The New England Patriots entered their Week 2 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers with the task of replacing A.J. Brown, who had suffered a high-ankle sprain in the season opener. Among the candidates to fill Brown’s spot as a starting outside receiver was second-year man Kyle Williams, the speedster who looked good in preseason and entered the year poised for a bigger role.
He keeps waiting for it, however. Versus Pittsburgh, after all, Williams’ role remained unchanged: he served as a rotational
package player on offense, taking the. field for just 11 of 55 offensive snaps — a similar share than last week versus the Seahawks.
Williams did manage to reel in a 10-yard pass on a 3rd-and-6 in the third quarter for his first catch of the season, but other than that and an incomplete target in the fourth period was quiet. To replace Brown, the Patriots instead relied on a three-receiver package of Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas and Mack Hollins. It was the same grouping they used down the stretch in Week 1.
Even though the season is still long and Brown reportedly expected to miss five more games after this one, it seems Williams’ position on the depth chart is set in stone for now.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 20-3 win at Gillette Stadium.
Offense
Total snaps: 55 | Time on the field: 26:16 | *denotes starter
QB Drake Maye* (55; 100%), LT Will Campbell* (55; 100%), LG Alijah Vera-Tucker* (55; 100%), C Jared Wilson* (55; 100%), RT Morgan Moses* (51; 93%), TE Hunter Henry* (50; 91%), RG Greg Van Roten (40; 73%), WR Mack Hollins (39; 71%), WR Romeo Doubs* (37; 67%), RB TreVeyon Henderson (33; 60%), WR DeMario Douglas* (26; 47%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (20; 36%), FB Reggie Gilliam (20; 36%), RG Mike Onwenu* (15; 27%), TE Cameron Latu (14; 25%), WR Kyle Williams (11; 20%), TE Eli Raridon* (11; 20%), WR Efton Chism III (10; 18%), RB Corey Kiner (4; 7%), RT Caleb Lomu (4; 7%)
Injuries were one of the biggest stories of the game, and the Patriots offense suffered two of them. The most significant was starting right guard Mike Onwenu, who exited the game in the late first quarter due to what was later reported as a broken ankle. With him out, veteran Greg Van Roten — who arrived in training camp — was moved into the top lineup between center Jared Wilson and right tackle Morgan Moses.
The other injury was suffered by rookie tight end Eli Raridon, who suffered a tight injury in the first half and was later ruled out for the remainder of the game. This means increased opportunities for Cameron Latu, another late addition to the roster. Latu played his first 14 snaps on offense against the Steelers, primarily serving as an in-line run blocker.
Speaking of firsts, Caleb Lomu also played his first offensive snaps. The first-round draft pick replaced the aforementioned Morgan Moses for the final four snaps of the game. As opposed to Onwenu and Raridon, Moses was not removed from the game due to injury.
Elsewhere on offense, TreVeyon Henderson out-snapped Rhamondre Stevenson following the latter’s first-quarter fumble. Efton Chism, meanwhile, played his first 10 snaps of the year after being a healthy scratch in Week 1; another byproduct of the A.J. Brown injury.
Defense
Total snaps: 70 | Time on the field: 30:51 | *denotes starter
LB Robert Spillane* (7o; 100%), LB Christian Elliss* (7o; 100%), CB Christian Gonzalez* (7o; 100%), S Kevin Byard III* (7o; 100%), CB Marcus Jones* (69; 99%), CB Charles Woods (60; 86%), ED Elijah Ponder* (54; 77%), ED Gabe Jacas (49; 70%), S Craig Woodson* (46; 66%), DT Milton Williams* (44; 63%), DT Christian Barmore* (36; 51%), DT Cory Durden* (34; 49%), S Jaylen Reed (28; 40%), DT Joshua Farmer (24; 34%), ED Dre’Mont Jones* (18; 26%), ED Quintayvious Hutchins (16; 23%), DT DaQuan Jones (10; 14%), CB Channing Canada (2; 3%)
New England’s safety depth was tested against the Steelers. Under normal circumstances, Craig Woodson would have played more than his 46 snaps, but the shoulder injury he suffered in the third quarter forced him to exit the contest. The nominal next man up, Dell Pettus, had already exited the game at that point: Pettus suffered an ankle ailment in the second period. This meant that Jaylen Reed saw his first defensive snaps since arriving in Foxborough via trade in late August.
