Through three games in the 2024 NFL season, it appears the Chicago Bears are getting their bearings on who should be getting snaps and who shouldn’t be.
In Week 3, though resulting in a loss, the Bears are at least using the right players throughout the game. Personnel problems in-game continue to be an issue, but the right players are starting to see the field consistently.
Chicago Bears’ Snap Count Totals in Loss to Indianapolis Colts
Offensive Snap Counts
- C, Coleman Shelton: 90 (100%)
- T, Darnell Wright: 90 (100%)
- T, Matt Pryor: 90 (100%)
- T, Teven Jenkins: 90 (100%)
- QB, Caleb Williams: 90 (100%)
- T, Braxton Jones: 89 (99%)
- WR, Rome Odunze: 89 (99%)
- WR, DJ Moore: 86 (96%)
- TE, Cole Kmet: 73 (81%)
- WR, DeAndre Carter: 57 (63%)
- RB, D’Andre Swift: 48 (53%)
- RB, Roschon Johnson: 33 (37%)
- TE, Gerald Everett: 30 (33%)
- TE, Marcedes Lewis: 21 (23%)
- RB, Khalil Herbert: 9 (10%)
- WR, Collin Johnson: 2 (2%)
- WR, Tyler Scott: 2 (2%)
- G, Nate Davis: 1 (1%)
Matt Eberflus on DeAndre Carter being matched up against Tyquan Lewis on this 3rd & goal play:
"Shane (Waldron) and I watched the tape at 6:30 this morning and we talked that through. That's gotta be a better call and a better matchup there." pic.twitter.com/cGmpQSrA2N
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) September 23, 2024
Defensive Snap Counts
- SS, Jaquan Brisker: 56 (100%)
- CB, Jaylon Johnson: 56 (100%)
- FS, Kevin Byard III: 56 (100%)
- LB, Tremaine Edmunds: 56 (100%)
- LB, T.J. Edwards: 56 (100%)
- CB, Tyrique Stevenson: 55 (98%)
- DE, DeMarcus Walker: 51 (91%)
- DT, Gervon Dexter Sr.: 49 (88%)
- DE, Montez Sweat: 48 (86%)
- CB, Kyler Gordon: 45 (80%)
- DT, Andrew Billings: 38 (68%)
- DE, Darrell Taylor: 15 (27%)
- DT, Chris Williams: 13 (23%)
- LB, Jack Sanborn: 11 (20%)
- DE, Austin Booker: 8 (14%)
- DT, Byron Cowart: 2 (4%)
- CB, Jaylon Jones: 1 (2%)
Special Teams Snap Counts
- FS, Elijah Hicks: 20 (87%)
- DE, Daniel Hardy: 20 (87%)
- LB, Amen Ogbongbemiga: 20 (87%)
- LB, Jack Sanborn: 20 (87%)
- CB, Jaylon Jones: 18 (78%)
- SS, Jonathan Owens: 17 (74%)
- CB, Josh Blackwell: 17 (74%)
- WR, Collin Johnson: 13 (57%)
- RB, Khalil Herbert: 13 (57%)
- RB, Roschon Johnson: 13 (57%)
- WR, DeAndre Carter: 9 (39%)
- K, Cairo Santos: 7 (30%)
- P, Tory Taylor: 7 (30%)
- LS, Scott Daly: 7 (30%)
- CB, Tyrique Stevenson: 6 (26%)
- DE, Darrell Taylor: 4 (17%)
- CB, Terrell Smith: 3 (13%)
- C, Doug Kramer: 3 (13%)
- DE, Austin Booker: 3 (13%)
- DT, Gervon Dexter Sr.: 3 (13%)
- DE, DeMarcus Walker: 3 (13%)
- SS, Jaquan Brisker: 3 (13%)
- TE, Marcedes Lewis: 3 (13%)
- TE, Cole Kmet: 3 (13%)
- T, Braxton Jones: 3 (13%)
- T, Teven Jenkins: 3 (13%)
- T, Matt Pryor: 3 (13%)
- T, Darnell Wright: 3 (13%)
- C, Coleman Shelton: 3 (13%)
- DT, Andrew Billings: 2 (9%)
- DT, Chris Willams: 1 (4%)
Bears’ Snap Count Takeaways
Bears Offense
The first thing to note in this game is that while the offense didn’t play a winning game of football, it was on the field nearly twice as much as its defense.
The Bears had 84 offensive plays, taking up 35 minutes — and one second — of this game. In a game it ended up losing, Chicago had the ball 10 minutes longer than its opponent.
#Bears ran 84 offensive plays.
This is the 5th time in a non-overtime game they have run 84+ and surprisingly they are now 1-4 in those games.
Last time was 10/31/99 in a 48-22 loss at the Redskins. Bears had 92 plays that day.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) September 22, 2024
It isn’t an ideal stat, but it’s promising to show that this team isn’t just going three-and-out each drive.
When looking solely at snap counts, the most reassuring part of this game is seeing Roschon Johnson getting snaps on offense. Through the first two weeks, he had a goose egg in the offensive snaps department.
This week, Johnson saw over a third of offensive snaps, which is encouraging for his usage. Compared to the other running backs on this team, Johnson is one of the best, and he brings the most complete skill set to the table.
D’Andre Swift, after a strong 2023 season, is coming back down to Earth this season. Now that he isn’t running behind one of the best offensive lines, maybe ever, it’s apparent why he might’ve broken out in 2023. His vision as a runner is incredibly alarming, and it’s not getting better through the first three weeks of the season.
MORE: Simulate the Season With PFN’s Playoff Predictor
Khalil Herbert is a jack-of-all-trades back, but his smaller stature (5’9″, 212 pounds) makes him a bit less impactful in the short-yardage game. But, as a pass catcher and an outside zone runner, Herbert has shown to be a competent back.
Aside from the running back room, it was encouraging to see Cole Kmet’s offensive usage rise. After the first two weeks, Kmet’s usage was rather low, but in Week 3, that was corrected.
Bears Defense
Defensively, there weren’t too many surprises.
However, some Bears fans are wondering why Jack Sanborn is seeing so few reps. Though he is a fan favorite, Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards have been playing well through three weeks.
Bears pick it off in the end zone!
📺: #CHIvsIND on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/Ya6gUPOYnG— NFL (@NFL) September 22, 2024
Having Sanborn replace one of those two would be malpractice. With the Bears utilizing four defensive linemen and five defensive backs, they only have two linebacker spots open to complete the 11-man defense.
And with how well the Bears’ defense is playing, it doesn’t appear that any changes should be made.