Packers Snap Counts Versus The Cowboys: Week Ten
The Packers make some of the playing-time adjustments fans have been clamoring for, but not all of them.
The Packers signed CB Corey Ballentine to the 53-man roster after placing Eric Stokes on what appears to be season-ending Injured Reserve. The Packers also placed Rashan Gary on Injured Reserve earlier this week. The Packers decided not to place WR Romeo Doubs on IR despite a reported high ankle sprain.
The Packers promoted LaDarius Hamilton for OLB depth and Kicker Ramiz Ahmed from the Practice Squad for the game with the Cowboys, as Mason Crosby has been dealing with back issues. The Packers claimed SS Jonathan Abrams off waivers.
The inactive players were Romeo Doubs, Krys Barnes, DeVondre Campbell, Shemar Jean-Charles, all due to injury, and Jonathan Ford, Rasheed Walker, and Jake Tenuta as healthy scratches. OL Sean Rhyan, OL Zach Tom, and Jordan Love did not play.
| Player | Snaps | % | STs |
| Jenkins | 64 | 100 | |
| Nijman | 64 | 100 | 6-20% |
| Myers | 64 | 100 | 6-20% |
| Runyan | 64 | 100 | 6-20% |
| Bakhtiari | 64 | 100 | |
| Newman | 1 | 1 | 6-20% |
| Rodgers | 64 | 100 | |
| Love | DNP | ||
| Jones | 45 | 70 | |
| Dillon | 24 | 38 | 4-13% |
| Hill | 5-17% | ||
| Tonyan | 41 | 64 | |
| Lewis | 37 | 58 | 6-20% |
| Deguara | 13 | 20 | 20-67% |
| Davis | 4 | 6 | 26-87% |
| Lazard | 63 | 98 | |
| Watson | 54 | 84 | |
| Watkins | 21 | 33 | |
| Toure | 12 | 19 | |
| Am Rodgers | 6 | 9 | 8-27% |
| 22 on Offense |
The Packers ran the ball well and often, finishing with 39 attempts for 207 yards. Aaron Jones finished with 24 carries for 138 yards, a 5.8-yard average, while A.J. Dillon had 13 attempts for 65 yards, a 5.0-yard average. Aaron Rodgers scrambled twice, including a 7-yard scamper to pick up an important first down on a 3rd down play with 1:23 left in the 3rd quarter, down 28-14. Rodgers' other carry resulted in a 3-yard loss. He also threw a block on a play to help Jones get 2 yards off left end. The Packers rushed 18 times in the first half and 21 times in the second half. Rodgers was under center more often in this game.
Aaron Rodgers only attempted 20 passes (plus 2 scrambles), and completed 14 for 224 yards and three touchdowns. Rodgers attempted just 6 passes in the first half and completed 4 for 66 yards and a touchdown. His passer rating was 146.7 for the game. The offensive line did a very good job in pass protection. Pro Football Focus noted that the line allowed just 7 pressures. The Cowboys had just 2 quarterback hits, though both were sacks. Micah Parson had a nice game. Parsons entered the game with 8 sacks in 8 games but did not get one against the Packers.
Christian Watson finished with 4 receptions for 108 yards and 3 touchdowns in what may be a breakout game. He started slow. On a 2nd and 5 Watson dropped a pass. Rodgers went right back to him on 3rd and 5 with the same result. That led to a failed 54-yard field goal attempt. For a while it appeared that this would be another game in which the Packers could not get out of their own way when Rodgers was sacked and fumbled with Dallas recovering at the Green Bay 11, already down 7-0.
However, instead of the team imploding, the defense bailed the offense out when Rudy Ford intercepted a Dak Prescott pass one yard deep in the end zone and returned it 34 yards to the Green Bay 33-yard line. Some Cowboys sites blamed both of Prescott's interceptions on his receivers, citing a miscommunication between TE Dalton Schultz and WR CeeDee Lamb and Lamb running the wrong route on the other Prescott interception. [It sounds familiar.]
