Lions-Giants snap counts: Miles Killebrew steps up in Tavon Wilson’s absence

Here’s a look at the snap counts for the Lions-Giants game on Monday night.

Offense:

Quarterbacks

Matthew Stafford: 62 snaps (100%)

Running backs

Ameer Abdullah: 28 (45%)
Theo Riddick: 27 (44%)
Dwayne Washington: 7 (11%) — 10 special team snaps (40%)

“Fullbacks”

Alex Barrett: 2 (3%)

Tight ends

Darren Fells: 41 (66%) — 10 (40%)
Eric Ebron: 40 (65%)
Michael Roberts: 17 (27%) — 17 (68%)

Wide receivers

Marvin Jones Jr.: 56 (90%)
Golden Tate: 43 (69%)
Kenny Golladay: 34 (55%)
TJ Jones: 15 (24%) — 3 (12%)

Offensive tackles

Rick Wagner: 62 (100%) — 5 (20%)
Greg Robinson: 62 (100%) — 5 (20%)
Brian Mihalik: 5 special teams snaps (20%)

Guards/centers

Travis Swanson: 62 (100%) — 5 (20%)
Graham Glasgow: 62 (100%) — 5 (20%)
T.J. Lang: 62 (100%) — 5 (20%)
Joe Dahl: 3 special teams snaps (12%)

Observations

• This may be the least amount of snaps you’ll ever see for the Lions receivers. Golden Tate playing only 69 percent of snap will probably never happen again this season, unless he suffers an injury. That just goes to show you how committed this team was to the run game on Monday, and how often the Lions went with two tight end sets.
• Speaking of which, it’s mildly surprising to see Darren Fells with more snaps than Eric Ebron. But considering how much help they needed in pass protection, it certainly made sense to have Fells out there two-thirds of the time.
• Also it was surprising to see Theo Riddick out there as much as he was. Obviously, he got a few more snaps than normal because of Dwayne Washington’s injury, but to see him just a snap below Ameer Abdullah is surprising.

Defense:

Defensive end

Anthony Zettel: 36 (64%) — 1 (4%)
Ezekiel Ansah: 28 (50%)
Cornelius Washington: 27 (48%) — 2 (8%)
Jeremiah Valoaga: 11 (20%) — 2 (8%)
Alex Barrett: 12 (20%)

Defensive tackle

A’Shawn Robinson: 35 (62%) — 2 (8%)
Haloti Ngata: 28 (50%) — 2 (8%)
Akeem Spence: 27 (48%)
Jeremiah Ledbetter: 18 (32%)

Linebackers

Tahir Whitehead: 45 (80%) — 3 (12%)
Jarrad Davis: 42 (75%) — 2 (8%)
Jalen Reeves-Maybin: 16 (29%) — 18 (72%)
Paul Worrilow: 12 (21%) — 20 (80%)
Steve Longa: 18 special teams snaps (72%)

Cornerbacks

Darius Slay: 56 (100%) — 2 (8%)
Quandre Diggs: 44 (79%) — 11 (44%)
Nevin Lawson: 38 (68%) — 10 (40%)
DJ Hayden: 18 (32%) — 2 (8%)
Jamal Agnew: 18 special teams snaps (72%)

Safety

Glover Quin: 56 (100%) — 2 (8%)
Miles Killebrew: 42 (75%) — 17 (68%)
Tavon Wilson: 23 (41%) — 1 (4%)
Charles Washington: 3 (5%) — 18 (72%)
Don Carey: 0 (0%) — 20 (80%)

Observations:

• Miles Killebrew had the biggest chunk of playing time in his career. Last year, the most defensive snaps he got in a game was 21, last week, he got 29. This week, thanks partially to the injury to Tavon Wilson, he saw a career-high 42 snaps, and looked impressive throughout the game.
• Nevin Lawson looks to be slowly assuming the No. 2 cornerback role again. This week he had 20 more snaps than D.J. Hayden.
• Ezekiel Ansah may have had the most efficient 28 snaps of anyone in the league for Week 2.
• Interesting to note that Jalen Reeves-Maybin got the call when Jarrad Davis went down with an injury. Tahir Whitehead slid inside—rather than using Paul Worrilow in the middle.