Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Notes and thoughts on the Patriots’ snap counts from their 26-23 win over the Broncos. The New England Patriots entered their Week 16 game against the Denver Broncos facing significant personnel uncertainty in all three phases of the game. Among the most prominent questions were how to replace left guard Cole Strange, tight end Hunter Henry, and safety Jabrill Peppers — three of the team’s most valuable players. When it comes to Strange, who suffered a season-ending knee injury the previous week versus the Kansas City Chiefs, the expectation was that rookie Atonio Mafi would be the next man up. He did indeed get the bulk of the work, playing 54 of 58 offensive snaps (93.1%). Mafi was not the only player used to fill in for Strange, however. Veteran James Ferentz, who was promoted from the practice squad just last week and made his season debut on Sunday night, also played four snaps (6.9%). In fact, Ferentz actually started over Mafi but surrendered a sack on his very first play that resulted in a lost fumble; he only saw a handful of snaps from that point on. Henry, meanwhile, was replaced primarily by Mike Gesicki; with the starter out due to a knee issue, the offseason acquisition took over TE1 duties. After seeing only marginal playing time the last few weeks, Gesicki was therefore on the field for 38 offensive snaps (66%) and ended the game with a pair of catches for 15 total yards and one score. Besides Gesicki, New England also used Pharaoh Brown as a situational tight end (27; 47%) and even gave practice squad elevatee Matt Sokol a handful of snaps (10; 17%). As far as replacing Peppers, who missed the game due to a hamstring ailment, the Patriots had several options at their disposal. They decided to give veteran Jalen Mills the starter-level snaps at safety alongside Kyle Dugger, employing him on a season-high 62 of 69 snaps (89.9%) before a late injury knocked him out of the contest. Additionally, they also continued to use third-round rookie Marte Mapu (17; 24.6%) in his usual rotational role as a safety/linebacker hybrid. Adrian Phillips, on the other hand, still saw only minimal playing time even with Peppers absent: the former starting safety was on the field for just two defensive snaps all night (2.9%). With all that said, here is our weekly snap count report from the Patriots’ 26-23 win over the Broncos Offense Total snaps: 58 | Time on the field: 27:21 QB Bailey Zappe* (58; 100%), C David Andrews* (58; 100%), RG Sidy Sow* (58; 100%), RT Michael Onwenu* (58; 100%), LG Atonio Mafi (54; 93%), WR DeVante Parker* (54; 93%), WR Jalen Reagor (50; 86%), RB Ezekiel Elliott* (48; 83%), WR Demario Douglas* (43; 74%), TE Mike Gesicki* (38; 66%), LT Vederian Lowe* (37; 64%), TE Pharaoh Brown* (27; 47%), LT Trent Brown (21; 36%), TE Matt Sokol (10; 17%), RB Kevin Harris (10; 17%), WR Kayshon Boutte (5; 9%), WR Tyquan Thornton (5; 9%), LG James Ferentz* (4; 7%) *denotes starter The Patriots’ offensive line shuffle did not end at left guard, but also saw some movement at left tackle. With nominal starter Trent Brown still not able to go wire-to-wire, New England opted to use him in a rotation with Vederian Lowe. That job usually would have gone to Conor McDermott, but he was placed on injured reserve last week. At wide receiver, DeVante Parker and Jalen Reagor were the one-two punch as far as snap numbers are concerned. Parker in particular had a solid game, catching four passes for 65 yards in his 54 snaps. The most productive wideout, however, was rookie Demario Douglas who turned hi 43 snaps into five receptions and 74 yards. Douglas was the only youngster to see any prominent action. Kayshon Boutte and Tyquan Thornton were on the field for just five snaps each, even though Thornton managed to take a screen pass for 11 yards on one of those. The running back position, in the meantime, was more of the same. Ezekiel Elliott is hoarding snaps and touches — 21 for 60 yards and 1 TD — whereas Kevin Harris was used in a package role: the recent active roster addition played 10 snaps, carrying the ball seven times for 21 yards. Defense Total snaps: 69 | Time on the field: 30:13 S Kyle Dugger* (69; 100%), LB Ja’Whaun Bentley* (68; 99%), S/CB Jalen Mills* (62; 90%), DT Christian Barmore* (60; 87%), CB Shaun Wade* (59; 86%), LB/ED Jahlani Tavai* (55; 80%), CB Myles Bryant* (54; 78%), CB Alex Austin (45; 65%), DE Keion White (40; 58%), ED Anfernee Jennings* (38; 55%), CB Jonathan Jones* (36; 52%), DT Davon Godchaux* (35; 51%), ED Josh Uche (31; 45%), DE Deatrich Wise Jr.