The New England Patriots’ offensive game plan for Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks raised some questions, primarily because of the personnel coordinator Josh McDaniels opted to employ. The Patriots decided to rely heavily on 11-personnel looks, seemingly playing into the hands of a defense that employs nickel as its base group on that side of the ball.
It’s not like the Patriots lacked alternative options, though. They actually started the game with a 22-personnel pony package featuring
running backs Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson as well as tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper.
However, despite actually showing some promise on their first two drives, they eventually opted against continuing to mix things up. They finished the game with only two snaps of both Stevenson and Henderson on the field together, gaining a combined 13 yards in the process, and also did not make fullback Jack Westover (5 snaps) or sixth offensive lineman Thayer Munford Jr. (1 snap) a significant part of their battle plan.
They neither employed any trickery, went light on screen and play-action calls, used no designed quarterback runs, and introduced no odd looks that might have caught the Seahawks off guard and helped slowed the defense down.
Instead, McDaniels went with a relatively conservative approach and operated out of 11-personnel on 79.1% of available snaps. This plan could have worked — it is what the Patriots are comfortable using and have been all year — and there were some positive moments in the early fourth quarter as well. Overall, however, New England clearly ran into issues against a ferocious defense able to drop seven into coverage and still generate pressure against Drake Maye.
Here is our full snap count report from the Patriots’ 29-13 loss at Levi’s Stadidum in Santa Clara.
Offense
Total snaps: 71 | Time on the field: 25:16 | *denotes starter
QB Drake Maye* (71; 100%), LT Will Campbell* (71; 100%), LG Jared Wilson* (71; 100%), C Garrett Bradbury* (71; 100%), RG Mike Onwenu* (71; 100%), RT Morgan Moses* (71; 100%), WR Kayshon Boutte (52; 73%), WR Mack Hollins* (51; 72%), TE Hunter Henry* (51; 72%), RB Rhamondre Stevenson* (45; 63%), WR Stefon Diggs (45; 63%), TE Austin Hooper* (31; 44%), WR DeMario Douglas (29; 41%), RB TreVeyon Henderson* (28; 39%), WR Kyle Williams (17; 24%), FB Jack Westover (5; 7%), OT/TE Thayer Munford Jr. (1; 1%)
After playing only four snaps in the AFC Championship Game, the aforementioned TreVeyon Henderson saw an uptick in opportunities in the Super Bowl. He was on the field for 28 snaps as a rotational option at running back, touching the ball a combined nine times for 45 yards. Of course, 24 of those yards were gained on the game’s final play and with the Super Bowl long decided.
Among the Patriots’ bright spots from a production standpoint was wide receiver DeMario Douglas. Seeing his highest playing time share since Week 1, he hauled in five passes for 45 yards and two first downs. It wasn’t a massive output, but he was still one of New England’s most consistent contributors on that side of the ball.
Defense
Total snaps: 72 | Time on the field: 31:26 | *denotes starter
LB Robert Spillane* (72; 100%), S Jaylinn Hawkins* (71; 99%), CB Christian Gonzalez* (69; 96%), CB Carlton Davis III* (68; 94%), S Craig Woodson* (65; 90%), ED K’Lavon Chaisson (55; 76%), DT Christian Barmore* (51; 71%), DT Milton Williams* (50; 69%), CB Marcus Jones (39; 54%), DT Cory Durden* (38; 53%), ED Anfernee Jennings* (37; 51%), LB Christian Elliss (33; 46%), LB Jack Gibbens* (31; 43%), DT Khyiris Tonga (29; 40%), ED Elijah Ponder (21; 29%), LB/ED Jahlani Tavai* (21; 29%), DT Leonard Taylor III (18; 25%), ED Harold Landry III (14; 19%), S Dell Pettus (6; 8%), LB Chad Muma (4; 6%)
Even though he only practiced twice leading up to the Super Bowl, Robert Spillane ended up going wire-to-wire against Seattle — the only defender to play all 72 snaps on the day. With Spillane filling his usual high-volume role on the second level, the Patriots decided to use a rotational approach with the other linebackers: Christian Elliss, Jack Gibbens and Jahlani Tavai all finished with a playing time share of sub-50%.
