Eagles vs. Rams snap count analysis: It’s time for even more Jay Ajayi

Here’s a breakdown of the snap counts from the Philadelphia Eagles' 43-35 win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14.

OFFENSE

The entire starting offensive line played the entire game, except for Stefen Wisniewski. Wis apparently suffered an ankle injury in the game. The Eagles originally said he was probable to return but he never came back. Chance Warmack predictably struggled after coming in for Wis. Then Isaac Seumalo replaced Warmack and wasn’t much better. Here’s hoping the Eagles can get Wis back soon.

You already know what happened with Carson Wentz.

Torrey Smith deserves credit for stepping up and having a strong game. It’s still weird to me how they’ve been force feeding him the ball early in games, but at least he made the most of his opportunities. Smith finished with six receptions for 100 yards (16.7 average). The other starting wide receivers weren’t slouches, either. Nelson Agholor had eight for 64. His drop early in the game led to a Rams interception and subsequent touchdown, but he made up for it with a crucial third down catch to essentially seal the game. Alshon Jeffery had five for 52 and one touchdown. His fingertip grab on Wentz’s fourth down throw was very impressive. Jeffery also drew a 41-yard pass interference penalty at one point.

Trey Burton and Brent Celek almost saw a 50-50 split in playing time with Zach Ertz out due to injury. Burton really stepped up big. He had five receptions for 71 yards and two scores. It could be hard to re-sign him after this year. Celek had one grab for a five-yard touchdown. Oddly enough, the Eagles have scored 88 offensive points in the two games where Ertz hasn’t played.

For the second week in a row, Jay Ajayi led all Eagles running backs in snaps played. He gained 78 yards on 15 carries, which now puts him up to 307 yards on 44 total carries (a nice 6.9 average) since joining Philadelphia. There’s no reason for the Eagles not to get him more involved. It felt like Duce Staley/Doug Pederson got away from him too much at times. They forced the issue with LeGarrette Blount, who only gained 12 yards on seven carries (1.7 average). It’s not like Blount’s had a bad season, but Ajayi was clearly the hot hand (he’s a running back, so the “hot legs”?) against the Rams. The Eagles gotta stick with what’s working from here on out.

DEFENSE

The Eagles didn’t use their base defense at all against the Rams. As you can see, three cornerbacks played 100% of the snaps.

Chris Long came up huge with a strip sack on Jared Goff late in the game.

It’d be nice to see the split between Vinny Curry and Derek Barnett a little closer than it is here.

SPECIAL TEAMS

No real surprises here.

Shelton Gibson notched a special teams tackle on punt coverage.

Steven Means came close to blocking a punt. He also tipped one a few weeks ago. He’s bound to get a real block at some point.

DID NOT PLAY

The following players were ruled inactive prior to the game: Joe Walker, Zach Ertz, Elijah Qualls, Will Beatty, Wendell Smallwood, Marcus Johnson, Nate Sudfeld.

The following player(s) were active but did not play: Dannell Ellerbe.