Winning in Kansas City over the Chiefs in the Week 1 prime-time kickoff has Lions fans everywhere happily bleary-eyed. Thursday night’s 21-20 victory featured many Lions who did their part to contribute to the exciting win.
The snap count totals from the game spotlight a few who were steady all night, with others who shone in more limited roles. Detroit ran 70 total offensive plays to Kansas City’s 65 in the game.
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Iron men
Six Lions played every snap on offense: QB Jared Goff and the starting offensive line, which included Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right guard. Wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown barely left the field, playing 66 snaps. On defense, the starting secondary never left the field. Corners Jerry Jacobs and Cam Sutton played all 65, as did safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Kerby Joseph. Linebacker Alex Anzalone missed just four snaps, with EDGE Aidan Hutchinson playing 59 snaps of his own.
RBs
The running back split heavily favored veteran David Montgomery over rookie Jahmyr Gibbs. Montgomery was on the field for 55 of the 70, with Gibbs seeing 19 snaps in his NFL debut. No. 3 RB Craig Reynolds only played on special teams, and fullback Jason Cabinda was in for just 11 offensive snaps.
Rookies
Tight end Sam LaPorta led the rookie contributions with 58, playing over 80 percent of the offensive snaps. Gibbs had his 19, with offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal playing three special teams reps to get his NFL feet wet. Wideout Antoine Green was active for the game but didn’t see the field, not even on special teams.
On defense, DB Brian Branch secured a pick-six among his 44 snaps, while first-round LB Jack Campbell played 25 of the 65 reps.
Quick notes
–The only active players who did not see the field, including on special teams, were Antoine Green and backup QB Teddy Bridgewater. For some reason, reserve OL Graham Glasgow does not appear on the NFL’s official snap count sheet, but it is noted that he played in the game book. It was Glasgow’s 100th NFL game.
–The Lions used extra tackle Matt Nelson once all night. Detroit averaged over seven snaps per game with six offensive linemen on the field in 2022.
–WR Kalif Raymond played 19 snaps but did not get onto the field until after starter Marvin Jones had already played 28 of his 39 reps.
–Safety Tracy Walker did not appear on defense, nor did CB Ifeatu Melifownu. Will Harris played three reps on defense but led the team with 24 special teams reps, which tied with CB Khalil Dorsey and LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin — neither of whom played on defense either.