Elsewhere in the front seven, there were no real surprises either. Christian Barmore and Milton Williams led the way along the interior defensive line, with Cory Durden, Khyiris Tonga and Leonard Taylor the next men up depending on package and situation. On the edge, meanwhile, the return of team captain Harold Landry did not make much of a difference: he was on the field for only 14 snaps and finished behind Anfernee Jennings and Elijah Ponder in snaps played both on Sunday and in the postseason as a whole.
The secondary went with a business-as-usual approach. Their top four — Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson — rarely left the field, while Marcus Jones saw a heavy dose of snaps whenever New England moved to its nickel groupings.
Special teams
Total snaps: 34 | Time on the field: 3:18
S Dell Pettus (33; 97%), S Brenden Schooler (33; 97%), LB Chad Muma (32; 94%), LB Jack Gibbens (29; 85%), LB/PP Marte Mapu (26; 76%), ED Elijah Ponder (25; 74%), LB Jahlani Tavai (23; 68%), FB Jack Westover (22; 65%), CB Charles Woods (17; 50%), CB Alex Austin (16; 47%), ED Anfernee Jennings (12; 35%), LB Christian Elliss (11; 32%), ED K’Lavon Chaisson (9; 26%), P/H Bryce Baringer (9; 26%), LS Julian Ashby (9; 26%), WR/KR Kyle Williams (8; 24%), DT Christian Barmore (8; 24%), DT Cory Durden (8; 24%), DT Leonard Taylor III (8; 24%), CB/PR Marcus Jones (7; 21%), S Jaylinn Hawkins (7; 21%), RB/KR D’Ernest Johnson (5; 15%), K Andy Borregales (4; 12%), RB/KR TreVeyon Henderson (3; 9%), S Craig Woodson (2; 6%), TE Hunter Henry (1; 3%), TE Austin Hooper (1; 3%), OT Thayer Munford Jr. (1; 3%), OT Vederian Lowe (1; 3%), OL Jared Wilson (1; 3%), OL Mike Onwenu (1; 3%), OL Ben Brown (1; 3%), DT Khyiris Tonga (1; 3%)
The Patriots’ special teamers were busy on Sunday. With neither offense able to get into much of a rhythm for the first three quarters, they ended up playing a season-high 34 snaps. As usual, Brenden Schooler led the way: the team captain played all but one snap, with his 33 a new career mark.
Schooler was one of six core-four players for New England in the kicking game. He, Dell Pettus, Chad Muma, Marte Mapu, Elijah Ponder and Jahlani Tavai were the only ones appearing at least once on all four return and coverage units on the day.
Elsewhere in the kicking game, the Patriots went through their usual register of returners. While Marcus Jones was locked into the punt returner role, running backs TreVeyon Henderson, D’Ernest Johnson and Kyle Williams all were used as kickoff returners with much success. For Henderson, it was his first action in the game’s third phase since Week 8 — a sign of New England looking for any possible spark.
Did not play
QB Joshua Dobbs
Despite the game effectively being decided by the Seahawks’ interception return touchdown with 4:27 left in the game, the Patriots opted to keep Drake Maye in the lineup. This, in turn, meant that backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs spent yet another game watching from the sidelines from start to finish. In total, he appeared in four games this season and saw meaningful snaps in one of them.
Inactive
QB3 Tommy DeVito, WR Efton Chism III, TE C.J. Dippre, OT Marcus Bryant, OL Caedan Wallace, ED Bradyn Swinson, CB Kobee Minor
With Harold Landry back in the lineup after missing the AFC Championship Game, the Patriots had all hands on deck for the Super Bowl. By extension, this also meant that their inactives exclusively consisted of healthy scratches whose roles on the roster can best be described as “emergency options” at this stage in their respective careers.
