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Rams snap counts: Weddle doesn't miss a play, Michel out-snaps Akers in NFC Championship
Eric Weddle played every snap against the 49ers. Sony Michel earned more playing time than Cam Akers. See the full snap-count breakdown here
theramswire.usatoday.com
Rams snap counts: Weddle doesn't miss a play, Michel out-snaps Akers in NFC Championship
Cameron DaSilva
January 31, 2022 12:52 pm PT
In the biggest game of the season, the Los Angeles Rams let their starters do the bulk of the work against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night. They didn’t vary their personnel much and stuck to their game plan of shutting down the rushing attack and airing the ball out on offense. It led to a 20-17 comeback victory, sending the Rams to Super Bowl LVI. There were a handful of backups who stepped up, namely Kendall Blanton, but for the most part, it was the starters who carried Los Angeles to victory.
Eric Weddle was a key contributor, A’Shawn Robinson helped slow down the ground game and Travin Howard was solid in coverage at linebacker. Here’s a breakdown of the playing time from Sunday’s win, showing how much each player played.
Offense
In addition to the five starting linemen, Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford also played every snap on offense. No other player was on the field for more than 90% of the snaps, however. Van Jefferson and Odell Beckham Jr. played 87% and 86% of the snaps, respectively, maintaining their roles as the other starting wide receivers.
Ben Skowronek was the No. 4 receiver and played 21 snaps, though he didn’t catch a pass. He did drop one in the end zone, which should’ve gone for an easy touchdown.
Sony Michel actually out-snapped Cam Akers 44 to 30, and that’s not just because Akers injured his shoulder in the first half. He returned and was on the field in the fourth quarter, but the Rams leaned on Michel a bit more in this game – primarily for his work in pass protection.
Kendall Blanton stepped up and played 61 snaps in place of the injured Tyler Higbee, who was limited to only 14 snaps before exiting with a knee issue. No other tight ends were active on Sunday, so it was up to Blanton to shoulder the load.
Jake Funk and Coleman Shelton played three and two snaps, respectively. Funk was only in there for the three kneeldowns, and Shelton checked in as an extra lineman a couple of times.
Defense
Yet again, the Rams’ four starters in the secondary played every snap. That was common in the regular season, except it was always Jordan Fuller and Taylor Rapp at safety. On Sunday, it was Nick Scott and Eric Weddle. Weddle came out of a two-year retirement and just played all 51 snaps in the Rams’ biggest game of the season, leading the team in tackling, too.
Troy Reeder was still the top linebacker and signal caller, playing 96% of the snaps. Ernest Jones returned from IR but he played only 22 snaps as the third linebacker, two fewer snaps than Travin Howard played.
Aaron Donald and Greg Gaines only came off the field for two plays each, showing impressive durability and conditioning to stay out there for just about every snap. A’Shawn Robinson made a huge impact in his 28 snaps, playing arguably the best game of his Rams career.
Leonard Floyd and Von Miller played 46 and 39 snaps, respectively. Miller hasn’t played more than 76% of the defensive snaps since Week 18, but he’s still dominating as a pass rusher. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo helped give him a rest with 12 snaps played, as well, while Justin Hollins played seven snaps of his own.
With how run-heavy the 49ers were, the Rams only used David Long Jr. on 24 snaps, keeping their base defense on the field for the majority of the plays. Dont’e Deayon didn’t play a single snap for the second straight week, nor did Terrell Burgess. Long and Weddle have ascended to replace both players in the secondary.