And that is the real story of the game - players helping their teammates out. Just three plays after the Ford interception, Christian Watson smoked Cowboys CB Anthony Brown to get open deep and Rodgers delivered an accurate pass that Watson hauled in for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7. Watkins later reached back to make a nice grab of an inaccurate Rodgers pass. O'Donnell managed to get a pretty bad snap down so Crosby's extra point attempt was not wrecked. Watson would run a nice-looking intermediate crosser and take a strike from Rodgers in for a 39-yard touchdown. The Packers later had a nice drive mixing passes with runs, including consecutive runs gaining 17 (Dillon), 4 and 23 yards (Jones), capped off by a 7-yard touchdown reception by Watson.
Allen Lazard led the receivers in snaps, followed by Watson with 54. Watkins only got 21 snaps. Amari Rodgers got 6 snaps but ran just one route, according to Pro Football Focus. Interestingly, Toure got 12 snaps while running 8 routes. It may be that the Packers are hoping to get Toure involved in the passing game, but he is also a slightly-built rookie, so it makes sense to have him run more routes than block for the run. The tight ends only had 2 receptions for 7 yards, as Tonyan caught one for 8 yards and Lewis caught one for minus one. Tonyan ran 14 routes in his 41 snaps. I was surprised to see that Lewis ran 7 routes in his 37 snaps and that Deguara only ran 3 routes all game. Davis only blocked.
| PLAYER | SNAPS | % | STs |
| Amos | 83 | 100 | 4-13% |
| Savage | 83 | 100 | 10-33% |
| Alexander | 83 | 100 | 4-13% |
| Douglas | 83 | 100 | 10-33% |
| Ford | 63 | 76 | 4-13% |
| Ballentine | 4 | 5 | 14-47% |
| Nixon | 2 | 2 | 20-67% |
| Leavitt | 20-67% | ||
| Abram | 17-57% | ||
| Carpenter | 14-47% | ||
| Walker | 83 | 100 | 8-27% |
| Smith | 71 | 86 | 4-13% |
| McDuffie | 68 | 82 | 4-13% |
| Enagbare | 62 | 75 | 4-13% |
| Garvin | 28 | 34 | 10-33% |
| Hamilton | 5 | 6 | 10-33% |
| Wilson | 20-67% | ||
| Clark | 64 | 77 | 4-13% |
| Reed | 57 | 69 | 4-13% |
| Lowry | 39 | 47 | 10-33% |
| Slaton | 21 | 25 | 10-33% |
| Wyatt | 14 | 17 | |
| 22 on Defense | |||
| Crosby | 6-20% | ||
| Coco | 10-33% | ||
| O'Donnell | 10-33% | ||
| Ahmed | 6-20% | ||
The Packers gave up 28 points. The Cowboys gained 421 yards and ran a whooping 84 plays. The Cowboys' running backs gained 153 yards on 27 carries for a 5.6-yard average. The Cowboys had a couple of nice gains wiped out by penalties. They probably was holding on those plays, but depending on the referees' whistle is dangerous.
Dak Prescott had good time in the pocket. The Packers are fortunate that he is a mediocre quarterback on a huge contract. The Packers did manage 6 quarterback hits, 3 by Jarran Reed and one each by Kenny Clark, Preston Smith, and Enagbare. The Packers blitzed Savage and Walker multiple times but they did not get home. Clark and Amos each had a sack.
The defense was really a big play defense. Rudy Ford's two inceptions were huge. It is true that the Packers did make some stops, especially during the overtime period as Dallas won the coin flip and got the ball first.
Isaiah McDuffie led the Packers with 12 tackles, (7 solo). Amos and Alexander each had 9 tackles (8 and 7 solo, respectively). That is a lot of tackles for a perimeter cornerback. Savage playing a lot of nickel had 8 tackles (6 solo) and Walker also had 8 tackles (4 solo). Ford moved to the safety position.
This was really a big play defense driven by Rudy Ford's two interceptions. Savage had an opportunity for another interception, but it is hard to catch the ball one-handed as his other hand was glued to the receiver's back at the time. Savage also elected to try to strip the ball out of Prescott's hands on a quarterback sneak instead of hitting him to deny him a first down, which he got by an inch or two.
