Detroit, MI
Lions vs. Rams snap counts: Detroit makes surprising choices at LB, CB
To get a better sense of the Detroit Lions’ strategy against the Los Angeles Rams in their 26-20 overtime victory, let’s take a closer look at their personnel choices.
Here’s a detailed look at the team’s Week 1 snap counts for the 2024 season.
Offense
Quarterbacks
Jared Goff: 70 (100%)
Hendon Hooker: DNP
Goff stayed healthy, allowing Hendon Hooker to spend the game logging mental reps and enjoying the crazy Ford Field environment.
Running backs
Jahmyr Gibbs: 31 (51%)
David Montgomery: 30 (49%)
Sione Vaki: 2 (3%) — 18 special teams snaps (69%)
Craig Reynolds: 0 (0%) — 18 (69%)
Given how good Montgomery was, it may be a bit surprising to see Gibbs outsnap him in this game, even if it was only by one. However, expect this to be the norm going forward. Detroit loves both backs because they both offer something completely different.
Also interesting to see Vaki get a couple of offensive snaps. On both occasions, he motioned to fullback. The first, he was initially the second back next to Goff in shotgun. The other snap, he motioned into the backfield after lining up out wide.
Tight ends
Sam LaPorta: 48 (79%)
Brock Wright: 30 (49%) — 4 (15%)
Parker Hesse: 9 (15%) — 14 (54%)
I expect this to be a pretty normal split from the Lions’ three tight ends. Nothing too out of the ordinary, as Parker Hesse remains the team’s primary fullback. Seven of his nine snaps were at that position.
Wide receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 60 (98%)
Jameson Williams: 52 (85%)
Kalif Raymond: 37 (61%) — 9 (35%)
Tom Kennedy: 4 (7%) — 6 (23%)
Unsurprisingly, Williams received the most playing time in his young career, now that he’s clearly WR2. It’s also wasn’t surprising to see that Raymond was their preferred WR3, although it’s a bit shocking to see that he didn’t garner a single target in the passing game. His lone contribution with the ball in his hands on offense was an 11-yard run to kick off overtime.
Tom Kennedy’s elevation from the practice squad was mostly for insurance. He doesn’t play much on special teams and he only contributed four offensive snaps. It will be interesting to see if one of the other three practice squad receivers gets called up for Week 2.
Offensive line
Taylor Decker: 61 (100%)
Penei Sewell: 61 (100%) — 4 (15%)
Frank Ragnow: 61 (100%)
Kevin Zeitler: 61 (100%) — 4 (15%)
Graham Glasgow: 61 (100%) — 4 (15%)
Dan Skipper: 2 (3%) — 4 (15%)
Kayode Awosika: 0 (0%) — 4 (15%)
Michael Niese: 0 (0%) — 4 (15%)
Colby Sorsdal: INACTIVE
Giovanni Manu: INACTIVE
Always love to see the Lions’ starting five in there for 100% of the snaps. Only two jumbo formations with Dan Skipper this week, and everyone else was relegated to special teams duties.
It was certainly interesting to see Niese active over Sorsdal, particularly given Sorsdal’s versatility to back up both guard and tackle. However, Sorsdal did struggle in training camp and the preseason with his move back to tackle, so it’s clear the Lions believe he needs more development.
Defense
EDGE:
Aidan Hutchinson: 70 (90%)
Marcus Davenport: 49 (63%)
Josh Paschal: 22 (28%)
James Houston: INACTIVE
If there was anyone out there who believed the Lions may try to scale Hutchinson back from his high usage last year to keep him fresh, it doesn’t appear that’s in the plans. The third year defensive end continues to have a high motor and doesn’t seem to slow down throughout the entire game, seeing as his final play was a sack. In fact, 70 snaps is actually a career high for Hutchinson.
Speaking of highs, Davenport’s 49 snaps was the sixth-highest in his career, with only two games in the past four years reaching that mark. He’s clearly going to be a big part of this defense, and he proved his worth with four quarterback hits on Matthew Stafford and a half-sack.
Paschal had just a small rotational role, while Houston appeared to be a healthy scratch—indicating how low he is on the totem pole right now.
DT:
Alim McNeill: 68 (87%) — 4 (15%)
Levi Onwuzurike: 50 (64%) — 4 (15%)
Kyle Peko: 37 (47%)
Chris Smith: 8 (10%)
Mekhi Wingo: 6 (8%) — 4 (15%)
DJ Reader: INACTIVE
More career highs here, as McNeill’s ridiculous 68 snaps is 10 more than his previous high. And what an accomplishment for Onwuzurike! Not only was this his first career start, but his 50 snaps was two more than his previous high and well above his typical average of about 20 snaps per game.
