Patriots 2021 Week Sixteen Snap Counts: Interpretations and Implications

As the New England Patriots prepare to move forward from their 33-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, (dropping their record to 9-6 on the 2021 season) they continue to take stock into their performance on both sides of the ball.

Heading into their Week Seventeen matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, there are plenty of areas in which the Patriots will seek improvement. While game-film analysis will be the main focus, a look at playing time may assist the Pats in helping to devise effective strategies moving forward.

Here is a look at the Patriots offensive and defensive snap counts from Sunday’s matchup, along with some possible insight on New England’s future game-planning.

Offensive Snaps

On offense, the Pats snap count was 64 versus the Bills on Sunday:

Once again, New England’s starting offensive line went the distance, each taking 100 percent of the Pats’ 64 offensive snaps. In the ‘jumbo’ tight end role, Michael Onwenu took 17 snaps, while fullback Jakob Johnson saw the field for 16 snaps, primarily as blockers in the run game.

Though Damien Harris was one of the few positives from Sunday’s game, Brandon Bolden led all running backs, taking 34 offensive snaps. Bolden only rushed twice for four yards, mostly seeing action as a backfield pass-catcher. He added 2 catches for 20 yards, as well. Harris, on the other hand, rushed 18 times for 103 yards and three touchdowns. He also had the longest run of the afternoon for either team, a 31-yard power run in the third quarter.

As the Patriots were without the services of Nelson Agholor (concussion protocol) and Kendrick Bourne (playing on only 30 snaps) fresh off of COVID-19/Reserve, N’Keal Harry led all receivers taking 61 snaps, both as a blocker and a pass-catching target. Harry finished the day with only two catches for 15 yards, as well as a crucial drop on a drive in the second quarter. Jakobi Meyers, who was the Pats most-efficient receiver on Sunday, caught six passes for 59 yards. Both Gunner Olszewski (4 snaps) and practice squad-elevation Kristian Wilkerson (3 snaps) saw limited action on Sunday.

Lastly, the Patriots tight ends were largely absent from meaningful action in Week Sixteen. Despite Hunter Henry typically being a favorite target of Jones in the passing game, the Pats’ tight end logged only one catch for nine yards, though he saw the field for 86 percent of the Pats’ offensive snaps. Smith saw the field for a mere 21 snaps, with neither a catch nor any rushing yards.

Defensive Snaps

On defense, the Pats snap count was 79 versus the Bills on Sunday:

Jalen Mills led all cornerbacks, taking 100 percent of the Pats 79 defensive snaps on Sunday. J.C. Jackson (74 snap) briefly left the game in the second quarter. He was taken to the blue medical tent for evaluation, but returned to the sidelines, and the game, shortly thereafter. Myles Bryant played on a season-high 69 snaps (his previous high being 56 vs. Jets), drawing significant time in coverage against Bills’ wideout Isaish McKenzie, who finished Sunday’s game with 11 catches for 125 yards and one touchdown. Practice squad elevation D’Angelo Ross saw limited action, playing on 5 defensive snaps.

Along with Mills, safety and team captain Devin McCourty took all 79 snaps on Sunday. Adrian Phillips, aligning at strong safety, logged 58 defensive snaps, while Kyle Dugger was present on the field for 50.

Kyle Van Noy saw more on-field action than any other linebacker on Sunday taking 71 snaps. Following closely behind was Ja’Whaun Bentley taking 68 snaps and Matt Judon with 66. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the position group was Dont’a Hightower, taking only 41 snaps, a limited amount compared to his recent workload. Jamie Collins, Sr saw situational action with 37 snaps, while Josh Uche was limited to seven snaps, in his first game back from a stint on injured reserve.

Davon Godchaux once again led all defensive linemen taking 52 snaps in the middle of the line. Both Lawrence Guy and rookie Christian Barmore took 39 snaps each, while defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale played on a season-high 21 snaps. Ekuale’s increased workload may be attributed to both his increasing familiarity in the Pats front-seven alignments, as well as the absence of defensive end Deatrich Wise, who remains on COVID-19/Reserve.