With injuries on both sides of the ball, the Los Angeles Rams were forced to shuffle the starting lineup in Week 6 against the 49ers. Todd Gurley was replaced by Malcolm Brown, Samson Ebukam took Clay Matthews’ place, and Troy Hill filled in for Aqib Talib.
There was also another change to the 11 starters on defense, though, and it had nothing to do with an injury. The Rams swapped Bryce Hager out for undrafted rookie Troy Reeder, who started last week when Hager was out with a shoulder injury.
The snap counts paint a new picture compared to recent weeks when Los Angeles was at just about full strength, but the playing time differed on Sunday. Let’s start with the offense.
Offense
Cooper Kupp was once again the receiver who came off the field when the Rams utilized two-tight end sets. He played 85 percent of the snaps compared to 98 percent for Brandin Cooks and 100 percent for Robert Woods.
Tyler Higbee actually got more playing time than Gerald Everett, though only slightly. After two weeks of Everett being the No. 1 tight end, Higbee played 30 snaps to Everett’s 28. Neither player made much of an impact with Everett catching two passes for 9 yards and Higbee three passes for 25 yards.
In Gurley’s place, Malcolm Brown played 36 snaps – about 68 percent. Darrell Henderson spelled him on 17 plays, which brings their combined total to 53 snaps. In other words, the Rams had a running back on the field for every play.
Jamil Demby played 81 percent of the snaps in place of Joseph Noteboom, who suffered a knee injury and was unable to return.
Defense
Going back to the decision at inside linebacker, it’s surprising to see the Rams bench Hager for Reeder. It’s not as if Hager became a part-time player, either. He didn’t play a single snap on defense Sunday despite playing 96 snaps on special teams. So this wasn’t an issue of health with Hager coming off a shoulder injury. Reeder played OK against the Seahawks last week, but it didn’t seem to be enough to deem him a surefire starter. He stepped up nicely against the 49ers, though, as the Rams held San Francisco to 99 yards rushing.
Ogbonnia Okoronkwo and Natrez Patrick were both active with Matthews out, but neither got much playing time. Okoronkwo received two snaps and Patrick played five. Patrick made a nice tackle at the line of scrimmage, which was his only play of note.
The Rams used a deep rotation on the defensive line. Aaron Donald played the most snaps of any defensive lineman (71), but Michael Brockers (62), Sebastian Joseph-Day (44), Greg Gaines (28) and Morgan Fox (24) all got a good amount of playing time. They helped hold the 49ers’ rushing attack in check.
Nickell Robey-Coleman’s snaps continue to be limited by the Rams’ scheme, playing just 30 snaps. The Rams have utilized their base defense a lot the last two weeks in an effort to stop the run and match up to the opposing offenses, but Robey-Coleman is an impactful player when he’s on the field.
Taylor Rapp played 34 snaps in his return from an ankle injury, helping fill in for John Johnson, who was limited to 62 snaps due to a shoulder injury. He initially left the game in the first half but returned shortly thereafter. He was then ruled out in the fourth quarter, so it’s unknown how severe the injury is.
