Rams snap counts vs. Seahawks: Extended opportunity to gel for offensive line

A rare opportunity for 81 snaps leads to extra time for chemistry where its needed most

It’s not often that a team gets 81 offensive snaps in a four-quarter football game, but that’s exactly what the Los Angeles Rams got and needed for units needing to develop chemistry and gain experience headed into the rest of the 2023 schedule. The Rams played 81 offensive snaps in their 30-13 win over the Seahawks on Sunday, meaning 81 snaps of continuity for A.J. Jackson, Steve Avila, Coleman Shelton, Joe Noteboom, and Rob Havenstein on the offensive line.

Those five players presumably didn’t have 81 snaps together during the entire offseason, but they kept Matthew Stafford clean in the pocket and off of the ground en route to zero sacks allowed against Seattle. Stafford also played 81 snaps, playing one of his best games since joining the Rams in 2021.

L.A.’s two star receivers Tutu Atwell (64 snaps) and Puka Nacua (63 snaps) actually played fewer snaps than Van Jefferson (75 snaps), which could be encouraging assuming that they come off of the field less often against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.

Kyren Williams actually out-snapped Cam Akers 53 to 28, not an expectation anyone had prior to Sunday. It seems Williams will be the RB1 moving forward, which makes for interesting discussion about the future, unless Sean McVay plans to utilize them based on matchups. Akers had 22 carries for 29 yards, which is basically what we’ve known about him during his entire career: There are no surprises with him, when he’s on the field, he’s probably going to carry the ball. That’s actually more worrisome for a running back than if he has fewer carries-per-snap. Williams had 15 carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns.

Tyler Higbee got 75 of 81 snaps, with 23 snaps for Bryce Hopkins and only one for Davis Allen.

Ben Skowronek got 21 snaps, while perhaps the biggest surprise was that training camp star Demarcus Robinson only saw the field for three snaps. Skowronek was targeted two times and held without a catch. Hopkins had a 21-yard catch. Jefferson had four catches for 24 yards.

Defensively, Russ Yeast, Jordan Fuller, and Ernest Jones played in 51-of-51 snaps.

Next, Michael Hoecht, Derion Kendrick, and Ahkello Witherspoon played in 47 snaps, followed by Byron Young at 43, Aaron Donald at 42, and Cobie Durant at 40.

Christian Rozeboom played in 34 snaps, Kobie Turner in 29, Jonah Williams, in 20, and Bobby Brown in 19.

They were followed by Zach VanValkenburg (11), Larrell Murchison (10), Quentin Lake (9), Earnest Brown (5), Tre Tomlinson (4), and Nick Hampton (1).

Jason Taylor, Ronnie Rivers each played in 16 special teams snaps, while John Johnson played in 10 special teams snaps and zero defensive snaps. Duke Shelley and Tremayne Anchrum were also exclusively used on special teams.