Jets 27, Bills 11
The Bills base offense is a three wide receiver set, so typically the opposing team responds with their nickel or dime package most of the game. The Jets did this which saw Kyle Wilson playing 90% of the game, Donald Stirckland playing 64% and Brodney Pool playing 61%. Also benefiting from this was Aaron Maybin, who played 49% which was also a high for him. Hurting the most was Bart Scott who played just 36% of the game. Linebackers Jamaal Westerman and Josh Mauga as well as linemen who last week saw big roles all played less than 10% of this game. Finally linebacker Garrett McIntrye saw his first defensive snap in the four years we’ve been keeping track of them.
Injuries continue to mount for the Bills defense, as Chris Kelsay missed the game. Both linebacker Kirk Morrison and safety Da’Norris Searcy saw time last week, but didn’t play a snap on defense this time despite being active. In general we saw more base defense out of the Bills, which resulted in linemen Dwan Edwards, Marcell Dareus and Spencer Johnson all seeing increases to 86%, 84% and 73% respectively. Linebacker Kelvin Sheppard saw the biggest increase to 73%, and also had his best game. Seeing his first snaps of the year was Antonio Coleman at outside linebacker, and he played 28%. Of course because there was more base defense, we saw less of Leodis McKelvin and Bryan Scott who both played less than 40%.
Falcons 31, Colts 7
The Falcons have had trouble keeping their safeties healthy, and that continued with William Moore hurting himself after playing 20% of the game, which left James Sanders replacing him with 80% of the game. Likely because of the blowout, the Falcons let their backup defensive linemen see a lot more time, with Ray Edwards and Corey Peters playing 58% of the game each, while Kroy Bierman spiking back up to 42%. Rarely used players Peria Jerry and Lawrence Sidbury also saw increases up to 37% and 27% each.
Last week the Colts had four players play every down, and no one else playing more than 70%. That changed this week, with linebackers Kavell Conner and Philip Wheeler both playing 84% of the game. Safety David Caldwell saw 78% of snaps which is the most he has seen. This is as close to a true defensive line rotation as you’ll see, with all eight players playing between 41% and 54% of snaps. Slot corner Terrence Johnson did not play in this game after playing roughly 40% of the game these past two weeks.
Cowboys 23, Seahawks 13
The Cowboys snap counts are a mess with players missing action, and a lot more nickel defense than usual. At cornerback Mike Jenkins didn’t play, which left Orlando Scandrick playing every down for the first time. Terence Newman was up to 94% of downs, while Alan Ball was back up to 62%. On the other hand Frank Walker played just 32% which has been typical for him. While Sean Lee was out, Keith Brooking played just 58% and Bradie James just 52% thanks to the multiple defensive back sets. There was more defensive end rotation than usual, with Kenyon Coleman and Marcus Spears playing just under 40% of the time. Barry Church and Josh Price-Brent who didn’t play last week both saw over 20% of snaps. 2011 2nd round pick Bruce Carter made his debut with the defense, with playing 11 snaps at inside linebacker.
The Seahawks didn’t miss anyone new with an injury, and no one returned from one which keeps things simple. The biggest change was at defensive end, where Chris Clemons has seen his snaps decrease in every game since Week 3. This week reversed the trend, and he had 88% of the snaps. On the other hand Raheem Brock who had been playing roughly 55% of snaps each week was down to 35%.
49ers 19, Redskins 11
With Ray McDonald missing the game, Ricky Jean-Francois continued to take over and play 97% of snaps. The 49ers used a little less nickel defense, which meant a little more Parys Haralson at outside linebacker (51%) and Isaac Sopoaga at nose tackle (46%), and a little less outside linebacker Aldon Smith (42%) and cornerback Chris Culliver (54%).
At safety, O.J. Atogwe missed the game, so Reed Doughty took over for him again and played every down. The Redskins rarely needed their nickel defense with Kevin Barnes just played 20%. This left the entire starting defensive line playing more, with Adam Carriker seeing the biggest increase to 72%.
