Here are the New England Patriots snap counts from week 13 against the Los Angeles Rams.
Patriots have same offensive line for 7th consecutive game
LT Nate Solder, LG Joe Thuney, C David Andrews, RG Shaq Mason, and RT Marcus Cannon played all 79 offensive snaps on Sunday, as did QB Tom Brady. This was the 7th straight game where the Patriots generally played all the lineman every snap.
OT Cameron Fleming (12, 15%) played as an extra blocker.
Malcolm Mitchell played more than Julian Edelman
Maybe it was the game script, but WR Chris Hogan (68, 86%) and WR Malcolm Mitchell (67, 85%) both played more than WR Julian Edelman (54, 68%). TE Martellus Bennett (54, 68%) was also limited due to his ankle injury.
WR Danny Amendola played 19 snaps (24%) prior to his injury. TE Matt Lengel brought up the rear with 10 snaps (13%).
The running back rotation is in full effect
RB LeGarrette Blount (36, 46%) led the running back rotation, with RB James White (29, 37%) and RB Dion Lewis (20, 25%) further behind. FB James Develin (26, 33%) played some tight end as well.
The Patriots secondary played nickel most of the day
CB Malcolm Butler (52, 100%) was the lone defender to play every snap, although SS Patrick Chung (51, 98%) and FS Devin McCourty (51, 98%) were close behind. CB Eric Rowe (33, 63%) left with an injury, opening the door for CB Logan Ryan (41, 79%) and CB Cyrus Jones (18, 35%) to play a larger role. FS Duron Harmon (19, 37%) continues to play a limited role against three receiver sets.
Dont’a Hightower played the fewest linebacker snaps
LB Dont’a Hightower (33, 63%) suffered a minor injury midgame and the Patriots limited his snaps. LB Kyle Van Noy (41, 79%) and LB Shea McClellin (39, 75%) were paired with Hightower early, and then stepped up when he was out of the game.
Pass rushers almost split the snaps evenly
ED Trey Flowers (34, 65%) led the pack, with ED Chris Long (31, 60%), ED Rob Ninkovich (29, 56%), and ED Jabaal Sheard (28, 54%) close behind. The Patriots seem to trust all four equally and this allows the defense to remain fresh later into the game. The rotation probably helps the older Long and Ninkovich, and was how Sheard was at his best in 2015.
The defensive tackles received a nice break
Since the Patriots were up early, the Rams weren’t able to run the ball consistently, with RB Todd Gurley receiving just 11 carries. As a result, DT Malcom Brown (25, 48%), DT Alan Branch (24, 46%), and DT Vincent Valentine (23, 44%) all played limited snaps, although it should be noted that Valentine played more than he normally does.
The following played 15+ snaps on special teams
S Nate Ebner (26), CB Jonathan Jones (25), LB Shea McClellin (25), RB Brandon Bolden (23), ED Geneo Grissom (22), LB Barkevious Mingo (22), DB Brandon King (22), S Patrick Chung (18), LB Kyle Van Noy (16).