The Packers did force five punts and held during the overtime period to allow the offense to drive for the winning field goal.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Corey Ballentine made himself useful with a forced fumble. Amari Rodgers got benched again as the punt returner after a muff and a fumble for a turnover. Coco had another terrible snap but O'Donnell got it down in time for Crosby to punch the football threw the uprights. Ramiz Ahmed handled kickoffs but both kicker had trouble getting touchbacks.
WR: 2.44
RB: 1.08
TE: 1.48 (higher than normal)
DL: 2.35
ILB: 1.82
OLB: 2.00
DB: 4.83
Photo Courtesy of Mark Hoffman, USA Today
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Comments (37)
Thegreatreynoldo
November 14, 2022 at 05:52 am
I am glad I started this article very early. I had a lot of problems with AT & Crash, so many that I had to save every couple of sentences. I lost all the snap numbers in one table due to "tab crash" a couple of times. I suppose it made the article shorter, so there usually is a silver lining when bad things happen.
I watched Watson drop one or two, and then I watched him running down the left sideline and get his legs tangled up with the DB. He looked like he tweaked something. I am not sure if he left for a bit after that. But this was a day meant for things to work out for GB, and he returned and played well.
I watched Michael Gallup, who blew out an ACL last year after 9 games. Dallas decided to still give him a 5 year, 57.5M dollar deal ($11.5M AAV) with $23M guaranteed, including an $11M base salary guaranteed for 2023. So far he's played 5 games and had 135 yards entering the game. He had 35 yards against the Packers to bring him to 170 yards this year. Of course, he had a 1,000 yard season. Just thinking about what #3 type WRs are worth, and giving guys with an ACL sizeable money ($23M guaranteed ain't hay). Also thinking about giving nice contracts to guys coming off ACLs.
We are fortunate that Dak Prescott is really pretty mediocre despite his enormous contract. Or maybe the Cowboys sites are correct and both INTs were on the receivers. Lamb with his 150 yards receiving and Dalton Schultz were most of the attack plus Pollard running like a hot knife through butter.
Parsons wasn't a wrecking ball. Nice to have good OTs. Bakh played another full game and PFF cited him for allowing just one pressure and no sacks. Bakh could have some trade value next year. GB will keep Nijman but it looks more and more like Jenkins is going to reach the open market.
Maybe Jones IS worth $16M in base salary next year. Not sure if that is the best way forward for GB, though. GB owes him $27M over two years, which isn't out of line given the quality of his play.
dobber
November 14, 2022 at 07:46 am
"Maybe Jones IS worth $16M in base salary next year."
I wouldn't be surprised if the Packers add a year or two to Jones' deal and keep him around. Right now, he's the best thing they've got going, and for a back who's been around, he doesn't have a lot of wear on his tires.
"Or maybe the Cowboys sites are correct and both INTs were on the receivers. "
Certainly the second pick looked and sounded like the WR and QB weren't on the same page (the WR turned upfield and the QB expected him to cross the face of the S). I agree that Prescott isn't looking like the same guy he was pre-injury.
Packers seeming to lean into their DL depth a little more with the injuries to the ILBs. I would expect that to be the case against TENN on Thurs. night (ugh...Thursday night games...). I'd also expect a very similar offensive approach and use of TEs (and WRs)...even with the snaps, AR didn't throw the TEs the ball.
Coldworld
November 14, 2022 at 07:58 am
Barry had a post Gary plan. The extra rushers didn’t get much done, but Reed is better as a disrupter than a consistent run stuffer and the extra DL did have more success than the speed guys he tried. I would love to see Heflin added to this rotation this week. McDuffie should continue to get playing time. Prescott had way too much time too often. But Barry at least had a plan and tried to blitz regularly.
To me, Fords’ most significant play for the future perhaps was his read and stuff of a run from way off the line. That showed some more football smarts than I’d expected as well as his speed and tackling. If that’s accurate, he’s possibly a true find.
Prescott has always struck me as a guy who can hit accurately with time if a play is as planned, but a guy who lacks elite instinct and has issues if he has to improvise or switch decisions mid play. Other than Lamb, I wasn’t all that impressed by their catchers, or at least not as much as the hype. Their D looks suspect to me, if they can’t win at the line.
jannesbjornson
November 14, 2022 at 01:16 pm
Amos a step slower this year. He misplayed the TE on a couple big plays.
