Snap Reactions: Seahawks left their nickel and dime packages in the locker room

Thursday the San Francisco 49ers went into Lumen Field and defeated the Seattle Seahawks, laying claim to the 2022 NFC West title and securing a playoff spot. On the other side of the field, the once 6-3 Seahawks fell to 7-7 and could fall farther out of the playoff race depending on how other games play out Sunday.

In any case, turning to the snap counts for the game, the Hawks again went wide receiver heavy on offense, with third receiver Marquise Goodwin once again seeing the field for more snaps than all three tight ends on the roster. Also of note on the offensive side of the ball is the fact that Gabe Jackson and Phil Haynes continued their rotation at right guard, though as noted by Field Gulls Managing Editor Mookie Alexander in the Winners and Losers post, that’s not a rotation that either of them should likely be winning anytime soon.

On defense is where the snap counts truly begin to raise questions. For starters, the Hawks once again dropped a game in which they played nickel and dime sparingly. They averaged just 4.53 defensive backs per snap, while Cody Barton was on the field for 88% of the snaps the defense played.

That might not be the most noteworthy detail to be lifted from the snap counts for the defensive side of the ball, however. In particular, when it comes to Darrell Taylor, he was on the field for just 17 defensive snaps, and was outsnapped by:

• Rookie linebacker Boye Mafe (23)
• Practice squad promotee Tanner Muse (19)
• L.J. Collier (25)

Now, of course, Muse was in the game due to the neck injury that kept Jordyn Brooks out for much of the second half, while Collier rotated in and out as a result of the team having lost Bryan Mone. However, it’s not a great look when a third year linebacker who many had counted on having a breakout season is seeing sparse playing time during a crucial stretch run.

On special teams it was the regular names making significant contributions, with Nick Bellore (25), Tanner Muse (24), Jon Rhattigan (21), Joey Blount (21) and Dareke Young all on the field for more than 20 special teams snaps.

And now it’s a mini bye for the team, as they will not play again until next Saturday, when they’ll go on the road to face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.