Lions-Bears Week 12 snap counts: 7 observations from Thanksgiving

Here are the snap counts for the Detroit Lions’ Week 12 loss to the Chicago Bears.

Offense:

Quarterbacks

Matthew Stafford: 66 (100%)

Running backs

LeGarrette Blount: 33 (50%)
Theo Riddick: 29 (44%)
Zach Zenner: 4 (6%) — 18 special teams snaps (75%)

Fullbacks

Nick Bellore: 8 (12%) — 15 (62%)

Tight ends

Levine Toilolo: 28 (42%) — 2 (8%)
Michael Roberts: 23 (35%)
Luke Willson: 20 (30%) — 5 (21%)

Wide receivers

Kenny Golladay: 65 (98%)
Bruce Ellington: 54 (82%)
TJ Jones: 45 (68%) — 10 (42%)
Andy Jones: 21 (32%) — 8 (33%)

Offensive tackles

Rick Wagner: 66 (100%) — 2 (8%)
Taylor Decker: 66 (100%) — 2 (8%)
Tyrell Crosby: 0 (0%) — 2 (8%)

Guards/centers

Frank Ragnow: 66 (100%) — 2 (8%)
Kenny Wiggins: 66 (100%) — 2 (8%)
Graham Glasgow: 65 (98%) — 1 (4%)
Joe Dahl: 1 (2%) — 2 (8%)

Observations:

• Graham Glasgow missed his first snap of the season midway through the Bears game. He only missed a single snap as he was a little shaken up but immediately returned.
• As expected, Bruce Ellington saw a lot more playing time with Marvin Jones Jr. still out. Ellington is clearly the Lions’ answer for trading away Golden Tate, so even when Jones comes back, it seems like Ellington will still play a significant role in the offense.
• I expected to see a lot more Zach Zenner in this game, but the newly-added running back had just four snaps—but did touch the ball on three of them. LeGarrette Blount led the way in snaps, and justified the coaches’ decision with a big game.

Defense:

Defensive end

Romeo Okwara: 38 (66%) — 3 (12%)
Da’Shawn Hand: 34 (59%) — 1 (4%)
Ezekiel Ansah: 29 (50%)

Defensive tackle

Damon Harrison: 30 (52%) — 3 (12%)
A’Shawn Robinson: 25 (43%) — 4 (17%)
Ricky Jean Francois: 16 (28%) — 3 (12%)

Linebackers

Jarrad Davis: 58 (100%) — 4 (17%)
Devon Kennard: 58 (100%) — 4 (17%)
Christian Jones: 44 (76%) — 3 (12%)
Trevor Bates: 0 (0%) — 18 (75%)
Eli Harold: 0 (0%) — 13 (54%)
Kelvin Sheppard: 0 (0%) — 9 (38%)

Cornerbacks

Nevin Lawson: 58 (100%) — 4 (17%)
Darius Slay: 58 (100%) — 1 (4%)
Mike Ford: 51 (88%) — 8 (33%)
DeShawn Shead: 14 (24%) — 12 (50%)

Safety

Glover Quin: 58 (100%) — 4 (17%)
Quandre Diggs: 58 (100%) — 3 (12%)
Tracy Walker: 6 (10%) — 9 (38%)
Tavon Wilson: 3 (5%) — 9 (38%)
Miles Killebrew: 0 (0%) — 21 (88%)
Charles Washington: 0 (0%) — 18 (75%)

Observations:

• Ezekiel Ansah is up to a 50 percent participation rate, which is his highest of the season. He’s still third among Lions defensive ends, but it looks like he’s in much more than just passing down packages.
• We’ve been all craving a little more Tracy Walker in our lives after the rookie safety picked up his first career sack. However, in this game the Lions chose to play Glover Quin on literally every play, forcing Walker to just six total defensive snaps on the day. The rookie safety did make an impact on special teams, though.
• Mike Ford is officially this team’s No. 2 outside cornerback right now. That may change with the Lions claiming Marcus Cooper, but for now, it appears the job is his.
• Pretty interesting to see the Lions’ run defense continue to do well despite the fact that Damon Harrison’s playing time is actually going down right now.

Special teams

Sam Martin: 11 (46%)
Don Muhlbach: 7 (29%)
Matt Prater: 2 (8%)