CheesyTex
November 14, 2022 at 08:50 pm
Re Ford's football smarts to stuff the run. IMO his proven experience as a premier gunner on special teams is showing through -- most of the same skills and smarts come into play, especially as a box safety.
jannesbjornson
November 14, 2022 at 01:18 pm
See how Bhak maintains until year's end. I would refinance him. Jenkins can be replaced.
jaxpackfan
November 14, 2022 at 06:01 am
Thanks TCR, I love these timely snap count stats you provide every week. It looks like Gute made the right decision not to pick up or trade for an overpaid, broken down receiver at the trade deadline. The season is probably still gone, but Watson, Doubs and Toure need all the reps they can get. Our future at WR could be bright after all.
Coldworld
November 14, 2022 at 07:50 am
Watson, Doubs and Toure were always the hope for this season. None of them were going to be savvy prrcentage types, but all offered (Watson in athleticism and the other two in camp) the ability to spark the o, stretch the field and make plays. That’s something the vets needed because, for the most part they are supporting pieces not game changers.
It’s taken us 2 months to see why and how raw talent should be used. Not 10 5 yard targets per drive, but looking for the play that opens Ds, created space and maybe scores. Honestly I still don’t see LaFleur grasping that but Rodgers has and he’s now willing to accept that it’s not every ball that will be caught. Finally we ran Watson on a deep over route—his staple in college and finally we saw why that might be worth repeating. An imaginative and capable coach and thus team isn’t in this position.
jannesbjornson
November 14, 2022 at 01:20 pm
What is the timeline on Doubs?
Coldworld
November 14, 2022 at 02:32 pm
He’s not on IR, so hard to guess
Thegreatreynoldo
November 14, 2022 at 07:19 pm
I agree that not trading for a WR (overpaid and broken down or not) at the trade deadline was the correct decision by Gute.
It does not follow that his refusal to get a proven WR in August or earlier should be excused. When both Watson and Watkins had hammy problems, that should have been a clue.
I think Gute's failure to get a superduper or really just a proven #2 WR type prior to the season puts his name on the plaque listing those who wasted a year of a hall of famer's career. [Hi, LH!]
Coldworld
November 14, 2022 at 09:52 pm
Most of that plaque says “Murphy ”
HarryHodag
November 14, 2022 at 08:06 am
In another article I posted that I noticed(at least as my aging brain will allow) that Watson was wearing those bulky white gloves when he had his first two drops. He switched to tighter-fitting yellow gloves and caught three touchdown passes. Perhaps those white gloves were a factor.
If you recall Watson was wearing those white gloves when he dropped the sure TD pass against the Vikings.
Guam
November 14, 2022 at 08:17 am
Good pick up HH! Did not notice that change.
I wasn't too impressed with Watson's first TD catch since he kind of trapped it against his body, but his last two TD catches he snatched the ball out of the air with great hands catches. That is the first evidence I have seen that he has wide receiver hands.
Coldworld
November 14, 2022 at 08:48 am
He’s always had a tendency to body catch balls over his shoulders. He’s just never really been taught I think. His tracking the ball skill is rudimentary too. He’s not untalented as a catcher, but he’s very unpolished.
stockholder
November 14, 2022 at 11:05 am
Adams wasn’t polished at first either! Watson was the right pick, regardless what you thought.
The drops are the reason for body catches. Expect them on the long passes.
Watson can separate!
Coldworld
November 14, 2022 at 12:57 pm
Adams was a very different proposition to Watson in terms of readiness, polish, experience and competition level. MVS might be a somewhat closer comparative, but still not that close.
I’ve said from well before the draft, consistently that Watson has tremendous upside and isn’t ready to be a viable distend piece. He’s not a Pickens or Pierce or Doubs even in terms if a route runner snd technician ready to contribute conventionally. I’ve said that we should use him exactly like they did yesterday and just keep going back despite drops. I’ve also said that he may turn out to be the best pick in this draft in a couple of years despite not liking him as a piece for now. I’ve said these things often and stand by them.
There are no reasons for body catches except by mistake on over the shoulder throws. There isn’t a whole lot of reason or accuracy in anything in that post of yours, let alone consistency with your prior ones on the subject. I stand by mine.