* (28; 41%), ED/LB Mack Wilson Sr. (23; 33%), DT Lawrence Guy Sr. (21; 30%), LB/S Marte Mapu (17; 25%), DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (14; 20%), S Adrian Phillips (2; 3%), S Brenden Schooler (1; 1%), LB Chris Board (1; 1%) *denotes starter The Patriots had to adapt with the always-reliable Jabrill Peppers out, but his absence was not the only challenge. New England also had to reshuffle the deck at cornerback after J.C. Jackson was sent to the non-football illness list. As a result of that move, and Jackson’s absence, Shaun Wade returned to the game day roster and a starting role: he ended the game as CB1 as far as snap numbers are concerned, playing 59. Myles Bryant (54), Alex Austin (45) and Jonathan Jones (36) did not reach that level, but they also saw regular action as New England emptied its cornerback cupboard. Elsewhere on defense, the Patriots went business as usual. The off-ball linebacker group was led by Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai, with Anfernee Jennings the top option on the edge. Josh Uche also saw a high number of snaps, with a 45 percent playing time share being his highest since Week 5 and second-highest of the season. Mack Wilson also factored into the edge mix, with 20 of his 23 defensive snaps coming in an outside linebacker alignment. Along the defensive line, Christian Barmore was the No. 1 option and for good reason: the third-year man wreaked havoc on the Denver offensive line, finishing with a career-high three sacks. Also worth mentioning is Jeremiah Pharms Jr., though, who only played 14 snaps but managed to register a fumble recovery. Also on the list of defensive snaps are two surprising names. Career special teamers Brenden Schooler and Chris Board played one snap each. Why? They took the field to help defend a potential Hail Mary/lateral situation on the final play of the game. Special teams Total snaps: 33 | Time on the field: 2:26 S Brenden Schooler (27; 82%), LB Chris Board (27; 82%), LB Christian Elliss (25; 76%), LB Jahlani Tavai (21; 64%), ED Mack Wilson Sr. (20; 61%), S Cody Davis (20; 61%), S Adrian Phillips (19; 58%), TE Pharaoh Brown (18; 55%), LB Marte Mapu (17; 52%), P/H Bryce Baringer (14; 42%), LS Joe Cardona (14; 42%), K Chad Ryland (12; 36%), S Jalen Mills (11; 33%), CB/PR Myles Bryant (9; 27%), DE Keion White (9; 27%), ED Anfernee Jennings (9; 27%), DT Lawrence Guy Sr. (9; 27%), DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (8; 24%), TE Matt Sokol (7; 21%), OT Michael Onwenu (6; 18%), G Sidy Sow (6; 18%), G Atonio Mafi (6; 18%), OT Trent Brown (6; 18%), ED Josh Uche (6; 18%), DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (6; 18%), C Jake Andrews (6; 18%), RB JaMycal Hasty (6; 18%), WR/KR Jalen Reagor (5; 15%), S Kyle Dugger (5; 15%), CB Shaun Wade (4; 12%), CB Alex Austin (4; 12%), LB Ja’Whaun Bentley (1; 3%) The Patriots’ special teams group had to replace veteran Matthew Slater, who missed a game for the first time since the 2017 season. His absence was felt on punt coverage in particular, with New England surrendering a 52-yard runback at one point to Denver’s Marvin Mims. Slater’s role as a gunner on that and other plays was filled by linebacker Chris Board, who had never lined up in that position over the course of his six-year NFL career (not even in preseason). Kickoff returner Jalen Reagor also chipped in one snap at the spot. Did not play QB Mac Jones, CB Breon Borders No particular surprises from the DNP list. Former first-round draft pick Mac Jones continues to serve as a backup behind Bailey Zappe, and has likely started his last game as a Patriot. Breon Borders was elevated from the practice squad but not used. Inactive S Jabrill Peppers, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, QB Nathan Rourke (emergency QB), WR Matthew Slater, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, TE Hunter Henry, DE Sam Roberts The Patriots had a big-name inactives list on Sunday, and that does not even account for the aforementioned Cole Strange (injured reserve) and J.C. Jackson (non-football illness). Under normal circumstances, Jabrill Peppers, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Matthew Slater, Rhamondre Stevenson and Hunter Henry would all have played regular snaps at their respective spots in the lineup. Alas, they were kept out due to injury. Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/2023/12/26/2 ... fi-ferentz
