Box Score Breakdown: Snaps, Routes & Air Yards From the Wild-Card Round

Box Score Breakdown: Snaps, Routes & Air Yards From the Wild-Card Round

This article is part of our Box Score Breakdown series.

Most teams tightened rotations for the start of the playoffs, using their top guys as much as possible. In other cases, to the dismay of J.K. Dobbins, we saw timeshares from the regular season carry into the playoffs.

The Buffalo and Dallas backfields remain split heading into the divisional round, while Samaje Perine is creeping on Joe Mixon in Cincinnati (at least in terms of playing time, if not touches). The other three winners used their lead backs on around 90 percent of snaps in competitive play, with Saquon Barkley, Travis Etienne and Christian McCaffrey all topping 100 total yards.

We'll touch on all that and more below, looking at all six games from wild-card weekend with the help of advanced-stat box scores.

Seahawks (23) at 49ers (41) 

  SnapsRoutesRec LineRushTargetsAir Yards
RBKenneth Walker45 – 71.4%20 –52.6%1–3–015–63–11 – 2.9%0 – -0.1%
RBDeeJay Dallas21 – 33.3%10 –26.3% 6–13–00 – 0.0% 
TENoah Fant35 – 55.6%18 –47.4%1–11–0 2 – 5.9%18 – 5.8%
TEColby Parkinson42 – 66.7%19 –50.0%3–14–0 6 – 17.6%31 – 9.7%
TETyler Mabry3 – 4.8%1 –2.6%  0 – 0.0% 
WRTyler Lockett50 – 79.4%33 –86.8%6–39–0 8 – 23.5%57 – 18.0%
WRDK Metcalf52 – 82.5%33 –86.8%10–136–2 13 – 38.2%169 – 53.4%
WRCade Johnson41 – 65.1%31 –81.6%3–39–0 3 – 8.8%31 – 9.8%
WRDareke Young13 – 20.6%6 –15.8%1–11–0 1 – 2.9%11 – 3.3%
WRLaquon Treadwell4 – 6.3%2 –5.3%  0 – 0.0% 
  • Will Dissly's season-ending knee injury never led to Fant getting more work, perhaps due to his own knee injury, or maybe just because the Seahawks like Parkinson (who finished third on the team with six targets Saturday and ran one more route than Fant).
  • Metcalf had a heck of a day, converting a number of first downs and scoring from distance early then again in garbage time.
    • Lockett, on the other hand, was mostly limited to short gains, though he also had some key first downs to help keep it fairly close until the fourth quarter.
  • Cade Johnson was the No. 3 receiver again. He's a 2021 UDFA who made his NFL debut a few weeks ago and didn't need long to climb ahead of Treadwell/Young (not that that says much).

     

  SnapsRoutesRec LineRushTargetsAir Yards
RBChristian McCaffrey47 – 73.4%25 –80.6%2–17–115–119–02 – 7.4%3 – 1.1%
RBElijah Mitchell14 – 21.9%4 –12.9%2–25–19–2–03 – 11.1%1 – 0.3%
RBJordan Mason3 – 4.7%  2–12–0  
FBKyle Juszczyk33 – 51.6%13 –41.9%1–6–0 1 – 3.7%3 – 1.1%
TEGeorge Kittle56 – 87.5%25 –80.6%2–37–0 2 – 7.4%25 – 8.1%
TETyler Kroft13 – 20.3%2 –6.5%  0 – 0.0% 
TECharlie Woerner7 – 10.9%1 –3.2%  0 – 0.0% 
WRDeebo Samuel49 – 76.6%27 –87.1%6–133–13–32–09 – 33.3%77 – 25.2%
WRBrandon Aiyuk57 – 89.1%30 –96.8%3–73–0 5 – 18.5%108 – 35.1%
WRJauan Jennings26 – 40.6%15 –48.4%2–41–0 5 – 18.5%89 – 29.1%
WRRay-Ray McCloud8 – 12.5%4 –12.9%  0 – 0.0% 
WRDanny Gray7 – 10.9%2 –6.5%  0 – 0.0% 
  • McCaffrey took 42 of 47 snaps (89%) through three quarters, then only five of 17 (29%) in the fourth.
    • Mitchell's Rec Line TD came while the game was still competitive, but five of his nine carries were in the fourth quarter.
    • Both of Mason's carries came at the end in garbage time.
  • Samuel did his thing, taking an intermediate pass for a long TD, along with three carries for 32 yards (and five other receptions). He ran 27 routes on 31 dropbacks, second on the team to Aiyuk.
  • McCaffrey and Kittle reached 80% route share, as did Aiyuk (97%) and Deebo (87%).
  • Jennings reportedly injured his ankle, though he played eight snaps in the fourth quarter.

