Going up against one of the best rushing offenses in football, the New England Patriots were without one of their most important run defenders. Robert Spillane, who had played 95.4% of snaps over the first
13 games of the season, watched the action from the sidelines. He did so in full uniform.
What had happened? Under normal circumstances, Spillane would have played close to 100% of snaps versus the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. However, the 30-year-old sustained a foot injury in practice on Thursday and was a limited participant for the remainder of the week, prompting him to be listed as questionable for the game.
While not listed among the six inactives for the contest, Spillane taking the field was reserved only for an emergency as head coach Mike Vrabel later explained.
“We felt like after going through the warmups and everything that that was what was going to be best for him today,” Vrabel said after the game. “We need everybody, and certainly Robert, and we’ll have to try to get as healthy as we can as quickly as we can.”
With Spillane out and effectively replaced by backup Jack Gibbens, the Patriots defense struggled to defend Buffalo’s ground game. The unit surrendered 171 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the day, with the Bills averaging 5.0 yards on their 34 non-kneel-down carries.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 35-31 loss at Gillette Stadium.
Offense
Total snaps: 52 | Time on the field: 23:43 | *denotes starter
QB Drake Maye* (52; 100%), LG Jared Wilson* (52; 100%), C Garrett Bradbury* (52; 100%), RG Mike Onwenu* (52; 100%), RT Morgan Moses* (52; 100%), LT Vederian Lowe* (51; 98%), TE Hunter Henry* (45; 87%), WR Mack Hollins* (41; 79%), WR Kayshon Boutte* (39; 75%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (35; 67%), WR Stefon Diggs* (26; 50%), RB TreVeyon Henderson (25; 48%), TE Austin Hooper (16; 31%), WR DeMario Douglas (10; 19%), OT/TE Thayer Munford Jr. (10; 19%), FB/TE Jack Westover (8; 15%), WR Kyle Williams (5; 10%), DT/FB Khyiris Tonga (1; 2%)
The Patriots offensive line, which fielded a third different lineup in the last three games, saw left guard Jared Wilson return from the ankle injury he had suffered in Week 12 against Cincinnati. Wilson went wire-to-wire in his return, as did three other starting O-linemen. The lone exception was left tackle Vederian Lowe, who missed one snap in the second quarter after reporting as eligible on the previous play. He was replaced on the play by Thayer Munford Jr, who otherwise served as a jumbo tight end.
Also providing size on offense was defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, who returned to the role of big-bodied fullback (on the same play that saw Lowe report as eligible as well). In general, however, the fullback position played a relatively quite role against a bottom-tier Buffalo run defense.
At the skill positions, the Patriots relied on their usual cast of characters. Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte and Stefon Diggs were the top three wide receivers, with DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams as package options; neither of the latter two saw any targets in the pass game.
At running back, meanwhile, Rhamondre Stevenson resumed his position as No. 1 running back and out-snapped rookie TreVeyon Henderson 35 to 25. Of course, both made the most of their opportunities regardless of split: Stevenson finished with 77 scrimmage yards on nine touches; Henderson registered 161 and a pair of touchdowns on 16 combined runs and receptions.
Defense
Total snaps: 70 | Time on the field: 34:12 | *denotes starter
LB Jack Gibbens* (70; 100%), CB Christian Gonzalez* (70; 100%), S Jaylinn Hawkins* (70; 100%), S Craig Woodson* (61; 87%), LB Christian Elliss* (60; 86%), ED Harold Landry III (52; 74%), DT Christian Barmore* (51; 73%), ED K’Lavon Chaisson (49; 70%), CB Marcus Jones (48; 69%), CB Carlton Davis III* (45; 64%), DT Khyiris Tonga* (43; 61%), DT Cory Durden (37; 53%), DT Joshua Farmer* (34; 49%), CB Charles Woods (26; 37%), ED Anfernee Jennings* (21; 30%), LB/ED Jahlani Tavai* (15; 21%), ED Elijah Ponder (10; 14%), DT Leonard Taylor III (5; 7%), LB Marte Mapu (3; 4%)
With the aforementioned Robert Spillane out, the Patriots opted to use Jack Gibbens in his role as an every-down linebacker and on-field communicator. Alongside him, Christian Elliss filled his usual role as the second option, even though he also saw a serious uptick in snaps: as with Gibbens, his playing time share of 86% also marks as a season high and is clearly above his average over the first 13 weeks (54%).