Thegreatreynoldo
November 14, 2022 at 07:23 pm
The Packers had Nelson and Cobb when Adams was drafted. He was not required to be the guy. [Lazard is no Nelson and 2022 Cobb is not the same as 2014 Cobb.]
WestCoastPackerBacker
November 14, 2022 at 05:54 pm
The fact he tracked that ball at the speed he was running and the CB right on his shoulder made that an impressive catch to me. Even the announcer said he did a great job tracking that ball.
Guam
November 14, 2022 at 08:11 am
A little bit surprised Deguara didn't get more snaps. He has been a key part of good running games previously and yet didn't play much versus Dallas. He is a good blocker and pass receiver. Wyatt is slowly getting more snaps each game and I would like to see that trend continue. Reed has been good, but is 32 and Lowery is likely in his last year in Green Bay. Wyatt needs to play.
Best game of the year by the O-line. Jenkins seems more comfortable at guard while he is recovering from that ACL. Nijman is looking like an adequate right tackle. Not sure how much development he still has in him but considering he had about zero technique when he arrived in Green Bay, it's possible he could continue to grow in the RT role.
Coldworld
November 14, 2022 at 08:50 am
I think Wyatt got hurt in the first half.
If Nijman can be as good at LT as he’s been, he can play RT. He’s got the agility and physical attributes, it’s just settling in to apply technique all learnt on the left. I’d say that despite the transition issues, he’s been better than prior options anyway.
Guam
November 14, 2022 at 10:14 am
He has certainly been better than prior options, but I am hoping he evolves into a long term option at RT. He has been adequate to date and would love to see "good" at some point.
Wyatt did come out in the first half, but I thought I saw him in there during the second half.
wildbill
November 14, 2022 at 11:27 am
Agree about the o-line. Seems like that’s our 5 best linemen and being able to start playing together should make things even better going forward. Hopefully no more shuffling and/or injuries.
jannesbjornson
November 14, 2022 at 01:23 pm
Heflin or Slayton can replace Lowry's snaps and nobody would miss him.
stockholder
November 14, 2022 at 02:22 pm
Look at the PFF grades. Lowry's surprised me.
Coldworld
November 14, 2022 at 09:54 pm
PFF always seems to love him
jannesbjornson
November 15, 2022 at 11:49 am
Never read their babble.
T7Steve
November 14, 2022 at 08:39 am
Thanks, TGR. Glad you got your problems fixed in time. Always some surprises in the snap counts for me.
Savage in the slot. Wonder who the genius was that thought of that? Had to take 9 games and injuries to try it? Do they read CHTV? They finally got our choice for the O-line and now the new nickel package. I didn't think of Ford at safety though. But with Stokes out they had to keep Douglas at corner, I guess. He seemed exposed a couple times. I think his holding call was a good choice or it could have been a big play for Dalas.
Was surprised Wyatt only had 14 snaps. Looked like he was in there allot so maybe he just had some good plays and took up some blocks.
Sucked that the Viking/Bills game went into overtime, so I missed almost the whole first quarter. The Thursday game will be worse because I can't stream stuff, so I'll just have to listen on the radio. Don't know if I'd like paying for it anyway. Hate paying to watch commercials.
Think the whole season would have been different if Watson would have caught the first pass of the Vikings' game?
barutanseijin
November 14, 2022 at 05:09 pm
The Fox outlets here in the NY area had the Viking-Bills OT on, and i also missed most of the first quarter. Really annoying that they went through pretty much the whole OT & Josh Allen reverted to Bad Josh Allen to wrap up a Viking win. Ugh. If you’re going to go the whole OT, at least crush their little purple hearts.
Thegreatreynoldo
November 14, 2022 at 07:46 pm
I never got it fixed. Tabs were crashing all the time. I see grammatical errors and orphan sentences - something I edited/fixed but didn't get saved before it crashed. Really, I just gave up and published the article while I still had any internet at all.
coolhand
November 14, 2022 at 10:33 am
I was glad to see the starting O line play the entire game with no injuries. I thought they did a great job in the run game. Dallas came in with a top 10 defense and we ran the ball down their throat. Would like to see this line a little better in pass pro though and give 12 more time, but mostly liked their effort. Getting the TE involved in the passing game is something I would like to see more of.
jannesbjornson
November 14, 2022 at 01:26 pm
They have no TEs, let them block.
barutanseijin
November 14, 2022 at 05:12 pm
Dallas has had problems with good running teams all season. So have the Bills. The OL will have to pick it up vs the next bunch of opponents, who have done better against the run.