    

Stock ⬆️: RB Christian McCaffrey + WR Cade Johnson

Stock ⬇️: RB Elijah Mitchell 

Injury 🚑: Jauan Jennings (ankle)

         

Chargers (30) at Jaguars (31) 

  SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
RBAustin Ekeler45 – 65.2%25 –54.3%2–8–013–35–24 – 9.5%-11 – -4.4%
RBJoshua Kelley25 – 36.2%12 –26.1%1–8–07–20–01 – 2.4%2 – 0.6%
TEGerald Everett40 – 58.0%26 –56.5%6–109–1 8 – 19.0%39 – 15.6%
TEDonald Parham25 – 36.2%14 –30.4%4–23–0 5 – 11.9%35 – 14.2%
TETre' McKitty28 – 40.6%9 –19.6%2–16–0 2 – 4.8%10 – 4.1%
WRKeenan Allen66 – 95.7%45 –97.8%6–61–0 13 – 31.0%80 – 32.0%
WRJoshua Palmer67 – 97.1%44 –95.7%2–31–0 6 – 14.3%79 – 31.6%
WRDeAndre Carter24 – 34.8%17 –37.0%2–17–0 3 – 7.1%16 – 6.3%
WRMichael Bandy25 – 36.2%19 –41.3%  0 – 0.0% 
  • With Mike Williams (back) inactive, Allen and Palmer played nearly every snap while Carter took 60% of snaps in the first half before suffering an ankle injury.
    • Bandy got 67% of snaps post-halftime with Carter out. He wasn't targeted, and was the intended recipient of a mistimed end-around that lost yardage.
  • Everett was targeted on eight of 26 routes en route to 6-109-1, but he was still below 60% route and snap share(s) with Parham also making an impact.

     

  SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
RBTravis Etienne63 – 90.0%29 –59.2%1–12–020–109–01 – 2.2%-5 – -1.3%
RBJaMycal Hasty6 – 8.6%4 –8.2%  0 – 0.0% 
TEEvan Engram67 – 95.7%43 –87.8%7–93–1 11 – 23.9%75 – 20.1%
TEChris Manhertz10 – 14.3%2 –4.1%  0 – 0.0% 
TEDan Arnold2 – 2.9%2 –4.1%  0 – 0.0% 
TELuke Farrell1 – 1.4%     
WRMarvin Jones59 – 84.3%44 –89.8%3–29–1 6 – 13.0%69 – 18.5%
WRZay Jones69 – 98.6%48 –98.0%8–74–1 13 – 28.3%134 – 36.1%
WRChristian Kirk69 – 98.6%49 –100.0%8–78–1 14 – 30.4%101 – 27.2%
WRJamal Agnew4 – 5.7%4 –8.2%1–2–0 1 – 2.2%-2 – -0.6%
  • Etienne finished with season highs for both raw snaps and snap share.
    • Engram, Etienne, Jones, Jones and Kirk were the only Jags to run more than four routes. They kept a tight rotation and didn't deviate much from 11 personnel.
    • Each of the five had solid games, with all besides Etienne scoring a TD and all besides Marvin topping 70 yards.
  • Kirk, Zay and Engram all had double-digit targets, with them and Marvin accounting for all but two of the team's passes.

