The Los Angeles Rams' game-day roster changed a lot from Week 1 to Week 2, and not by choice. Myles Garrett was placed on injured reserve, Puka Nacua and Jordan Whittington were both out with injuries, and Kamren Kinchens missed Monday's game due to a hamstring strain.
The one positive development was that Aaron Donald returned to the field, playing his first game since the 2023 playoffs.
As a result of these changes, the Rams had to adjust their plans on offense and defense. Whatever they did worked to perfection because they crushed the Giants, 28-6.
We're looking at the snap counts on each side of the ball, breaking down new developments and playing time trends.
Offense
The most notable shift is at running back, where Blake Corum continues to eat into
Kyren Williams' workload. Williams only played six more snaps than Corum and finished the game with the same number of carries (12). It's as close to a shared backfield as it gets.
With Nacua and Whittington out, who did the Rams lean on? Konata Mumpfield surprisingly played the most snaps of any receiver, three more than even Davante Adams. That's partly because the Rams lightened Adams' workload once the score got out of hand, but Mumpfield was clearly the next man up. It was Xavier Smith and Tutu Atwell after him, with CJ Daniels inactive again.
The Rams continue to deploy several tight ends, and they really leaned into 13 personnel on Monday. Colby Parkinson remains the TE1, with Terrance Ferguson and Davis Allen essentially operating as co-TE2. That leaves Tyler Higbee well behind in the rotation, playing only 16 snaps – which were 16 fewer than Allen and 20 fewer than Ferguson. It was a similar story in Week 1 when Higbee only played 12 snaps.
Defense
Trent McDuffie played every snap alongside Quentin Lake and Kam Curl, with Jaylen Watson playing all but three snaps. Kinchens was out, so the Rams had to turn to their backups, with Josh Wallace being the preferred option behind Lake and Curl. Wallace played 36 snaps, six more than Jaylen McCollough, who was also a factor. Emmanuel Forbes Jr. played seven snaps after seeing none in the opener.
The Rams were in nickel and dime packages most of the game, leading to Omar Speights playing just 25 snaps. Nate Landman remained the No. 1 linebacker, though even his 84% share was slightly lower than usual for him. No other inside linebackers played.
On the defensive line, Donald played 33 snaps, or 57%. That was behind only Kobie Turner up front, playing just one snap fewer. Braden Fiske still saw 30 snaps and Tyler Davis was out there for 40%, but it was Poona Ford whose role took a hit. That's in part because the Giants were playing from behind and mostly throwing the ball, and he's primarily a run-stopping nose tackle.
The edge rushers had to adapt with Garrett out. Josaiah Stewart led the group with a 79% snap share, followed closely by Byron Young (71%). Wesley Bailey overtook Desjuan Johnson as the No. 3 edge rusher, playing 19 snaps compared to just 10 for Johnson. Bailey recorded the team's first sack of the season and the first of his young career.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams Week 2 snap counts: RB split narrows, DL changes with Donald back
