Phillips: 54
CB Akayleb Evans: 50
OLB D.J. Wonnum: 47
DT Jonathan Bullard: 41
OLB Pat Jones II: 35
DT Khyiris Tonga: 30
CB Andrew Booth Jr: 26
DT Dean Lowry: 25
OLB Marcus Davenport: 17
LB Ivan Pace Jr: 12
LB Brian Asamoah II: 7
S Theo Jackson: 3
CB Mekhi Blackmon: 1

Lots of interesting changes here among the rotational players. Tonga went from being inactive last week to playing 30 snaps. Booth saw 26 snaps after playing just four last week. Pace, who averaged 44.6 snaps per game in the first five weeks, was out there for just 12 snaps (and it wasn't injury-related). Blackmon went from playing 46 snaps against the Chiefs to just one in Chicago.

At corner, it's certainly notable to see Booth playing over Blackmon. That would be a big development for the 2022 second-round pick if it continues.

The same is true for Asamoah mixing in at the expense of Pace. We'll see if that was just a one-time, gameplan-specific thing or the beginning of a trend. The Vikings played with just one off-ball linebacker quite a bit against the Bears.

Bullard and Tonga played well in the defensive tackle rotation. Rookie Jaquelin Roy was a healthy scratch.

Davenport suffered an ankle injury early in the second quarter and may have to miss time. That would again lead to larger roles for Wonnum and Jones, with Andre Carter II (inactive on Sunday) perhaps mixing in as well.

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Vikings and was syndicated with permission.

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