Jaguars vs. Buccaneers: Snap Count Analysis

What do the snap counts from Sunday's 28-11 loss to the Buccaneers mean? We examine.

While watching a game live can give you one impression of a player's usage, looking at the actual amount of snaps they played compared to their teammates can also give insight into the team's strategy and outlook.

When looking at the snap counts for the Jacksonville Jaguars after their 28-11 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, it is clear to see what kind of plan the Jaguars went into the game with, and what limitations they had from a personnel standpoint.

Who played a lot, and why? Did the snaps mean anything or nothing? We examine below:

Offense (73 snaps)

OG Andrew Norwell: 73

OT Cam Robinson: 73

OT Jawaan Taylor: 73

C Brandon Linder: 73

WR DJ Chark: 67

RB Leonard Fournette: 65

WR Dede Westbrook: 57

WR Chris Conley: 55

OG A.J. Cann: 48

TE Nick O'Leary: 47

QB Gardner Minshew: 45

WR Keelan Cole: 39

QB Nick Foles: 28

OG Will Richardson: 25

TE Ben Koyack: 10

WR Michael Walker: 9

RB Ryquell Armstead: 8

TE Charles Jones: 6

OT Cedric Ogbuehi: 2

• Nick Foles getting only 28 snaps despite playing six series of football is pretty telling for how poorly he did in terms of keeping the offense on the field. He killed several drives with turnovers and then went three-and-out on the final three drives of the first half. Foles was clearly struggling and when you only get 28 snaps in the first half compared to 45 in the second half, there is a trend that is impossible to ignore.
• Nick O'Leary has only been on the roster for about two weeks but he has leapfrogged both Ben Koyack and Charles Jones to become the team's No. 1 tight end, as made evident by the large discrepancy in terms of snaps between the three. Head coach Doug Marrone had a lot of positive things to say about O'Leary before Sunday's game, so it seems like he will hold onto that job over the final four games.
• A week after Will Richardson was made a healthy scratch, the Jaguars once again went to a right guard rotation between Richardson and veteran A.J. Cann. Cann played more snaps, so he still has a hold on the job to an extent, but it is clear the Jaguars are not forgetting about Ei

Defense (76 snaps)

FS Jarrod Wilson: 76

CB A.J. Bouye: 76

LB Donald Payne: 75

CB Tre Herndon: 75

LB Quincy Williams: 73

DL Calais Campbell: 61

SS Andrew Wingard: 57

DE Yannick Ngakoue: 55

DE Josh Allen: 44

DT Taven Bryan: 39

DT Abry Jones: 35

CB D.J. Hayden: 35

LB Leon Jacobs: 34

DL Dawuane Smoot: 32

DT Carl Davis: 22

FS Marcus Gilchrist: 19

DT Akeem Spence: 17

CB Breon Borders: 9 

LB Austin Calitro: 2

• After playing only 10 career defensive snaps before Sunday, third-year linebacker Donald Payne barely left the field vs. Tampa Bay. He impressed in his snaps, too, leading the team in 13 tackles and notching a sack. He also nearly had a red-zone interception but it would be overturned by the officials. The worry with Myles Jack inactive was that Payne's inexperience would hurt the defense, but he didn't look like a liability at any point.
• Carl Davis and Marcus Gilchrist were both signed early in the week after being street free agents, but the two combined for 41 snaps on Sunday. Davis was strong vs. the run at times while Gilchrist was used as a nickel safety in passing situations, signaling the team may not have been super comfortable with Andrew Wingard as its 3rd down safety.
• After Josh Allen failed to play a large snap number in the last two games, it seemed like Jacksonville's coaching staff finally got the message as let Allen serve as second fiddle to Yannick Ngakoue at defensive end more often times than not. He rewarded that trust by notching his ninth sack of the season, a Jaguars rookie record.