The New England Patriots entered their Week 6 game against the New Orleans Saints with some serious questions at running back. Lead back Rhamondre Stevenson had lost his third fumble of the season the previous
Sunday; Antonio Gibson had suffered a torn ACL during that same game in Buffalo; and TreVeyon Henderson kept looking like the rookie he was on a weekly basis.
The most pressing issue as far as the contest in New Orleans was concerned, however, was how to replace Gibson. The Patriots’ plan to do so was threefold.
First, they elevated Terrell Jennings from the practice squad to the game day roster to provide depth behind Stevenson and Henderson. Second, they made wide receiver Efton Chism active for the first time all season to replace Gibson as a kickoff returner. Third, they gave Stevenson a lion’s share of reps at running back.
The game’s final snap counts illustrate this: Stevenson, who had played just over half of New England’s offensive snaps through Week 5 saw his playing time jump to 72% in Week 6. He also ran the ball a season-high 13 times (even though he ended up gaining only 18 yards for a season-worst average of 1.4 yards per carry).
Whether or not this usage was a sign of things to come remains to be seen. Ideally, though, the team would create more of a balance within its running back group by increasing Henderson’s share as RB2. Against the Saints, that was not the case: the second-round rookie was on the field for just 30% of offensive snaps, the smallest such number of his rookie season up until that point.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 25-19 win at the Superdome.
Offense
Total snaps: 64 | Time on the field: 30:32 | *denotes starter
QB Drake Maye* (64; 100%), LT Will Campbell* (64; 100%), LG Jared Wilson* (64; 100%), C Garrett Bradbury* (64; 100%), RG Mike Onwenu* (64; 100%), RT Morgan Moses* (64; 100%), TE Hunter Henry* (53; 83%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (46; 72%), WR Kayshon Boutte* (43; 67%), TE Austin Hooper* (41; 64%), WR Stefon Diggs* (38; 59%), WR Mack Hollins (35; 55%), RB TreVeyon Henderson (19; 30%), WR DeMario Douglas (16; 25%), WR Kyle Williams (14; 22%), FB/TE Jack Westover (10; 16%), OT/TE Vederian Lowe (3; 5%), WR Efton Chism III (2; 3%)
DeMario Douglas had one of the biggest plays in the game, when he caught a 53-yard touchdown to cap the Patriots’ opening possession. However, his playing time as a whole remained rather limited: still clearly behind the top trio of Kayshon Boutte, Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins, he was on the field for just one quarter of the available offensive snaps — tying his second smallest playing time share of the season so far.
Elsewhere, the Patriots did not make any surprising personnel decisions. The one name worth mentioning is Efton Chism, who made his NFL debut on Sunday but played mostly on special teams as a replacement for kickoff returner Antonio Gibson. His two offensive snaps came as a deep man on Drake Maye’s end-of-game kneel-downs.
Defense
Total snaps: 56 | Time on the field: 27:14 | *denotes starter
LB Robert Spillane* (56; 100%), S Craig Woodson* (56; 100%), S Kyle Dugger* (56; 100%), CB Christian Gonzalez* (55; 98%), CB Carlton Davis III* (50; 89%), ED Harold Landry III* (47; 84%), ED K’Lavon Chaisson* (46; 82%), DT Christian Barmore* (39; 70%), CB Marcus Jones* (38; 68%), DT Milton Williams* (33; 59%), LB Christian Elliss* (31; 55%), DT Khyiris Tonga (28; 50%), LB Jahlani Tavai (19; 34%), LB Jack Gibbens (19; 34%), DT Joshua Farmer (18; 32%), DT Cory Durden (15; 27%), CB Charles Woods (4; 7%), ED Elijah Ponder (3; 5%), LB Marte Mapu (3; 5%)
For the first time since his demotion in training camp, Kyle Dugger returned to the starting lineup on Sunday. He was not perfect — he immediately surrendered a 53-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage — but he had some good moments and remained on the field throughout the contest. It was his first 100% outing since Week 16 last season, even though it should not be seen as a sign of things to come: Dugger’s elevation was the direct result of starter Jaylinn Hawkins missing the game due to a hamstring injury.
Speaking of injuries, the Patriots were without their third and fourth edge defenders — Keion White (elbow) and Anfernee Jennings (ankle) — which resulted in an uptick in snaps for K’Lavon Chaisson and Jahlani Tavai. The latter increased his share from 22% in his season debut last week to 34% against the Panthers; eight of his 19 total snaps saw him align on the edge as an outside linebacker.
For Milton Williams, Sunday marked his third straight game of a playing time share below 60% after starting the season out averaging 72% of snaps. There are multiple factors that go into deciding who plays how many snaps on a week-to-week basis, and it appears in Williams’ case two factors contributed: Khyiris Tonga continuing his impressive year and playing a season-high 50% of snaps, and Williams himself dealing with an illness on Sunday morning and being added to the questionables list less than three hours before kickoff.
Special teams
Total snaps: 24 | Time on the field: 2:14
LB Jack Gibbens (21; 88%), S Brenden Schooler (21; 88%), LB Jahlani Tavai (20; 83%), S Dell Pettus (18; 75%), ED Elijah Ponder (15; 62%), LB Christian Elliss (14; 58%), FB Jack Westover (13; 54%), WR/KR/PR Efton Chism III (12; 50%), S Kyle Dugger (12; 50%), ED Truman Jones (11; 46%), CB Charles Woods (10; 42%), DT Khyiris Tonga (9; 38%), ED K’Lavon Chaisson (9; 38%), LB/PP Marte Mapu (9; 38%), K Andy Borregales (8; 33%), RB/KR Terrell Jennings (7; 29%), CB Alex Austin (7; 29%), WR Mack Hollins (6; 25%), DT Cory Durden (6; 25%), P/H Bryce Baringer (6; 25%), LS Julian Ashby (6; 25%), LB Robert Spillane (5; 21%), OT Vederian Lowe (3; 12%), OT Marcus Bryant (3; 12%), OL Jared Wilson (3; 12%), OL Mike Onwenu (3; 12%), OL Ben Brown (3; 12%), TE Austin Hooper (3; 12%), CB/PR Marcus Jones (1; 4%)
With Antonio Gibson out for the year, the Patriots decided to overhaul their kickoff return operation. Instead of using Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, who finished last week’s game in Buffalo as the deep men, they inserted Efton Chism and practice squad elevation Terrell Jennings. Chism ran back five kickoffs for 129 yards and a 25.8-yard average per return.
Jahlani Tavai saw an increase in defensive snaps while also becoming a five-unit special teamer and member of the “core four” of kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return and punt coverage. He shared that distinction with Jack Gibbens and Brenden Schooler as the only player appearing on all four of those units.
This also means that Dell Pettus and Marte Mapu (as well as the inactive Anfernee Jennings, naturally) saw their roles change. The former played on three units (kick coverage, kick return, punt return), while the latter played on just two (punt coverage, where he continues to serve as personal protector, and kick return).
Did not play
QB Joshua Dobbs
With the Saints keeping the game close until the end, the Patriots saw no value in using their backup quarterback at any point. As a consequence, Joshua Dobbs has now remained on the sidelines in five of six games this season.
Inactive
QB3 Tommy DeVito, S Jaylinn Hawkins, ED Anfernee Jennings, DT Eric Gregory, OL Caedan Wallace, ED Keion White
Besides ruling out the aforementioned Jaylinn Hawkins, Anfernee Jennings and Keion White due to injury before their trip to Louisiana, the Patriots also deactivated three other players. It is clear that Tommy DeVito, Eric Gregory and Caedan Wallace are merely emergency options at their respective positions at this point in time.
