Jaguars vs. Chargers: Snap Count Analysis
While watching a game live can give you one impression of a player's usage, looking at the actual amount of snaps they played compared to their teammates can also give insight into the team's strategy and outlook.
When looking at the snap counts for the Jacksonville Jaguars after their 45-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, it is clear to see what kind of plan the Jaguars went into the game with, and what limitations they had from a personnel standpoint.
Who played a lot, and why? Did the snaps mean anything or nothing? We examine below:
Offense (66 snaps):
OG Andrew Norwell: 66
OT Cam Robinson: 66
OT Jawaan Taylor: 66
C Brandon Linder: 66
QB Gardner Minshew: 66
WR DJ Chark: 58
WR Chris Conley: 57
OG A.J. Cann: 54
RB Leonard Fournette: 51
TE Nick O'Leary: 45
WR Dede Westbrook:44
WR Keelan Cole: 34
TE Ben Koyack: 20
RB Ryquell Armstead: 15
OT Will Richardson: 12
TE Charles Jones: 6
- There isn't a ton to note from this week's offensive snaps. Once again, Nick O'Leary got the majority of the tight end snaps and he turned it four catches for 30 yards and a touchdown, a 12-yard toss from Gardner Minshew in the third quarter when the game was out of hand.
- One other notable thing from the offense though is the right guard position. Will Richardson had a bad rep in pass protection on an early third down and this forced Gardner Minshew to step into a Joey Bosa sack. After he got beat badly on that pivotal down, he didn't play much more and A.J. Cann locked down the RG spot. Richardson hasn't shown enough to not invest in the interior offensive line come the offseason.
Defense (63 snaps):
FS Jarrod Wilson: 63
LB Donald Payne: 63
CB A.J. Bouye: 63
DE Yannick Ngakoue: 54
FS Andrew Wingard: 46
DE Calais Campbell: 41
CB D.J. Hayden: 39
DE Josh Allen: 38
DT Taven Bryan: 38
LB Quincy Williams: 37
DT Akeem Spence: 32
LB Austin Calitro: 26
DL Dawuane Smoot: 25
LB Leon Jacobs: 24
FS Marcus Gilchrist: 17
- Quincy Williams played every defensive snap in the first half of the game but played sparingly in the second half, being benched for Austin Calitro. This is the second time this season that Williams has been pulled off of the field for a veteran, reflecting a disappointing rookie season for the third-round pick. In the first half he had issues taking on blocks in the run game and being disciplined with his responsibilities in zone coverage, allowing a 30-yard Hunter Henry touchdown after he read the underneath coverage and didn't carry Henry's route downfield, leading him to be wide open with no defender in sight.
- Guys like Andrew Wingard, Akeem Spence, Donald Payne, Austin Calitro, Marcus Gilchrist and, to an extent, Tre Herndon playing so many snaps for Jacksonville is a big reason why the defense has fallen off a cliff compared to past years. They simply have too many players who aren't good enough to play major roles that are seeing significant time. Part of this is due to injuries, but the roster construction on defense has hurt a ton.
- Josh Allen played around 60% of the snaps, an increase from past weeks. Allen didn't make much of an impact and was off of the field on a few key third downs, but he at least was allowed to play more than he has in some past games.
