The Tennessee Titans dropped their sixth-straight game in Week 17, losing to the Dallas Cowboys, 27-13, in a game in which they sat several key players ahead of a huge Week 18 game that will decide the AFC South.
As a result of the Titans resting their players, they saw four new players take their first snaps this season, including quarterback Joshua Dobbs, offensive linemen Zack Johnson and Xavier Newman, and defensive lineman Jayden Peevy.
That brings Tennessee’s league-high total up to 86, which is five shy of the record the team set in 2021. As of now, it looks like they’ll fall just short.
So, how did the Titans fill their voids in Week 17? Find out now as we take a look at the snap counts, and the biggest takeaways from them.
Snap counts and takeaways: Offense
-With Nicholas Petit-Frere out, the Titans deployed Le’Raven Clark in his place. The rest of the offensive line was the same as last week, from left to right: Dennis Daley, Aaron Brewer, Corey Levin, Jordan Roos and Clark. Xavier Newman and Zack Johnson both got snaps in garbage time.
-For the second-straight week, Treylon Burks out-snapped Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, but Robert Woods once again led the way in snaps among wideouts.
-Hassan Haskins was tasked with the majority of playing time among the Titans’ backs with Derrick Henry sidelined. Jonathan Ward and Julius Chestnut chipped-in with five and 14 snaps, respectively.
-For the first time in weeks, Chigoziem Okonkwo took a back seat in terms of playing time to Geoff Swaim. The 16 snaps for Chig was his fewest since Week 5 and is far too low on an offense that desperately needs anything it can get from its best playmakers.
Snap counts and takeaways: Defense
-Linebacker Jack Gibbens started in place of Zach Cunningham and was the only defender to play every single snap. Tre Avery and Roger McCreary fell one short.
-Andrew Adams played 68 snaps before suffering what is reportedly a serious, season-ending injury.
-With Bud Dupree out, Rashad Weaver and Tarell Basham saw the biggest increase in snaps at outside linebacker. Basham did suffer an injury during the game, though, leaving his status unclear for Week 18.
-Mario Edwards and DeMarcus Walker were the biggest beneficiaries of the absences of Denico Autry and Jeffery Simmons. Jayden Peevy and Kevin Strong also helped out upfront, with Peevy playing 27 snaps in his NFL debut, which was 12 more than Naquan Jones.
-At cornerback, the Titans started Tre Avery in Kristian Fulton’s place, and Joshua Kalu was used in the slot.