Saints 27, Bucs 16
At linebacker Jonathan Vilma missed the game, so JoLonn Dunbar became an every down player for the first time since Week 3, Jonathan Casillas played 91% of the game which was a high for him, and Scott Shanle played 88% of the game which is typical for him. At cornerback Tracy Porter suffered an injured on the second play of the game, so Patrick Robinson took over to play 88% of the game, and Leigh Torrence stepped up to playing 49%. At defensive end Turk McBride was back after missing the last two games, and he played 21% of the time, while Jeff Charleston didn’t play.
At linebacker, Mason Foster was healthy for the first time in a while, and played every down. It was thought that Quincy Black would go to the bench because of this(even the official gamebook put Geno Hayes as the starter), but instead Black played 73% of the game, while Hayes didn’t play a single down on defense. On the defensive line, both Frank Okam and Tim Crowder were inactive, while Gerald McCoy returned but saw another injury which puts him out for the year. Seeing increases thanks to all of this was Adrian Clayborn to 96%, Brian Price to 78% and George Johnson to 22%; all highs for them.
Dolphins 31, Chiefs 3
Miami had to play 84 snaps on defense, with the majority of them being pass plays. Because it was a blow out, it’s hard to take anything too lasting out of the snap counts. Both Reshad Jones and Nolan Carroll saw time at defensive back after not seeing any these past two weeks with 33% and 29% of snaps respectively. On the other hand both Jimmy Wilson and Tyrone Culver who played every down last week went down to just 68% and 65%. The most significant other change was Marvin Mitchell took some snaps from the inside linebackers and played 26% of the game.
The Chiefs were hurting at defensive back, with Jon McGraw and Javier Arenas both missing time. At safety Donald Washington took over with 82% of snaps. Everything else was a mess, as the Chiefs only played 49 snaps on defense, with three being a kneel down and more being in garbage time as the Chiefs started taking out players. Because of that, no one played every down.
Giants 24, Patriots 20
The Giants decided to go with a nickel defense for the matchup against the Patriots, which meant we didn’t see any plays out of Greg Jones and very little from Jacquian Williams who returned this week for 29% of snaps. On the other hand Deon Grant played every down after just 30% last week. The Giants also kept their pass rushers in more, with Osi Umenyiora playing 78% of the game as well as Justin Tuck playing 74%.
Last week Jerod Mayo was eased back into the lineup with 38% of snaps, but this time around they trusted him with every snap in the game. This left Rob Ninkovich playing just 70%, Brandon Spikes down to 54%, and Gary Guyton down to 36%. Out of nowhere, sophomore linemen Brandon Deaderick played 72% of the game after just 20% last week. The Patriots saw Josh Barrett return and play 51% of the game, which took away from Antwaun Molden and his 52% last week. In his season debut Ron Brace played 20% of the game at tackle, while Albert Haynesworth played just 12% of the game in his last game as a Patriot.
Ravens 23, Steelers 20
The only major change for the Ravens came because they used a lot more nickel defense, with Chris Carr playing 69% of snaps. Taking hits in snap counts from this were Jarret Johnson down to 72%, Cory Redding down to 52% and Terrence Cody down to 41%. The only other player seeing a significant increase was Paul Kruger from 23% last week to 33% this week.
At linebacker both Lamarr Woodley and James Farrior missed the game. However James Farrior returned after missing four games, and played every down. At the other linebacker spot, Jason Worilds played 77% in his first start after being drafted in the second round last year instead of Chris Carter. The Steelers used a lot less multiple defensive back sets, with Keenan Lewis down to 42% of snaps and Ryan Muncy playing just 7%. In turn, Casey Hampton played 56% which is the most he’s played since Week 4.
Bengals 24, Titans 17
The Bengals didn’t have much change from last week other than at linebacker, where Thomas Howard went back to playing every down while Brandon Johnson went down to just 58% of snaps. There was also a slight change at defensive end, where Carlos Dunlap was down to just 58% of snaps, while Robert Geathers was up to 42%.
The Titans also only saw changes in the distribution of snaps. The biggest change was Akeem Ayers who played just 13% of snaps last week but was up to 60% this time. Defensive linemen Jason Jones also saw an increase, as he was up to 77% which is the most he’s had since Week 2. On the other hand slot corner Alterraun Verner was down to 66% while defensive linemen Dave Ball was down to 44% after 67% last week. Safety Chris Hawkins who went undrafted in 2010 saw his first ever snaps on defense with four.
