Detroit Lions Week 3 snap counts: Breaking down the defensive changes

After starting the season 1-1 with glaring holes in defensive execution, the Detroit Lions made significant changes to their personnel, some of which helped them get back on track, leading to a 31-24 victory over the New York Jets in Week 3.

Let’s take a look at the snap counts from this game and see what they mean for the depth chart hierarchy and what we can check for in the future.

After a rocky start to the game, Goff quickly adapted and continued his high level of play. As much as you’d like to see the offense be strong from start to finish, it’s hard to argue with the fact that the offense has scored 31 points in the three games so far this season.

Gibbs was once again a human highlight in this game, but Aaron Glenn’s Jets exposed a possible weakness: pass protection. Glenn’s repeated A-gap blitzes were a problem for Gibbs, and that’s probably why Vaki saw his snaps increase, as he was terrific in pass protection. Vaki’s ability to contribute in the running and passing game has proven to teams that he is not just a one-trick player who will tip the scales of the offensive game.

Vaki spoke with Pride of Detroit after the game and discussed his growth since the start of the season:

“The preparation these last two weeks, going out there and letting it go, and not being afraid to mess up. Being able to believe in myself, supported by (running backs) coach (Tashard) Choice and the boys in the room, has helped me move forward and has been a real confidence builder.”

Vaki then explained how he tries to be the aggressor in pass protection:

“It’s definitely a conscious choice. Watching the film of (Jets) Demario Davis, being the big linebacker that he is, we knew he was going to try to run through our faces, and I just knew I had to respond by putting my face in there. There’s still some things to clean up, but today’s game went well.”

And for those who worried that the threat of the blitz was a way for defenses to take Gibbs off the field, the Lions responded by bringing in some 21 personnel, with Gibbs and Vaki on the field at the same time. A nice counter move from offensive coordinator Drew Petzing.

While the Lions deployed heavier packages against the Jets (13 personnel and Jumbo packages saw an increase in usage), the Lions wide receivers saw their opportunities taken down a notch. The snap distribution remains very similar to previous weeks, but it wouldn’t be surprising if this was St. Brown’s lowest snap count this season.

As mentioned above, the Lions deployed a good number of 13 personnel in this game, with the problem being that they split Meeks wide to expand the Jets’ base defense. There will be games coming where the Lions want a more balanced TE3 like Conklin on the field, but this new wrinkle with Meeks illustrates the versatility of this group.

With their preferred starting five healthy again, the offensive line played very well in this game, slowing down a Jets defense near the top of all defensive rankings entering Week 3. Overall, the Lions gave up just eight pressures and two sacks, but the offensive line accounted for just five pressures and was not responsible for either sack.

As previously mentioned, the Lions relied on their Jumbo sets in this game, using Borom as their sixth offensive lineman for nearly a quarter of the offensive snaps.

The defense made many personnel adjustments in this game, with the first obvious change being McNeill’s reduction in snaps. While 73% is still a significant percentage, it’s about where he was in the past when he was most productive. His seven pressures and sack illustrate that it was a smart move.

With McNeill cutting back a bit, that opened up the opportunity for his replacement, rookie Skyler Gill-Howard, to increase his workload, and he rewarded them with three pressures and a half-sack (he split with Aidan Hutchinson).

Gill-Howard spoke with Pride of Detroit after the game and discussed his first NFL sack:

“The guard (Jordan Meridith), he was second because the first (Dylan Parham) was hurt – I knew I could beat him laterally, so that’s what I did; I took an inside block, and while I got past the quarterback a little bit, the D-line did a good job of forcing him up, allowing me to spin and get it – and sure enough, Hutch was right there.”

Gill-Howard also saw a snap on offense on a goal-line run that resulted in a Gibbs touchdown. Although the play went in the opposite direction of Gill-Howard’s block, this appears to be a precursor to something the Lions could build on moving forward.

“You know Coach (Dan) Campbell. You’ve seen this type of play throughout his tenure here. He told me during training camp that he was going to put something together and we found ‘it’ for now, and we’ll see what happens in the future.”

While McNeill saw his reps cut down a bit, the Lions increased Hutchinson’s, as he only took two defensive snaps the entire game. Despite what seemed like constant double teams, Hutchinson still managed five pressures and the aforementioned half-sack.

Usually when the Lions deploy three-linebacker sets, they rely on a Big End (Tyler Lacy) to work opposite Hutchinson, but that wasn’t the case Sunday. Wonnum has seen his snaps increase in several formations beyond what we’ve seen on a rushed finish in the past. Wonnum also rewarded the team for the decision, delivering three pressures and two sacks.

Campbell continues to play every defensive rep, and Barnes only misses a handful of snaps per game, but the LB3/4 spot saw a big shake-up in this game. White, previously the starter, was a healthy scratch, giving Rodriguez the start at WILL. However, the big change came with Nowaske, who was deployed all over the field and remained on the field for half of the game.

Pride of Detroit spoke with Nowaske after the game and asked if his increased usage was opponent specific, or if it was a result of his performance in practice and games.

“It could be a combination of both. I know I’m a good linebacker in this league. I feel like I did a good job in the preseason and when I had my opportunities on defense. I was used a little bit all over the field today, whether it was defensive end, OLB (SAM), inside linebacker or nickel. Every time I get an opportunity, I want to make the most of it. I don’t ask too many questions, I just go there and I’m doing my job.”

Nowaske made several key stops in the fourth quarter, including hounding Jets RB Breece Hall on a swing toward the sideline and making a tackle to save a touchdown.

“It’s year four now and the game is slowing down a lot for me,” Nowaske said. “So being able to dissect those plays and react a little quicker definitely helps me make more plays when I have those opportunities.”

The secondary saw some of the biggest changes when the Lions moved Ya-Sin to a reserve CB4 role and promoted McCreary to a starting role. McCreary not only started at CB2 on the outside, but also kicked inside when the team moved to sub-package sets, bringing in Rakestraw to fill out the outside snaps as CB3.

This group is still working through on-field and mental mistakes, but they have shown some signs of improvement. It will take time to establish communication within this framework, but it is better to take small steps forward than to continue to move backwards.

One final note: Even though Abney didn’t see the field on defense, he was taking reps at free safety during warmups. It’s unclear where he fits in the pecking order, but he could be the next guy to win nickel (behind McCreary) and free safety (behind Chuck Clark).

With Avonte Maddox and Thomas Harper landing on injured reserve this week, the Lions moved Izien from a starting nickel role to a starting strong safety role, the one usually occupied by Brian Branch. Although this role requires an expansion of Izien’s tasks, it is actually not far removed from what he did at Nickel. He spent a lot of time in the box – where he is at his best – and was used as the primary gap filler and passer, accounting for a team-leading 11 tackles (nine solo), including three tackles for loss and a pass deflection.

“I think my ‘box presence’ deserves a lot of the credit, but I think I can be a complete safety,” Izien said. “I believe I can play deep, although my game stood out more in the box.”

Clark also saw his role expand with the Lions’ small safety staff, and his game-sealing sack fumble late in the game illustrated just how important the veteran is to the Lions defense right now.

Constantly improving this group as they get more and more accurate week by week.