Rams Week 9 snap counts: Greg Gaines leads defense, narrower split at RB vs. Titans
It was a bizarre Sunday in the NFL all the way around with several big favorites losing to underdogs in Week 9. The Rams were among them, falling to the Titans 28-16 on Sunday night after coming in as touchdown favorites over Tennessee.
Despite having one of the deeper rosters in the NFL, the Rams barely used their backups against the Titans. They leaned heavily on their starters, with the majority of them playing almost every snap.
Here’s a look at how the snap counts broke down on Sunday night against the Titans, first with the offense.
Offense
Eight offensive players were on the field for every single snap, the highest number of any game for the Rams this season. The five starting offensive linemen never came off, nor did Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp or Matthew Stafford. It’s not the first time Kupp has played 100% of the snaps in a game, but it was a first for Woods this season.
Van Jefferson played almost every snap, too, only coming off for three snaps. He was replaced by Ben Skowronek, and it wasn’t just in garbage time on the final drive. It’s not surprising that no other receivers got on the field, namely J.J. Koski after he was signed to the active roster.
At tight end, Tyler Higbee only came off the field for two plays. Kendall Blanton replaced him on those two snaps. The Rams didn’t use a single grouping besides 11 personnel, which is why Blanton and Higbee were never on the field together.
At running back, it was a narrower split than usual. Darrell Henderson Jr. left briefly with an ankle injury but he returned quickly, so that’s not the reason for Sony Michel’s increased playing time. The Rams simply liked the way he was running, despite Henderson rushing for 55 yards on only 11 carries.
Defense
It’s impossible to ignore the name at the top of the Rams’ defensive snap counts: Greg Gaines. He replaced the injured Sebastian Joseph-Day, but no one expected him to play 57 of a possible 58 snaps. That was more than any other player besides Jalen Ramsey, who also played 57 snaps. Clearly the Rams see Gaines as an every-down player, which is a nice development after he was viewed as a two-down player coming out of the draft.
Jordan Fuller and Taylor Rapp played all but two snaps at safety. The Rams rotated their cornerbacks often, but not their safeties. Nick Scott only played 10 snaps on defense, tied for his fewest of the season.
Leonard Floyd only missed two snaps at outside linebacker, once again leading the group. Terrell Lewis was the No. 2 edge rusher, playing 72% of the snaps. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo was the only other edge rusher to play besides those two, rotating in for 18 snaps (31%).
Ernest Jones is playing more now that Kenny Young is gone, but Troy Reeder was still the primary linebacker Sunday night. Reeder played 83% of the defensive snaps compared to 62% for Jones, which is still a significant snap share for the rookie.
The Rams used four cornerbacks on Sunday night. Dont’e Deayon was the No. 2 cornerback in playing time with a 62% snap share, followed by Darious Williams (60%) and Robert Rochell (36%). It’s clear Deayon has earned a bigger role, and rightfully so.
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