    

Stock ⬆️: RB Travis Etienne

Stock ⬇️: RB JaMycal Hasty + WR Joshua Palmer

Injury 🚑: WR DeAndre Carter (ankle)

         

Dolphins (31) at Bills (34) 

  SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
RBJeff Wilson37 – 53.6%21 –42.9%1–13–010–23–14 – 9.5%7 – 1.4%
RBSalvon Ahmed34 – 49.3%20 –40.8%3–45–05–3–05 – 11.9%12 – 2.5%
FBAlec Ingold9 – 13.0%3 –6.1%  0 – 0.0% 
TEMike Gesicki26 – 37.7%25 –51.0%2–15–1 6 – 14.3%79 – 16.5%
TEDurham Smythe41 – 59.4%14 –28.6%1–20–0 1 – 2.4%12 – 2.6%
TEHunter Long11 – 15.9%4 –8.2%0–0–0 1 – 2.4%2 – 0.3%
WRTyreek Hill58 – 84.1%43 –87.8%7–69–02–5–015 – 35.7%167 – 35.1%
WRJaylen Waddle59 – 85.5%43 –87.8%3–44–01–8–07 – 16.7%147 – 30.9%
WRTrent Sherfield46 – 66.7%34 –69.4%0–0–0 2 – 4.8%44 – 9.3%
WRRiver Cracraft10 – 14.5%6 –12.2%  0 – 0.0% 
WRCedrick Wilson14 – 20.3%10 –20.4%1–14–0 1 – 2.4%7 – 1.4%
  • With Raheem Mostert (thumb) inactive, Wilson and Ahmed were right around a 50/50 split in terms of snaps/routes/targets, though Wilson got twice as many carries and a goal-line TD.
  • Wilson ran only 10 routes as the No. 4 WR, but he did have a long punt return, perhaps his biggest contribution after signing a big contract last offseason and being either injured or buried on the depth chart most of the year.
    • The Wilson signing and Gesicki franchise tag made zero sense for the type of offense Mike McDaniel wanted to run. Imagine this team's potential if iQB Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) had stayed healthy and the front office had used the Gesicki/Wilson money on starters instead of role players.

     

  SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
RBDevin Singletary40 – 55.6%17 –37.0% 10–48–00 – 0.0% 
RBJames Cook23 – 31.9%7 –15.2% 12–39–10 – 0.0% 
RBNyheim Hines9 – 12.5%6 –13.0%1–7–0 2 – 5.4%9 – 1.6%
FBReggie Gilliam10 – 13.9%4 –8.7%  0 – 0.0% 
TEDawson Knox61 – 84.7%33 –71.7%3–20–1 5 – 13.5%47 – 8.3%
TEQuintin Morris22 – 30.6%7 –15.2%1–12–0 1 – 2.7%2 – 0.3%
WRStefon Diggs57 – 79.2%38 –82.6%7–114–0 9 – 24.3%161 – 28.1%
WRGabe Davis54 – 75.0%38 –82.6%6–113–1 9 – 24.3%182 – 31.9%
WRKhalil Shakir30 – 41.7%18 –39.1%3–51–0 5 – 13.5%97 – 17.0%
WRCole Beasley30 – 41.7%23 –50.0%2–35–1 5 – 13.5%30 – 5.2%
WRJohn Brown21 – 29.2%14 –30.4%0–0–0 1 – 2.7%43 – 7.5%
  • With Isaiah McKenzie (hamstring) inactive, the Bills rotated Beasley, Brown and Shakir behind Diggs/Davis (both of whom topped 100 yards).
    • Beasley led the trio at 50% route share and scored a TD, but Shakir had just as many targets and just as much of an impact (one long gain, plus a deep ball he narrowly missed hauling in). 
    • Brown was the worst of the three, with a lackadaisical/incorrect route contributing to a Xavien Howard interception on Smoke's lone target.
  • Cook scored a TD and led the team with 12 carries, but his snap share dropped to 32% and his route share to 15%.
    • Cook played a season-high 56% of snaps Week 18, after lingering in the 36-43 percent range throughout December. This was essentially a return to the December role, which makes both him and Singletary tough to trust.
    • Cook had five carries for minus-one yard in the second half, after a strong showing in the first half.
  • Singletary has finished in the range of 41-60% snap share six straight games, with no fewer than seven carries and no more than 13.

