Jaguars vs. Commanders DEFENSE Snap Counts: Who Will Replace Phidarian Mathis?

The second-round rookie will have season-ending knee surgery.

Jeremy Brener | Sep 14, 2022

Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports

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Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders (1-0) pulled out a hard-fought win over the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1) on Sunday, but the victory didn't produce all roses and rainbows.

Second-round rookie Phidarian Mathis tore his meniscus after just his third snap, ending his season. Mathis was due to play a key role in the defensive line all season long, but now it will be up to other players to fill the void.

Here's a look at the Commanders defensive snap counts against the Jaguars ...

Player	Snaps	Percentage
Cole Holcomb, LB	70	100
Kendall Fuller, CB	70	100
William Jackson III, CB	70	100
Bobby McCain, FS	69	99
Darrick Forrest, SS	67	96
Jamin Davis, LB	65	93
Benjamin St-Juste, CB	61	87
Daron Payne, DT	55	79
Jonathan Allen, DT	54	77
Montez Sweat, DE	51	73
James Smith-Williams, DE	37	53
Casey Toohill, DE	30	43
Daniel Wise, DT	30	43
Efe Obada, DT	21	30
Percy Butler, SS	9	13
Jeremy Reaves, FS	6	9
Phidarian Mathis, DT	3	4
Shaka Toney, DE	2	3

Daniel Wise (43 percent) and Efe Obada (30 percent) were the main beneficiaries of Mathis' absence and should soak up most of his vacated role.

However, head coach Ron Rivera expressed concern over their playing time.

"Well, it really did because typically you don't want those tackles to play as much as they did," Rivera said. "And one thing we did do is we did take [DL] Efe Obada and used him inside as the three-technique. In fact, Efe I believe lined up one time as the one. But that's his versatility and that's really his worth for us."

Obada typically lines up on the edge, but he was able to fill the gap when needed. But with Mathis now out of the picture, the team is thin at the position. That's why the team signed former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Donovan Jeter to the active roster and former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Benning Potoa'e to the practice squad.

It appears that Mathis' role is up for grabs and several players are competing for his open playing time.

The Commanders face the Detroit Lions Sunday at 1 p.m. at Ford Field.

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Published Sep 14, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.