Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn had to do a lot of patchwork along the defensive front in the Detroit Lions’ Week 8 win over the Tennessee Titans. Thanks to recent injuries to the top three pass rushers on the roster (Marcus Davenport, Derrick Barnes, Aidan Hutchinson in order of injury) and top replacement starter Josh Paschal being inactive due to illness, the roster scramble was real.
The Lions started the game with Levi Onwuzurike and practice squad elevation Al-Quadin Muhammad as the starting EDGE players, going heavy on the front. Muhammad wound up playing the most snaps of any defensive lineman with 49, edging past DT Alim McNeill (45) and Onwuzurike (44). Starting nose tackle DJ Reader saw 39 reps.
Newcomer Isaiah Thomas made his Lions debut with 38 snaps. Rookie Mekhi Wingo, like Onwuzurike, played both inside and outside during his 30 reps. The same was true for Pat O’Connor in his 31 reps, though Wingo was outside a little more frequently than No. 95. James Houston played 19 snaps, with 13 from the right side and six on the left per Pro Football Focus tracking.
The disparity between the offensive and defensive snap counts was stark, with Detroit only running 48 offensive plays and the Titans offense on the field for 76. Fantastic special teams by the Lions and four Tennessee turnovers played a huge role in the lack of need for Detroit’s offense to play a lot of snaps en route to 52 points.
Quick notes:
–Jalen Reeves-Maybin was injured Malcolm Rodriguez’s primary replacement, with 14 snaps. Ben Niemann played seven in that LB role.
–The Lions pulled as many starters as they could for the final six offensive snaps, including Hendon Hooker coming in for Jared Goff at QB.
–Practice squad elevation TE Shane Zylstra played 13 snaps, a big uptick from the three he played in Week 7.
–Rookie RB Sione Vaki played one snap on offense.
–Safety Kerby Joseph was the only defensive player to stay on the field for every snap.
