Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images A look at how the Detroit Lions deployed their snaps against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 17. Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell opened Week 17 by declaring that they would not rest their starters, regardless of the playoff implications associated with their game against the San Francisco 49ers. Campbell stood true to his word—and logically explained why after the game—but there were a few starters who saw their roles scaled back a touch. Let’s take a look at the Lions' Week 17 snap counts. Offense Quarterbacks Jared Goff: 71 (100%)Hendon Hooker: 0 (0%)Teddy Bridgewater: INACTIVE It appears the Lions played Goff the whole game for two reasons. The first being they really wanted to win and it was a close enough game to justify it. The second one being that they spent the entire week preparing Goff to play, leaving little game-prep reps for Hooker, something that would have ultimately left him unprepared. “For example, Hooker’s not getting those reps. Those are (Jared) Goff’s reps, because we don’t know (if the game will impact the playoffs),” Lions coach Dan Campbell said after the game. “That’s just one example. So, it’s not fair. I just don’t believe it’s fair to put in a guy that’s not prepared to play, especially a young player.” Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs: 37 (52%)Craig Reynolds: 24 (34%) — 13 special teams snaps (48%)Jermar Jefferson: 7 (10%)Sione Vaki: 1 (1%) — 21 (78%)David Montgomery: INJURED — INACTIVE Gibbs suffered a cut on his left cheek following a beautiful pass block rep and was forced to miss an offensive series. But beyond that, he did see his role scaled back some in this game, with roughly 17% fewer offense snaps than he saw last week against the Bears. Subsequently, Reynolds saw his role increase and he filled in admirably, producing 31 yards on seven rushing attempts as well as two receptions for 35 yards. Jefferson saw a handful of reps in power situations, while Vaki’s opportunities were limited to just a single snap, as the Lions never got into their two-minute offense. Tight ends Sam LaPorta: 66 (93%) — 1 (4%)Brock Wright: 37 (52%) — 6 (22%)Shane Zylstra: 8 (11%) — 11 (41%) The Lions leaned on their tight ends a bit more than usual in this game as they were focusing on running the football out of big sets. LaPorta continues to improve and had arguably his best and most complete game of the season. Wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown: 56 (79%)Jameson Williams: 56 (79%)Tim Patrick: 40 (56%)Allen Robinson: 8 (11%)Tom Kennedy: 3 (4%) — 6 (22%) St. Brown and Williams continue to match snaps on a weekly basis, though both were scaled back some in this game. For example, this was only the third time this season St. Brown played less than 80% of offensive snaps, with the other two situations both coming in blowout victories (Cowboys and Jaguars). Offensive line Kevin Zeitler: 71 (100%) — 6 (22%)Graham Glasgow: 71 (100%) — 6 (22%)Taylor Decker: 71 (100%)Frank Ragnow: 71 (100%)Penei Sewell: 70 (99%) — 6 (22%)Dan Skipper: 11 (15%) — 6 (22%)Christian Mahogany: 2 (3%) — 6 (22%)Michael Niese: 0 (0%) — 6 (22%)Kayode Awosika: INACTIVEColby Sorsdal: INACTIVEGiovanni Manu: INACTIVE Sewell missed one snap (the Goff kneel-down to end the half) to get his thumb checked out, but other than that, the starting five played the entire game. In their effort to focus on the run, the Lions used Skipper 10 times in “big sets” (he was also Sewell’s replacement at right tackle on the kneel-down), and Mahogany twice joined the fray to give them a seven offensive lineman set. Defense EDGE Levi Onwuzurike: 46 (72%) — 7 (26%)Josh Paschal: 43 (67%)Za’Darius Smith: 33 (52%)Al-Quadin Muhammad: 20 (31%) — 7 (26%)Mitchell Agude: 0 (0%) — 20 (74%)Jonah Williams: INACTIVE The Lions continue to use Onwuzurike both inside (15 snaps) and on the edge (31 snaps), which is a bit surprising considering how thin they are in-between the tackles box. He’s playing well, so it’s hard to argue with the strategy too much, but with the team failing to generate much interior pressure, it’s fair to wonder if he would be better served to stick inside more. Paschal and Smith continue to start but only produced five pressures in this game, a disappointing number considering the situation. Muhammad only had one pressure in a reserve role, while Agude only played on special teams. DT DJ Reader: 45 (70%)Pat O’Connor: 32 (50%) — 20 (74%)Myles Adams: 10 (16%)Chris Smith: 9 (14%)Brodric Martin: INACTIVE This is a surprisingly high number of snaps for Reader, especially considering how much the team leaned on O’Connor. The choice to keep Onwuzurike on the outside more certainly factored in here, as did the Lions only leaning on their reserves a lower amount than expected. Credit to Adams, who managed to secure one of the team’s two sacks on the day. Linebackers Jack Campbell: 64 (100%) — 1 (4%)Trevor Nowaske: 42 (66%) — 13 (48%)Jalen Reeves-Maybin: 40 (62%) — 21 (78%)Ben Niemann: 18 (28%) — 8 (30%)Ezekiel Turner: 6 (9%) — 14 (52%)Anthony Pittman: 4 (6%) — 20 (74%) While Campbell takes every snap at the MIKE, the Lions continue to cycle their WILL reps, rotating Reeves-Maybin, Niemann, and Turner through. This was by far the largest defensive role of the season for Reaves-Maybin. Previously, he had only exceeded 20 snaps, twice this season, while on Monday night, he doubled that. Unfortunately, Reeves-Maybin wasn’t quite the quick fix the Lions were hoping for, and it appears that Alex Anzalone can’t return from injured reserve soon enough. “We’ll see,” Dan Campbell said of Anzalone returning from injury. “He’s doing well. He’s close. He’s really close.” Nowaske saw his opportunities increase as the Lions ran more three-linebacker sets in order to try and stop the 49ers rushing attack. Per PFF, he spent 30 reps in the Lions pass rushing SAM role and 12 off-the-ball. Cornerbacks Amik Robertson: 64 (100%)Terrion Arnold: 58 (91%) — 1 (4%)Kindle Vildor: 6 (9%) — 16 (59%) Emmanuel Moseley: 0 (0%) — 0 (0%) Terrion was not on the field for one series and was replaced by Vildor, but he was not reported to have suffered an injury, so if he was dealing with something, it’s not anything overly concerning. In one of the more shocking developments, Moseley did not see a single snap either on defense or special teams, making it curious why they dressed him beyond insurance. Still, it’s very rare to not see a player who is dressed on game day not play special teams. Safety Kerby Joseph: 63 (98%) — 7 (26%)Brian Branch: 63 (98%) — 1 (4%)Ifeatu Melifonwu: 38 (59%)Morice Norris: 0 (0%) — 20 (74%) With Joseph patrolling the center of the field—and causing two more interceptions, giving him a league-leading nine on the season—the Lions continue to move Brach all over the field. Per PFF, Branch played one rep at safety, 38 in a nickel corner role, 15 reps in the box at the linebacker level, and nine snaps at the line of scrimmage. When the Lions shifted to nickel sets, Melifonwu found the field, splitting his snaps playing deep (13), in the slot (15), and in the box (15). Special teams Jake Bates: 14 (52%)Jack Fox: 6 (22%)Hogan Hatten: 6 (22%) Delacroix’s Lion and Snake from the @walters_museum also plays well, especially with the ‘Lions’ layer pic.twitter.com/OCrr0s982s— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) December 31, 2024