Thegreatreynoldo
November 14, 2022 at 08:06 pm
PFF Top/bottom 5 per Zach Kruse:
Top 5 Offense
Watkins, Jones, AR, Runyan, Bakh.
Bottom 5 Off:
Lewis, Deguara, Toure, Jenkins, Tonyan
top 5 Defense:
Ford, Lowry, Enagbare, Reed, Garvin'
Bottom 5 Defense:
Hamilton, Clark, Wyatt, Smith, Savage
PFF loves Lowry, and gave him a quality grade (71.8). Reed had 3 QB hits and 6 pressures. I remember the radio guys mentioning a good play by Garvin. Wyatt, Smith and Savage at 54 to 56 are probably low average grades. Hamilton and Clark (47) are below average grades. [I've been making myself unpopular by noting that Clark hasn't been elite since 2018.] Well, Dallas ran at will and scored 28, so it would not make sense if the grades were all that good on defense.
Tonyan ran 14 routes and caught one pass for 8 yards. His blocking is not great, just something the team can live with quality. If he doesn't have some receptions and yards, his grade is going to be average to low average most games. Here it was 55.5, roughly average to a close to low average. PFF thought both Lewis and Deguara (particularly Deguara) had bad run blocking days. IDK. Jenkins supposedly allowed 3 of the 7 pressures and one of the two sacks.
Wyatt got a 54 grade. Not wonderful, but to me he looked woeful in training camp while at the same time looking talented. He looked quick as heck, but that was the end of it. If he didn't outquick the OL it was over as there didn't seem to be any plan after the initial move he made. I am actually happy to see some improvement.
Thegreatreynoldo
November 14, 2022 at 08:06 pm
PFF Top/bottom 5 per Zach Kruse:
Top 5 Offense
Watkins, Jones, AR, Runyan, Bakh.
Bottom 5 Off:
Lewis, Deguara, Toure, Jenkins, Tonyan
top 5 Defense:
Ford, Lowry, Enagbare, Reed, Garvin'
Bottom 5 Defense:
Hamilton, Clark, Wyatt, Smith, Savage
PFF loves Lowry, and gave him a quality grade (71.8). Reed had 3 QB hits and 6 pressures. I remember the radio guys mentioning a good play by Garvin. Wyatt, Smith and Savage at 54 to 56 are probably low average grades. Hamilton and Clark (47) are below average grades. [I've been making myself unpopular by noting that Clark hasn't been elite since 2018.] Well, Dallas ran at will and scored 28, so it would not make sense if the grades were all that good on defense.
Tonyan ran 14 routes and caught one pass for 8 yards. His blocking is not great, just something the team can live with quality. If he doesn't have some receptions and yards, his grade is going to be average to low average most games. Here it was 55.5, roughly average to a close to low average. PFF thought both Lewis and Deguara (particularly Deguara) had bad run blocking days. IDK. Jenkins supposedly allowed 3 of the 7 pressures and one of the two sacks.
Wyatt got a 54 grade. Not wonderful, but to me he looked woeful in training camp while at the same time looking talented. He looked quick as heck, but that was the end of it. If he didn't outquick the OL it was over as there didn't seem to be any plan after the initial move he made. I am actually happy to see some improvement.
Coldworld
November 14, 2022 at 09:57 pm
Toure, Tonyan and Deguara because they ran half a dozen routes but weren’t targeted. They hate P Smith recently. I don’t.
Thegreatreynoldo
November 15, 2022 at 01:08 am
Now I read the Parsons rushed the passer 9 times and was in coverage on the other 11 (really 13 with scrambles) pass attempts. That in part was because Anthony Barr was out so they needed off the ball help.
The article did not indicate whether Parsons got any pressures during those 9 pass rushes.