Linebackers
Alex Anzalone: 78 (100%)
Derrick Barnes: 64 (82%) — 12 (46%)
Jack Campbell: 44 (56%) — 9 (35%)
Malcolm Rodriguez: 14 (18%) — 22 (85%)
Jalen Reeves-Maybin: 3 (4%) — 22 (85%)
Ben Niemann: 0 (0%) — 18 (69%)
Trevor Nowaske: INACTIVE
This is pretty interesting and a bit unexpected. Anzalone playing every snap is not a surprise, but seeing Jack Campbell—in his first year taking over the MIKE linebacker position full-time—limited to just 56 percent of snaps was surprising. Both Malcolm Rodriguez and Derrick Barnes often took his spot in the defense in subpackages.
That said, maybe we shouldn’t have been all that surprised when it comes to Barnes’ eye-popping 64 snaps. The coaching staff has been talking him up all offseason (again), and while he was seemingly focused on the SAM linebacker position, we know he can thrive at MIKE, as well.
Cornerbacks
Carlton Davis: 77 (99%)
Terrion Arnold: 76 (97%)
Amik Robertson: 36 (46%)
Ennis Rakestraw: 3 (4%) — 11 (42%)
Khalil Dorsey: 0 (0%) — 16 (62%)
Kindle Vildor: 0 (0%) — 15 (58%)
Last time the Lions played the Rams, Brian Branch—who was playing nickel—played 98 percent of the snaps. This time around, the Lions were in nickel less than half the time, as evidenced by Amik Robertson’s 36 snaps. That’s a drastic change in strategy, and it speaks to their confidence in their front seven to roll with just four defensive backs for most of the game. Detroit managed to keep the offense in front of them, so the strategy arguably worked.
Rookie Ennis Rakestraw only saw the field a few times, serving as an injury replacement in short spurts.
Safety
Brian Branch: 78 (100%) — 9 (35%)
Kerby Joseph: 75 (96%) — 9 (35%)
Brandon Joseph: 0 (0%) — 9 (35%)
Ifeatu Melifonwu: INACTIVE
Loren Strickland: INACTIVE
No surprises here, other than maybe Branch and Joseph logging special teams snaps. However, once Melifonwu and/or Strickland come back, I would imagine those extra duties will be taken off Branch’s and Joseph’s plates.
Special teams
Jake Bates: 9 (35%)
Jack Fox: 8 (31%)
Hogan Hatten: 8 (31%)
Special teams happened, too.
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DETROIT – What started as a seemingly routine home repair quickly unraveled into something far more troubling for one Detroit family.
A man appeared to be posing as a contractor — arriving in construction gear and accompanied by two teens — showed up April 7 at a west side Detroit home, offering to do brick work for about $300. But according to the homeowner’s daughter, the situation started to seem fishy — and expensive — fast.
Tameka Kelly said the trio told her 76-year-old mother they were with “State Line Construction” and began working almost immediately.
“I just felt used and taken advantage of,” Kelly said, looking back at the situation.
“They kept working — kept putting cement down, I said, ‘you might want to tell them to stop.’ He said, ‘well right now it’s $1129.’ I said, ‘my mother‘s not paying you $1000,’” Kelly said.
At one point, the man even offered to repair the bottom of the home’s wheelchair ramp — something Kelly said her sister, who lives with her mother, relies on daily. But she refused because something just didn’t sit right.
“I gave him the $300,” Kelly said, hoping they would just leave. “I thought, well, he knows where my mom lives. I don’t want him coming back trying to do something to my mom‘s house or something to our vehicles.”
Kelly later tried to confront the man, who identified himself as Brian Lopez, and called the number on the invoice.
“When I called he was like, ‘no no no brickwork no brickwork’ I said, ‘yes you did. You were just here. I said I don’t forget a voice,’” she said.
But the biggest red flag came when she looked closer at the address listed on the invoice.
The address — 70 West Maple in Troy — turned out to be a McDonald’s.
“I really got upset when I found out that address was to a McDonald’s,” Kelly said.
Initially, Kelly said when she tried to file a report with Detroit police, she said they told her the situation was a civil matter and she could not file one. She then filed a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
Now, Detroit police tell Local 4 they will be taking Kelly’s fraud report, and once that is completed, an investigation will follow.
State Line initially told Local 4 they were not familiar with a Brian Lopez, then an attorney for State Line construction told Local 4 that, after checking the company’s records, there is no Brian Lopez that works for the company. As a matter of fact, the attorney said, State Line Construction does not do cement or residential construction. He said they focus on electrical work.
Attempts by Local 4 to reach the man going by the name Brian Lopez with the number given were unsuccessful.