    

Stock ⬆️: WR Khalil Shakir + RB Salvon Ahmed

Stock ⬇️: RB James Cook + RB Jeff Wilson

Injury 🚑: CBs Dane Jackson (knee) & Kaiir Elam (leg - possibly just cramps)

         

Giants (31) at Vikings (24) 

  SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
RBSaquon Barkley61 – 89.7%36 –94.7%5–56–09–53–26 – 18.2%-12 – -6.3%
RBMatt Breida21 – 30.9%8 –21.1% 3–8–00 – 0.0% 
TEDaniel Bellinger55 – 80.9%30 –78.9%2–17–1 2 – 6.1%7 – 3.6%
TELawrence Cager24 – 35.3%12 –31.6%1–4–0 2 – 6.1%8 – 4.4%
TENick Vannett7 – 10.3%     
WRDarius Slayton61 – 89.7%36 –94.7%4–88–01–3–08 – 24.2%94 – 49.1%
WRIsaiah Hodgins62 – 91.2%38 –100.0%8–105–1 9 – 27.3%74 – 38.4%
WRRichie James41 – 60.3%25 –65.8%4–31–0 6 – 18.2%21 – 10.8%
WRMarcus Johnson4 – 5.9%1 –2.6%  0 – 0.0% 
WRKenny Golladay4 – 5.9%2 –5.3%  0 – 0.0% 
  • Barkley only got nine carries while QB Daniel Jones took 17 for 78 yards, but the RB was at 90% snap share and scored a pair of TDs in a strong performance.
    • The snap share was Barkley's second largest since Week 4, surpassed by only his 91% in the previous game at Minnesota (Week 16).
  • James took a step back in terms of route/target/snap shares with the Giants using more two-TE and two-HB looks than in previous weeks, though James still tied for third on the team in targets and was the clear No. 3 receiver.
    • Breida had only three touches but played 21 snaps (31%) even with Barkley at 90% snap share.
  • Slayton had his most targets and yards since Week 13, though he's remained a full-time player throughout, apart from the meaningless Week 18 contest.
  • Bellinger was fourth on the team in routes (79% share) and caught a TD, though he was targeted just twice.
  • Hodgins topped his career-best 8-89-1 line from the previous game against Minnesota, this time going over 100 yards for the first time.
    • Hodgins has six consecutive games with at least four catches for 37 yards, and he's scored TDs in five of those (including the past three... he didn't play Week 18).

     

  SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
RBDalvin Cook49 – 87.5%27 –67.5%6–10–015–60–07 – 17.9%-16 – -6.5%
RBAlexander Mattison7 – 12.5%3 –7.5%1–2–0 1 – 2.6%-6 – -2.4%
FBC.J. Ham11 – 19.6%5 –12.5%  0 – 0.0% 
TET.J. Hockenson49 – 87.5%30 –75.0%10–129–0 11 – 28.2%71 – 28.5%
TEJohnny Mundt21 – 37.5%6 –15.0%1–12–0 1 – 2.6%-1 – -0.4%
TEIrv Smith4 – 7.1%3 –7.5%1–3–1 2 – 5.1%13 – 5.0%
WRAdam Thielen51 – 91.1%38 –95.0%3–50–0 4 – 10.3%71 – 28.5%
WRJustin Jefferson55 – 98.2%39 –97.5%7–47–0 9 – 23.1%95 – 38.1%
WRK.J. Osborn32 – 57.1%29 –72.5%2–20–1 3 – 7.7%29 – 11.7%
  • Smith played only four snaps but caught a TD, while Hockenson handled 88% and was targeted on 11 of his 30 routes en route to 10-129-0.
    • Hock hit the Giants for 16-109-2 less than a month ago, though Jefferson also did well in that game.

