Green Bay Packers v. 49ers: Snap Counts & Big Takeaways
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers came away with a last-second win over the San Francisco 49ers. They overcame several injuries, a good Niners team, a short week, and a tough road environment to improve to 2-1 on the season.
Here is a look at the snap counts from each Green Bay Packers player who saw the field along with some takeaways from each position group.
Quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers (63)
The key for the Green Bay Packers offense was going to fall on the offensive line’s ability to give Aaron Rodgers time–which, for the most part, they were able to do.
The San Francisco cornerback room is the weak point in this defense and we saw Rodgers have plenty of success in the passing game. He completed 23 of his 33 attempts for 261 yards with two touchdowns. Rodgers also had completions of 47 yards, 42 yards, and 25 yards.
Running Backs: Aaron Jones (46), AJ Dillon (18)
Jones and Dillon combined for 25 carries and 100 rushing yards. Those are far from eye-popping numbers, but this week — just like against Detroit — once again goes to show that the run game can still be effective, even without gaudy numbers.
Green Bay made the 49ers respect their ability to run the ball, not to mention that four yards per carry will get you first downs and create manageable second and third down situations.
Tight Ends: Robert Tonyan (46), Marcedes Lewis (25), Josiah Deguara (17)
It was a quiet night on the stat sheet for these three, but they were all active blockers in helping this Green Bay Packers offensive line unit keep Rodgers upright.
Wide Receivers: Davante Adams (56), Allen Lazard (42), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (40), Randall Cobb (21), Malik Taylor (2), Amari Rodgers (2)
Davante Adams putting up huge games like this one has become the norm—he’s just that good. But only missing one snap after taking a big hit over the middle of the field to then coming up with two massive receptions on the final drive was special.
Lazard and Valdes-Scantling each had a reception of over 40 yards but we also need to appreciate their abilities as blockers. Even during games where they may not fill the stat sheet, these two are still playing important roles.
I’m also a bit surprised that we’ve seen so little of Randall Cobb at this point. He had only 21 snaps and zero targets against the 49ers. Cobb has just four targets on the season.
Offensive Line: Yosh Nijman (63), Jon Runyan (63), Josh Myers (63), Royce Newman (63), Billy Turner (63)
I mean, what a performance. The Green Bay Packers were down to their third option at left tackle and rolled out a very inexperienced offensive line unit, other than Turner. Of course, the players deserve a ton of credit for these performances, but we also have to mention offensive line coach Adam Stenavich, who has proven to be a phenomenal hire.
Against one of the more productive defensive fronts in football this season, Green Bay allowed only one sack and just two quarterback hits. They did not allow the defensive front to dominate the game.
Interior Defensive Line: Kenny Clark (62), Dean Lowry (44), Kingsley Keke (42), Tyler Lancaster (17), TJ Slaton (2)
Credit where credit is due, this unit has taken their lumps through three games, but they were very good against San Francisco. Green Bay allowed only 3.2 yards per rush, Kenny Clark could not be stopped, and he also received some help with solid performances from Dean Lowry and Tyler Lancaster.
Edge Rusher: Preston Smith (57), Rashan Gary (51), Jonathan Garvin (20), Chauncey Rivers (13)
Preston Smith may not be filling the stat sheet each week, but he has been so much better through these first three games. On Sunday, he was excellent against the run and holding contain on the edge, he also came away with a sack, a tackle for loss, and three quarterback hits.
Gary also logged a sack, had two quarterback hits, and was effective against the run as well. As Ben Fennell has pointed out, Gary has a tendency to take himself out of the play when he tries to speed rush and gets too far upfield, but when he uses his power and gets inside, he can wreak some havoc.
Linebacker: De’Vondre Campbell (70), Oren Burk (25), Ty Summers (20), Krys Barnes (10)
De’Vondre Campbell has been a real upgrade at linebacker as he once again led the team in tackles, brings coverage abilities, and he always seems to be around the ball.
Barnes left the game with a concussion, and the Niners ended up finding quite a bit of success over the middle of the field with Burks and Summers in the game. Now, by no means am I putting all of the blame on those two, but it was noticeable.
Cornerback: Eric Stokes (70), Jaire Alexander (70), Chandon Sullivan (44)
In part it was out of necessity but only three cornerbacks took snaps against San Francisco.
Alexander had a terrific interception where he covered a huge amount of ground to make the play.
With Stokes, he was flagged twice on what could be considered questionable calls, but he logged another pass breakup, remained physcial despite the penalties, and he always appears to be in a position to make a play. He’s going to take his lumps as we saw, but there is a lot to like.
Safety: Adrian Amos (70), Darnell Savage (70), Henry Black (13)
We didn’t hear Amos or Savage’s names called a ton, but both were in on tackles — the duo combined for 11 — and we will see how it’s scored, but Savage appeared to have at least one, if not two pass breakups.
It was a collective effort from the entire defense, but the unit was able to stop George Kittle and Deebo Samuel from taking over. They both put up some decent numbers, but realistically, that’s going to happen more often than not—the key is not letting either player dominate.
Snap count information courtesy of Cheesehead TV