Seahawks snap counts vs. Bears: Kam Chancellor’s workload scaled back in return

Coach Pete Carroll indicated that the Seahawks would to some degree limit strong safety Kam Chancellor’s playing time on Sunday, wanting to ease him back into action upon his return from an extended absence. That was indeed the case as Chancellor, normally an every-down player, played 40 of Seattle’s 50 defensive snaps and didn’t see any action on special teams. That was among the notable findings while reviewing snap counts from the Seahawks’ win over Chicago.

Here are the position-by-position totals and a few notes:

DEFENSE (50 total)

Defensive backs

Richard Sherman: 50 (100%)
Cary Williams: 50 (100%)
Earl Thomas: 50 (100%)
Kam Chancellor: 40 (80%)
Marcus Burley: 17 (34%)
DeShawn Shead: 10 (20%)

Shead replaced Chancellor at strong safety on the plays he took off. Burley played significantly fewer snaps than last week against Green Bay as Seattle’s defense spent much less time in nickel on Sunday.

Linebackers

K.J. Wright: 50 (100%)
Bobby Wagner: 50 (100%)
Bruce Irvin: 48 (96%)

Nothing surprising here as Wright and Wagner typically never leave the field while Irvin sometimes comes off in nickel situations.

Defensive linemen

Michael Bennett: 41 (82%)
Cliff Avril: 40 (80%)
Ahtyba Rubin: 31 (62%)
Jordan Hill: 30 (60%)
Frank Clark: 20 (40%)
Demarcus Dobbs: 9 (18%)
Brandon Mebane: 8 (16%)
Cassius Marsh: 6 (12%)

Hill played more than usual because Mebane was knocked out of the game in the first half with a groin injury. Carroll said the Seahawks were hoping to double Clark’s workload this week, a goal that wasn’t quite reached. But he nonetheless played more on Sunday than he did in the first two games, when he was on the field for 27 percent and 24 percent of Seattle’s defensive snaps.

OFFENSE (67 total)

Wide receivers

Doug Baldwin: 45 (67%)
Jermaine Kearse: 43 (64%)
Tyler Lockett: 25 (37%)
Ricardo Lockette: 22 (33%)
Chris Matthews: 20 (30%)

The playing time among Seattle’s third through fifth receivers has been much more spread out the last two weeks compared to the opener, when Lockett played 50 more snaps than Lockette and Matthews combined. B.J. Daniels was inactive for the third time in as many games this season.

Running backs

Thomas Rawls: 34 (51%)
Fred Jackson: 21 (31%)
Derrick Coleman: 14 (21%)
Will Tukuafu: 12 (18%)
Marshawn Lynch: 11 (16%)

Lynch’s inability to start the game and his early exit from it meant more playing time for every other running back on Seattle’s roster. In Tukuafu’s case, he was active for the first time this season and even saw some playing time at tight end with Seattle down a player at that position.

Tight ends

Jimmy Graham: 53 (79%)
Cooper Helfet: 34 (51%)

Helfet assumed the No. 2 tight-end duties with Luke Willson inactive due to a back injury.

Note: Quarterback Russell Wilson and Seattle’s starting offensive linemen played all 67 snaps. Backup Alvin Bailey got one snap as an extra tackle.

Related

AP Top 25: Georgia takes over as the new No. 1Seahawks-Cardinals Info: TV, announcers, uniforms and series historyHall of Fame LB Jack Ham hospitalized ahead of UW-Penn State gameNo. 15 Gonzaga rolls past New Mexico State 109-68Sounders beat LAFC 2-1 to clinch playoff spot on Decision DayReport gives clarity to Seahawks QB Drew Lock’s injury