    

Stock ⬆️: WR Isaiah Hodgins

Stock ⬇️: WR Richie James

Injury 🚑: OLB Azeez Ojulari (quad)

         

Ravens (17) at Bengals (24) 

  SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
RBJ.K. Dobbins32 – 48.5%12 –38.7%4–43–113–62–05 – 17.9%-2 – -1.4%
RBGus Edwards21 – 31.8%3 –9.7%1–13–012–39–01 – 3.6%-5 – -3.1%
RBJustice Hill9 – 13.6%8 –25.8%2–10–0 2 – 7.1%-3 – -2.0%
FBPatrick Ricard49 – 74.2%10 –32.3%0–0–0 2 – 7.1%0 – 0.3%
TEMark Andrews59 – 89.4%29 –93.5%5–73–01–0–010 – 35.7%106 – 66.8%
TEJosh Oliver48 – 72.7%15 –48.4%2–26–0 2 – 7.1%8 – 5.0%
TEIsaiah Likely24 – 36.4%13 –41.9%  0 – 0.0% 
WRSammy Watkins45 – 68.2%20 –64.5%1–12–0 3 – 10.7%14 – 8.7%
WRDemarcus Robinson29 – 43.9%18 –58.1%2–49–1 3 – 10.7%41 – 25.6%
WRAndy Isabella3 – 4.5%3 –9.7%  0 – 0.0% 
WRJames Proche6 – 9.1%5 –16.1%  0 – 0.0% 
  • Watkins and Robinson were the only WRs to get significant playing time for Baltimore.
    • Oliver and Likely picked up the slack in terms of playing time but they combined for only two targets on 28 routes.
    • Dobbins put up 4-43-1 receiving after seeing two targets total over his previous six appearances. Note that his route share was only 39%, not much ahead of Hill, who still got a lot of the obvious passing downs.

     

  SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
RBJoe Mixon25 – 46.3%8 –22.2%3–17–011–39–04 – 12.5%-5 – -2.6%
RBSamaje Perine28 – 51.9%19 –52.8%0–0–02–3–01 – 3.1%2 – 1.1%
TEHayden Hurst44 – 81.5%31 –86.1%4–45–0 6 – 18.8%27 – 13.6%
TEMitchell Wilcox15 – 27.8%3 –8.3%  0 – 0.0% 
WRTee Higgins48 – 88.9%33 –91.7%4–37–0 6 – 18.8%62 – 31.1%
WRJa'Marr Chase52 – 96.3%35 –97.2%9–84–1 12 – 37.5%94 – 47.2%
WRTyler Boyd48 – 88.9%34 –94.4%3–26–0 3 – 9.4%19 – 9.6%
WRTrent Taylor1 – 1.9%     
WRTrenton Irwin7 – 13.0%6 –16.7%  0 – 0.0% 
WRStanley Morgan1 – 1.9%     
  • Hurst lost a fumble, but the tight end was tied for second on the team with six targets and reached 80% snap share for the first time since Week 5.
  • Perine played three more snaps than Mixon, who nonetheless had an 11-2 edge in carries and 4-1 edge in targets.
    • Perine did have a 19-8 route advantage, however.
    • Perine played at least 47% of snaps in each quarter, i.e., the playing time was split 50/50 throughout the game.
  • Per PFF, Perine was used as a pass blocker five times, while Hurst only stayed in twice.