Kelly said she felt compelled to speak up to prevent others from falling victim.
“I’m really upset about it, and I don’t want it to happen to anybody else,” she said.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Pistons vs Magic Game 1 reaction, lessons learned and what must change
Omari Sankofa II, Shawn Windsor and special guest Bryce Simon react to Detroit Pistons’ Game 1 NBA playoff loss to Orlando Magic, April 19, 2026, at Little Caesars Arena.
How in the world did things get so bad so fast for the Detroit Pistons?
In just one outing in the 2026 NBA playoffs, they went from top-seeded darlings of the Eastern Conference to punching bags punked by an 8-seed short on rest but long on resilience and toughness.
“I would say they ‘outphysical-ed’ us today,” Pistons wing Ausar Thompson said after the Orlando Magic stole Game 1 of the first-round NBA playoff series, 112-101, at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday, April 19. “One, because they got more rebounds than us. They forced more turnovers.”
Yes, this was always going to be a physical series. Though you would think the Pistons, owners of the NBA’s second-best defense and playing at home, would have a sizable advantage.
It also should have helped them that they were coming off six days’ rest, as opposed to the Magic coming off winning a play-in game just 47 hours earlier.
It didn’t help that Pistons star Cade Cunnigham was playing in just his fourth game since suffering a collapsed lung and missing 11 games. He scored a game-high 39 points, but he didn’t operate as smoothly as usual, with just four assists (far off his 9.9-assist season average) while committing three turnovers.
Another indictment of the Pistons’ worrisome play: Tobias Harris (19 points) was Cunningham’s only teammate who scored in double digits. Meanwhile, all five Magic staters did so, led by Paolo Banchero’s 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting.
And just like that, the Magic came out firing, scoring 35 points in the first quarter and never trailing.
“Yeah, just that we came out a little too tight, lax, whatever the word is, maybe both for some of us, but just didn’t come out with the right energy,” Cunningham said. “Gave them life further on. And then, you know, we had to deal with that for the rest of the game. We were better in stints, but can’t dig a hole like that.”
He’s right. The Pistons can’t dig a hole like that in Game 2 on Wednesday night. Because if they do, and they lose, the Magic would not only have homecourt advantage – they got that with Sunday’s victory – but could close out the series without another win in Detroit, with three of the next four games coming in Orlando.
That’s precisely what makes Game 2 a must-win game for the Pistons. It’s bad enough they lost the opener at LCA, where they were 31-9. But now they’ve let the Magic set a hard-edged tone in the kind of the game that could lead them to steal the series.
“I know that they feel great about this game,” Cunningham said. “This was a big win for them. They came in, they handled their business and stole one on the road. That’s what you want to do in the playoff series.
“So I’m sure that they feel great about that. Obviously, we’re sick about losing this one. It’s a long series, though. There’s no confidence dropped from us. We know that team. They know us. So it’ll be a long, fun series.”
Cunningham might be right, because the Pistons are arguably the better team. They have enough talent and more depth.
What the Pistons don’t have is the advantage of desperation. They had an excellent season from start to finish, closed with a 60-22 record, and wrapped up the East’s top seed on April 4.
The Magic, meanwhile, have been playing with fire (and not always the good kind) down the stretch, while their fifth-year coach, Jamahl Mosley, entered the postseason on the hottest of hot seats after his squad went 0-7 in road playoff games over the past two seasons.
To make things even worse, the Magic lost the regular-season finale to the Boston Celtics – well, their reserves, at least – to blow their chance at the 7-seed and homecourt in the play-in tournament. Then Orlando lost to the Philadelphia 76ers (on the road, of course) in the first play-in game before beating the Charlotte Hornets (in Orlando) to advance to a best-of-seven series – featuring four road games – vs. the Pistons.
Now, it looks like the Magic have found their form, as they routed the Hornets, 121-90, and stunned the Pistons. And just like that, Mosley went from hot seat to just plain hot.
Banchero wouldn’t go so far as to say the victory set up his team to steal the series, but he didn’t deny it was exactly the kind of start Orlando needed.
“It’s just a good win for us as a team getting it on the road against a great team and 1-seed,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we got to come back Wednesday, you know, reciprocate it, you know?
“They’re not going to lay down. They’re going to turn it up. So we’ve got to be ready for that. And it’s just one-game-at-a-time mentality, you know? That’s what it’s got to be. It’s the first of four.”
Yes, it’s just the first of four wins the Magic needs to advance. If the Pistons don’t find an answer quickly, the math – and hardly anyone else – won’t be on their side when they head to Central Florida this weekend.
Contact Carlos Monarrez at cmonarrez@freepress.com and follow him on X @cmonarrez.
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