The team also had to rely on its youth on the edge. With Dre’Mont Jones being lost for the game in the second quarter, Elijah Ponder and Gabe Jacas ended up playing 54 and 49 snaps, respectively. In the meantime, Qunitayvious Hutchins also saw his first career reps on defense.
The same was true for Channing Canada, who briefly replaced fellow cornerback Marcus Jones in the late second quarter. Outside of his brief injury scare, however, Jones was on the field for every snap; with Carlton Davis inactive due to injury, the Patriots made the veteran slot their No. 2 cornerback opposite Christian Gonzalez. In base sets, he lined up outside while kicking in in nickel and dime looks while Charles Woods was brought onto the field.
Elsewhere, recently-signed DaQuan Jones played 10 snaps in his Patriots debut.
Special teams
Total snaps: 25 | Time on the field: 2:53
TE Cameron Latu (21; 84%), LB Namdi Obiazor (20; 80%), S Jaylen Reed (18; 72%), LB Darius Muasau (16; 64%), CB Channing Canada (16; 64%), FB Reggie Gilliam (14; 56%), CB Karon Prunty (13; 52%), ED Gabe Jacas (12; 48%), LB Erick Hunter (12; 48%), CB Charles Woods (11; 44%), K Andy Borregales (10; 40%), DT Cory Durden (9; 36%), ED Elijah Ponder (9; 36%), ED Quintayvious Hutchins (9; 36%), LS Julian Ashby (9; 36%), P/H Mitch Wishnowsky (9; 36%), WR Efton Chism III (8; 32%), CB/PR Marcus Jones (8; 32%), S Dell Pettus (8; 32%), OT Will Campbell (5; 20%), OT Caleb Lomu (5; 20%), OL Alijah Vera-Tucker (5; 20%), OL Greg Van Roten (5; 20%), OL Ben Brown (5; 20%), S Craig Woodson (5; 20%), DT Milton Williams (4; 16%), DT Christian Barmore (4; 16%), LB Robert Spillane (2; 8%), WR/KR Kyle Williams (1; 4%), WR Mack Hollins (1; 4%), OL Mike Onwenu (1; 4%)
The Patriots used five players on their core-four special teams units, with Cameron Latu, Namdi Obiazor, Jaylen Reed, Darius Muasau and Gabe Jacas the only ones playing on kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, and punt coverage. Latu, Obiazor, Muasau and Jacas all registered tackles among them, with the latter adding his special teams performance to an already strong defensive showing.
New England’s injuries also impacted the kicking game personnel. One position stands out in that regard: Dell Pettus (1), Craig Woodson (2) and Jaylen Reed (1) all saw snaps as the personal punt protector.
Did not play
QB Tommy DeVito
While the Steelers decided to insert their backup quarterback, Mason Rudolph, in the late fourth quarter, the Patriots did not use their QB2 on Sunday. For a second straight game, Tommy DeVito remained on the bench throughout the contest.
Inactive
QB3 Behren Morton, TE Tanner Arkin, OT Dametrious Crownover, OL Walter Rouse, DT Leonard Taylor III, CB Carlton Davis III
With only one practice squad elevation — punter Mitch Wishnowsky — the Patriots declared just six players as inactive for Sunday’s game. Two of those were ruled out because of injury: Dametrious Crownover and Carlton Davis were unavailable for the contest due to their respective knee and neck injuries. The other four were all healthy scratches, including Tanner Arkin and Leonard Taylor; both were on the game day roster in Week 1 but demoted against the Steelers.
