What Lions' Snap Counts Against Eagles Reveal

The Detroit Lions couldn’t overcome struggles in key situations against the Philadelphia Eagles.

It was a chance for the team to remain in first-place with a win, however they were unable to defeat the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in a 16-9 loss. 

Here is a breakdown of the Lions’ snap distribution, with analysis on what this could mean for the team moving forward. 

Quarterbacks

• Jared Goff — (59) 100%

Goff had one of his worst showings of the season Sunday night, as the veteran passer completed 14-of-37 passes and had his lowest completion percentage in a road game this season. Normally cool and consistent, Goff was constantly pressured and forced into off-platform throws.

Running backs

• Jahmyr Gibbs — (43) 73%
• David Montgomery — (23) 39%
• Jacob Saylors — (1) 2% — 19 special teams snaps (73%)
• Sione Vaki — 19 special teams snaps (73%)

Searching for explosiveness, the Lions leaned on Gibbs to play a heavy load of snaps. Montgomery got a smaller share of carries than in weeks past, as this game called to memory more of how things were at the beginning of the year when it comes to the snaps split between the two backs. 

Wide receivers

• Amon-Ra St. Brown — (57) 97% 
• Jameson Williams — (56) 95%
• Kalif Raymond — (38) 64% — 12 special teams snaps (46%)
• Isaac TeSlaa — (20) 34% — Five special teams snaps (19%)
• Dominic Lovett — (1) 2% 
• Jackson Meeks — (1) 2% — 14 special teams snaps (54%)

St. Brown was another of the Lions’ stars who was uncharacteristically off on Sunday, while Williams had a costly 15-yard penalty. With Sam LaPorta sidelined, the Lions went away from the two-tight end personnel packages and instead got more snaps for Raymond and TeSlaa. 

Tight ends

• Brock Wright — (49) 83% — Two special teams snaps (8%)
• Ross Dwelly — (1) 2% — 12 special teams snaps (46%)

Without LaPorta, Wright was the featured tight end. Detroit didn’t elevate a tight end from the practice squad, making Dwelly the only other option for Sunday’s game. Dwelly got just one snap, but took on more of Wright’s special teams workload. 

Offensive line

• Graham Glasgow — (59) 100% — Two special teams snaps (8%)
• Kayode Awosika — (59) 100% — Two special teams snaps (8%)
• Penei Sewell — (59) 100% 
• Taylor Decker — (59) 87% 
• Tate Ratledge — (52) 88% — Two special teams snaps (8%) 
• Trystan Colon — (7) 12% — Two special teams snaps (8%)
• Dan Skipper — (5) 8% — Two special teams snaps (8%)
• Michael Niese — Two special teams snaps (8%)

The Lions continue to be banged up on the front line, even though four of the five starters played the entire game. Ratledge had a brief absence, while Decker and Sewell continue to nurse nagging ailments. 

Defensive line

• Alim McNeill — (67) 93% — Five special teams snaps (19%)
• Aidan Hutchinson — (66) 92% 
• Tyleik Williams — (36) 50% — One special teams snap (4%)
• DJ Reader — (34) 47%
• Roy Lopez — (28) 39% — Five special teams snaps (19%)
• Al-Quadin Muhammad — (22) 31%
• Tyler Lacy — (19) 26% — Four special teams snaps (15%)
• Tyrus Wheat — (7) 10% — Seven special teams snaps (27%)

The Lions leaned more on Williams than they have in recent weeks. After playing just eight snaps last week, Williams was a workhorse for the Lions' defense throughout Sunday's game and played the third-most snap. Lacy was the player to see the biggest decrease in action, as he had been getting much more run in recent weeks.

Linebackers

• Jack Campbell — (72) 100% — Four special teams snaps (15%)
• Alex Anzalone — (68) 94% 
• Derrick Barnes — (63) 88% — 10 special teams snaps (38%)
• Trevor Nowaske — (4) 6% — 24 special teams snaps (92%)
• Grant Stuard — 23 special teams snaps (88%)
• Ty Summers — 16 special teams snaps (62%)

The Lions got four huge snaps from Trevor Nowaske defensively, as he had a big tackle for loss in the first half. Campbell remains an every down staple, while Barnes mixes up his roles betwene being a linebacker and handling pass-rush duties. Malcolm Rodriguez's potential return could shake up this linebacker rotation.

Cornerbacks

• Amik Robertson — (72) 100% — One special teams snap (4%)
• Rock Ya-Sin — (71) 99% — 10 special teams snaps (38%)
• Arthur Maulet — (18) 25% — 13 special teams snaps (50%)
• Nick Whiteside — (1) 1% — 11 special teams snaps (42%)

The Lions continue to be thin at cornerback, with Robertson and Ya-Sin handling starting duties with D.J. Reed and Terrion Arnold out. Maulet works as the team's nickel cornerback, while Whiteside got one rep in place of Ya-Sin defensively.

Safeties

• Thomas Harper — (72) 100% — Two special teams snaps (8%)
• Brian Branch — (71) 99% — Four special teams snaps (15%)
• Avonte Maddox — (1) 9% — Nine special teams snaps (35%)
• Daniel Thomas — 23 special teams snaps (88%)

Harper played every snap for the second-straight game, while Branch missed one play when he went down covering a pass. Thomas has been almost exclusively a special teams player since the Lions signed him, and Sunday was his second game back from injured reserve.

Specialists

• Jack Fox — Seven special teams snaps (27%)
• Hogan Hatten — Seven special teams snaps (27%)
• Jake Bates — Five special teams snaps (19%)