Packers 45, Chargers 38
At cornerback Sam Shields returned from injury, and played 65% of the game, while Jarrett Bush was down to just 4%. At right outside linebacker, we also saw the return of Frank Zombo who played 23% of the game, which brought Erik Walden down to just 76%. Finally at defensive end, Jarius Wynn who had seen his snaps decrease was back up to 40%, while Ryan Pickett who was up to 69% went back down to 49%.
With Shaun Phillips out for a second straight game, and Na’il Diggs missing action, Antwan Barnes stepped up more and played 85% of the game, while Donald Butler was up to 77% which was the most for him since Week 2. The Chargers used more multiple defensive back sets than usual, with Dante Hughes playing 68% of the game, and Paul Oliver came in for 31% of snaps at safety. On the line, Antonio Garay played 61% which is the highest for him since Week 3, while Corey Liuget was down to 32% and Cam Thomas down to 13%.
Broncos 38, Raiders 24
At safety, Quinton Carter went back to playing the full game like in Week 7, so Rahim Moore just had one snap. After playing roughly 82% of snaps in each game, Elvis Dumervil spiked up to 97%. At defensive tackle, we also saw an increase from Ryan McBean up to 78% and Marcus Thomas to 63%, which was mostly due to Mitch Unrein not playing a down.
At linebacker Rolando McClain missed action, so in his place Darryl Blackstock played 96% of the plays. In his third game as a Raider, Aaron Curry was also up to 96% of snaps. At safety Matt Giordano was back and played 71% of the game while Michael Mitchell was down to 6%. On the defensive line, Lamarr Houston saw a huge spike in snaps up to 80% after just 37% last week. At cornerback, Lito Sheppard saw his first action of the season playing 23% of snaps.
Bears 30, Eagles 24
The quest for the right safety combo in Chicago continues, as Chris Harris is now out of town. Major Wright returned from his injury to play 81% of the game, while Brandon Meriweather had the other 19%. They played next to Chris Conte who has played every snap for a third straight game. At defensive tackle, Anthony Adams missed his first game of the season while Matt Toeaina played 45% of the game after last playing in Week 5. We also saw a bit more of Henry Melton at defensive tackle with 75% of snaps, while Amobi Okoye was down to 52%.
At safety, Nate Allen had a concussion early on in the game, so second round rookie Jaiquawn Jarrett saw his first snaps with the defense with 85% of snaps. Last year’s first round pick Brandon Graham made his first snaps of the year with 28%. He took the place of Juqua Parker who was inactive. The Eagles used a lot less nickel defense this week, which meant Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was down to 51% of snaps, while Moise Fokou was up to 47%.
Cardinals 19, Rams 13
The biggest change out of Arizona is Stewart Bradley who played 13% of snaps last week didn’t play at all in this game. Slot cornerback Michael Adams saw a decrease down to 41%, while everyone else was within 9% of their snaps from the previous week.
The Rams had two players return this week, with Justin King coming back and playing every down, while Brady Poppinga returned to the linebacking crew with 39% of snaps. Because of them, Bryan Kehl and Marquis Johnson didn’t need to play a down, while Josh Gordy went down to playing just 61% of snaps. On the defensive line, Chris Long played 93% of snaps which is high for him and very high for a defensive end, while Eugene Sims was down to 39% after playing half the game last week.
Texans 30, Browns 12
In Houston, defensive end Antonio Smith injured his shoulder, which resulted in Tim Jamison playing 59% of the game and Tim Bulman playing 24%; both season highs for them. Both of their highs also came at the expense of J.J. Watt who was down to 75% which is low compared to last week but more normal for him. Nose tackle Earl Mitchell played 35% of the game which is a little high for him, which nearly equaled the total that starter Shaun Cody saw at 39%.
When it comes to the Browns, I typically bring up the safety battle, and it got more interesting this week. T.J. Ward got hurt after playing 41% of the game, so Mike Adams played 80% and Usama Young 53%. Joining the safety rotation was seventh round rookie Eric Hagg who saw 28% of snaps, which was the first we saw of him this year. Keeping with the defensive backs, Dimitri Patterson missed his first game, while Buster Skrine took the 30% of snaps that Patterson would have had.
© 2025 PFF - all rights reserved.