On a week where the Lions unceremoniously waived No. 2 tight end Darren Fells, the Detroit offense leaned heavily on replacing Fells’ old role in an unconventional way. Detroit used a sixth lineman as a de facto blocking tight end extensively in the Week 10 tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Between Matt Nelson (18 snaps) and Will Holden (10), the Lions leaned heavily on the “heavy” package. The 28 combined snaps were more than Fells played in any game through the first eight weeks. Nelson, the team’s starting right tackle the first eight games, left the game with an injury, which led to Holden’s reps.
With the starting offensive line all playing in each of the team’s 71 snaps, the Lions OL was busy. So was tight end T.J. Hockenson, who played in 67 reps. the new No. 2 TE, Brock Wright, was on the field for 36.
At running back, it was almost exclusively the D’Andre Swift show. Swift played a career-high 66 snaps. Without regular starter Jamaal Williams, the Lions gave three early reps to rookie Jermar Jefferson as the between-the-tackles runner. Jefferson suffered an injury of his own at the end of his 28-yard touchdown run and did not return. Godwin Igwebuike played just four snaps on offense, though he did play a season-high 27 special teams reps.
On defense, two Lions never left the field: LB Alex Anzalone and CB Amani Oruwariye. They both played all 87 snaps.
The cornerback reps after Oruwariye were jumbled by injuries. Jerry Jacobs left after playing all of the first 57 snaps. Former Steelers practice squad CB Mark Gilbert played the remaining 30 as the other outside CB opposite Oruwariye in his first defensive action in Detroit.
Along the defensive line, Da’Shawn Hand played the most. Hand played 68 reps. That’s significantly more than the next DEs on the list, Nick Williams (39) and Michael Brockers (38). Second-round rookie Levi Onwuzurike played just 26. Detroit didn’t use the nose tackle as much as normal vs. Pittsburgh, with third-round rookie Alim McNeill playing 15 and John Penisini in for 14.
