Lions-Saints snap counts: Miles Killebrew, TJ Jones see heavy bulk of playing time

Below, you can find the snap count totals for the Detroit Lions' Week 13 game against the New Orleans Saints.

Offense:

Observations:

• First off, it's important to note just how many snaps the Lions offense took. 70 offensive snaps was the Lions' second highest total all year, and it was a big reason Detroit held the Saints to 13 points. New Orleans' offense was on the field for nine less snaps.
  
• Dwayne Washington was the surprise recipient of the bulk of running back snaps before leaving with an injury. Had he not been injured, he may have had more snaps that Theo Riddick.
  
  
• The Lions clearly didn't change their personnel in Marvin Jones' absence, going three-wide the majority of the time. What is surprising, however, was the amount of playing time TJ Jones got. Andre Roberts was averaging about 10-15 snaps as the team's fourth wide receiver. Jones, in the same role, saw 23 snaps.

Defense:

Observations:

• With no Tahir Whitehead available, the Lions defense made a few major adjustments. Most notably was their completely lack of linebackers on the field. Though Bynes was in for virtually the entire game, the Lions went with just one single linebacker over 30 percent of the time. 
  
  
• Instead, the Lions went heavy on the secondary, which should be expected against a team like the Saints. Both Rafael Bush and Miles Killebrew saw a huge bump in their playing time, and the safeties stepped up with the entire unit notching three picks on the day.
  
  
• Ansah continues to see an increase in snaps, suggesting that his ankle continues to get healthier, even if his play doesn't show it.
  
  
• Along the defensive line, it's a bit interesting to see how heavy on the defensive ends the Lions went. Ends saw 154 defensive snaps, while tackles only saw the field for 85. Part of the reasoning here is Kerry Hyder tends to play both positions and Copeland played some linebacker, but Detroit was clearly attacking the edges of the Saints defensive line, especially with starting left tackle Terron Armstead out.