Up front, the Patriots saw the return of Khyiris Tonga as one of the top four interior lineman alongside Christian Barmore, Cory Durden and Joshua Farmer. The edge, meanwhile, was mostly a two-player affair even though neither Harold Landry nor K’Lavon Chaisson actually started the game. That honor went to rotational options Anfernee Jennings and Jahlani Tavai, who ended up seeing he third- and fifth-most snaps at outside linebacker.
In the secondary, the Patriots were less willing to rotate but forced to do so when Carlton Davis departed in the second half for what was essentially a full quarter because of a groin issue. In his place, Charles Woods entered the field as the top outside corner opposite Christian Gonzalez.
Special teams
Total snaps: 28 | Time on the field: 2:05
LB Jahlani Tavai (23; 82%), S Brenden Schooler (23; 82%), LB/PP Marte Mapu (21; 75%), S Dell Pettus (20; 71%), LB Jack Gibbens (19; 68%), CB Charles Woods (17; 61%), ED Caleb Murphy (16; 57%), DT Cory Durden (12; 43%), FB Jack Westover (11; 39%), ED Anfernee Jennings (11; 39%), CB Miles Battle (10; 36%), K Andy Borregales (10; 36%), RB D’Ernest Johnson (8; 29%), LB Christian Elliss (8; 29%), P/H Bryce Baringer (8; 29%), LS Julian Ashby (8; 29%), DT Christian Barmore (7; 25%), DT Joshua Farmer (7; 25%), ED K’Lavon Chaisson (7; 25%), ED Elijah Ponder (7; 25%), WR/KR Kyle Williams (6; 21%), TE Austin Hooper (5; 18%), OT Vederian Lowe (5; 18%), OT Thayer Munford Jr. (5; 18%), OL Jared Wilson (5; 18%), OL Mike Onwenu (5; 18%), OL Ben Brown (5; 18%), OL Caedan Wallace (5; 18%), S Jaylinn Hawkins (5; 18%), S Craig Woodson (5; 18%), CB/PR Marcus Jones (4; 14%)
The Patriots’ core-four special teamers against the Bills — i.e. those who appeared on all the return and coverage units — consisted of Jahlani Tavai, Brenden Schooler, Marte Mapu, Jack Gibbens and Caleb Murphy. Two names stand out: Gibbens, who also played all 70 defensive snaps for a combined workload of 89 snaps on the day, as well as the since-released Caleb Murphy, whose contributions will need to be replaced moving forward (possibly by recent addition Chad Muma).
In the kickoff return department, Kyle Williams ran back all four kicks on the day. Lining up alongside him as a deep man was backup running back D’Ernest Johnson, who was promoted to the 53-man roster on the eve of the game.
Did not play
QB Joshua Dobbs, LB Robert Spillane
Besides the aforementioned Robert Spillane, the Patriots also opted to keep Joshua Dobbs on the sidelines. That particular decision was no surprise whatsoever given the closeness of the score and Dobbs’ status as the No. 2 quarterback behind Drake Maye. The offseason addition has taken the field only twice so far this season.
Inactive
QB3 Tommy DeVito, WR Efton Chism III, TE C.J. Dippre, OT Marcus Bryant, DT Eric Gregory, ED Bradyn Swinson
While Robert Spillane was effectively inactive as well, the official list consisted entirely of healthy scratches and emergency options at their respective positions. That includes rookie Marcus Bryant, who has been deactivated twice in a row now in favor of recent pickup Thayer Munford Jr.
