Lions-Bears snap count observations: Ezekiel Ansah still limited, Brandon Powell gets a shot

Here are the snap counts for the Detroit Lions’ Week 10 loss to the Chicago Bears.

Offense:

Quarterbacks

Matthew Stafford: 78 (100%)

Running backs

Kerryon Johnson: 55 (71%)
Theo Riddick: 45 (58%)
LeGarrette Blount: 10 (13%)
Zach Zenner: 2 (3%) — 19 special teams snaps (70%)

Fullbacks

Nick Bellore: 8 (10%) — 19 (70%)

Tight ends

Levine Toilolo: 38 (49%) — 8 (30%)
Michael Roberts: 33 (42%) — 2 (7%)

Wide receivers

Kenny Golladay: 74 (95%)
TJ Jones: 50 (64%) — 12 (44%)
Marvin Jones Jr.: 48 (62%)
Brandon Powell: 25 (32%)

Offensive tackles

Rick Wagner: 78 (100%) — 2 (7%)
Taylor Decker: 78 (100%) — 2 (7%)
Tyrell Crosby: 2 (3%) — 2 (7%)

Guards/centers

Graham Glasgow: 78 (100%) — 2 (7%)
Frank Ragnow: 78 (100%) — 2 (7%)
Kenny Wiggins: 78 (100%) — 2 (7%)
Joe Dahl: 0 (0%) — 2 (7%)

Observations:

• For offensive line continuity sake, this game was a success. All five offensive linemen didn’t miss a single snaps, so I guess that’s cool.
• With no Luke Willson and Michael Roberts missing some time with a shoulder injury, Levine Toilolo saw the most playing time this week. He had just one catch for 16 yards.
• Brandon Powell finally got a good chunk of playing time, but was mostly a non-factor until very late in the game. However, he did record his first NFL catch in the fourth quarter.
• Kerryon Johnson’s 70 percent participation rate was the highest he’s had all year with an entirely healthy set of backs. Only once did he have more, and that was when Theo Riddick was out. It’s clear he’s becoming the Lions’ bell-cow back, and it’s fully deserved considering how poorly LeGarrette Blount is playing.

Defense:

Defensive end

Romeo Okwara: 40 (70%)
Da’Shawn Hand: 31 (54%)
Ezekiel Ansah: 15 (26%) — 1 (4%)
Kerry Hyder: 5 (9%)
Eric Lee: 3 (5%) — 3 (11%)

Defensive tackle

Damon Harrison: 34 (60%) — 6 (22%)
A’Shawn Robinson: 33 (58%) — 6 (22%)
Ricky Jean Francois: 13 (23%) — 6 (22%)

Linebackers

Jarrad Davis: 57 (100%) — 6 (22%)
Devon Kennard: 57 (100%) — 7 (26%)
Christian Jones: 46 (81%) — 12 (44%)
Trevor Bates: 0 (0%) — 19 (70%)
Kelvin Sheppard: 0 (0%) — 13 (48%)

Cornerbacks

Nevin Lawson: 56 (98%) — 7 (26%)
DeShawn Shead: 47 (82%) — 11 (41%)
Teez Tabor: 20 (35%) — 21 (78%)
Lenzy Pipkins: 0 (0%) — 12 (44%)

Safety

Glover Quin: 57 (100%) — 6 (22%)
Quandre Diggs: 57 (100%) — 2 (7%)
Tavon Wilson: 45 (79%) — 6 (22%)
Tracy Walker: 11 (19%) — 12 (44%)
Miles Killebrew: 0 (0%) — 24 (89%)
Charles Washington: 0 (0%) — 19 (70%)

Observations:

• I was hoping to see more Ezekiel Ansah this week, but we did not get it. Ansah was again limited to simply a pass-rushing role, and while he played a key part in Detroit’s only sack of the game, he was largely a non-factor against the Bears, though through no fault of his own. PFF credited him with three pressures on 15 snaps.
• The Lions finally got Romeo Okwara below 80 percent of snaps, choosing to go in more three linebacker sets than normal—81 percent snaps for Christian Jones is his second highest of the season.
• With Darius Slay out, it was mostly Lawson and Shead on the outside, with Tavon Wilson acting as the Lions’ nickel corner. Sunday was Wilson’s highest percentage of playing time all year.
• Tracy Walker saw a slight bump in participation this week—a trend we can probably expect to continue as the season gets further out of hand.

Special teams

Sam Martin: 12 (44%)
Don Muhlbach: 6 (22%)
Matt Prater: 2 (7%)