    

Stock ⬆️: TE Hayden Hurst

Stock ⬇️: RB Joe Mixon

Injury 🚑: LT Jonah Williams (knee)

         

Cowboys (31) at Buccaneers (14) 

  SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
RBEzekiel Elliott33 – 47.8%10 –29.4%1–9–013–27–02 – 6.3%3 – 1.4%
RBTony Pollard40 – 58.0%14 –41.2%3–12–015–77–03 – 9.4%-3 – -1.4%
RBMalik Davis1 – 1.4%     
TEDalton Schultz61 – 88.4%31 –91.2%7–95–2 8 – 25.0%89 – 36.2%
TEJake Ferguson31 – 44.9%6 –17.6%1–34–0 1 – 3.1%2 – 0.9%
TEPeyton Hendershot9 – 13.0%1 –2.9%  0 – 0.0% 
TESean McKeon8 – 11.6%2 –5.9%  0 – 0.0% 
WRCeeDee Lamb58 – 84.1%33 –97.1%4–68–1 6 – 18.8%46 – 18.8%
WRMichael Gallup46 – 66.7%29 –85.3%5–46–1 6 – 18.8%49 – 19.9%
WRT.Y. Hilton25 – 36.2%17 –50.0%2–23–0 4 – 12.5%63 – 25.9%
WRNoah Brown26 – 37.7%13 –38.2%2–18–0 2 – 6.3%-4 – -1.7%
WRKaVontae Turpin2 – 2.9%     
  • Schultz led the team in targets and scored twice, with Gallup and Lamb also having solid lines in a four-TD showing for Dak Prescott.
    • Only Lamb ran more routes than the TE, and no Dallas skill-position player logged more snaps.
    • It was Schultz's fourth straight game above 80% snap share.
  • Hilton finally got more routes than Brown, though was still well below 50% snap share. The 17 routes (50%) at least are enough to put T.Y. on the map for single-game DFS contests next week.

     

 SnapsRoutesReceivingRushingTargetsAir Yards
Rachaad White44 – 55.0%34 –50.0%4–36–07–41–06 – 9.8%-9 – -2.3%
Leonard Fournette35 – 43.8%25 –36.8%1–6–05–11–01 – 1.6%-6 – -1.5%
Ke'Shawn Vaughn1 – 1.3%1 –1.5%  0 – 0.0% 
Cade Otton58 – 72.5%41 –60.3%4–58–0 7 – 11.5%42 – 10.9%
Cameron Brate21 – 26.3%20 –29.4%1–8–1 3 – 4.9%46 – 12.2%
Ko Kieft5 – 6.3%2 –2.9%0–0–0 1 – 1.6%2 – 0.6%
Mike Evans73 – 91.3%61 –89.7%6–74–0 11 – 18.0%144 – 37.8%
Chris Godwin70 – 87.5%59 –86.8%10–85–0 13 – 21.3%38 – 9.9%
Russell Gage41 – 51.3%34 –50.0%2–10–0 8 – 13.1%43 – 11.4%
Julio Jones39 – 48.8%35 –51.5%7–74–1 11 – 18.0%80 – 21.0%
Scotty Miller6 – 7.5%6 –8.8%  0 – 0.0% 
Deven Thompkins7 – 8.8%6 –8.8%  0 – 0.0% 
  • White had the advantage over Fournette for snaps, routes, carries, targets, rushing production and receiving production, though it wasn't by much in some of those categories.
    • The rookie finished with 11 touches for 77 yards, compared to Fournette's six for 17.
  • Jones and Gage split the No. 3 role for most of the night, both in the 50-55 percent snap range before the fourth quarter.
    • Gage then suffered a scary injury and left, while Jones scored a TD and was targeted on seven of his 13 snaps in the fourth quarter.
  • Brate took 44% of snaps on third down and 17% of snaps on early downs. Otton again got most of the playing time, and put up 4-58-0 on seven targets.

    

Stock ⬆️: RB Rachaad White + WR T.Y. Hilton

Stock ⬇️: RB Leonard Fournette + WR Noah Brown

Injury 🚑: WR Russell Gage (head/neck) + S Jayron Kearse (knee)

         

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jerry Donabedian
Jerry was a 2018 finalist for the FSWA's Player Notes Writer of the Year and DFS Writer of the Year awards. A Baltimore native, Jerry roots for the Ravens and watches "The Wire" in his spare time.
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