The Chicago Bears made their season debut against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Soldier Field.
After a wonky victory, here’s how the Bears’ participation across all three phases looked.
Chicago Bears’ Snap Count Totals in Win Over Tennessee Titans
Offensive Snap Counts
- T, Braxton Jones: 56 (100%)
- C, Coleman Shelton: 56 (100%)
- T, Darnell Wright: 56 (100%)
- G, Teven Jenkins: 56 (100%)
- QB, Caleb Williams: 56 (100%)
- WR, DJ Moore: 49 (88%)
- WR, Rome Odunze: 43 (77%)
- RB, D’Andre Swift: 39 (70%)
- WR, Keenan Allen: 38 (68%)
- C, Ryan Bates: 38 (68%)
- TE, Gerald Everett: 34 (61%)
- TE, Cole Kmet: 27 (48%)
- G, Nate Davis: 18 (32%)
- WR, DeAndre Carter: 13 (23%)
- RB, Travis Homer: 11 (20%)
- TE, Marcedes Lewis: 9 (16%)
- FB, Khari Blasingame: 7 (12%)
- RB, Khalil Herbert: 6 (11%)
- WR, Velus Jones Jr.: 4 (7%)
Defensive Snap Counts
- SS, Jaquan Brisker: 64 (100%)
- CB, Jaylon Johnson: 64 (100%)
- LB, Tremaine Edmunds: 64 (100%)
- LB, T.J. Edwards: 64 (100%)
- FS, Kevin Byard III: 64 (100%)
- CB, Tyrique Stevenson: 63 (98%)
- CB, Kyler Gordon: 61 (95%)
- DE, DeMarcus Walker: 53 (83%)
- DT, Andrew Billings: 45 (70%)
- DE, Montez Sweat: 44 (69%)
- DT, Gervon Dexter Sr.: 42 (66%)
- LB, Darrell Taylor: 38 (59%)
- DT, Chris Williams: 15 (23%)
- DT, Byron Cowart: 12 (19%)
- DE, Austin Booker: 6 (9%)
- LB, Jack Sanborn: 3 (5%)
- LB, Daniel Hardy: 3 (5%)
- CB, Terell Smith: 1 (2%)
Special Teams Snap Counts
- LB, Jack Sanborn: 24 (83%)
- LB, Daniel Hardy: 24 (83%)
- LB, Amen Ogbongbemiga: 24 (83%)
- FS, Elijah Hicks: 24 (83%)
- CB, Jaylon Jones: 21 (72%)
- RB, Travis Homer: 21 (72%)
- CB, Josh Blackwell: 20 (69%)
- FB, Khari Blasingame: 14 (48%)
- SS, Jonathan Owens: 12 (41%)
- WR, Velus Jones Jr.: 12 (41%)
- K, Cairo Santos: 10 (34%)
- P, Tory Taylor: 10 (34%)
- RB, Khalil Herbert: 10 (34%)
- WR, DeAndre Carter: 9 (31%)
- CB, Tyrique Stevenson: 7 (24%)
Bears’ Snap Count Takeaways
Bears Offense
Offensively in Week 1, there were a few surprises from the Bears as far as usage goes.
One of the biggest surprises was tight end Cole Kmet’s lack of snaps. When the Bears brought in Shane Waldron as their new offensive coordinator, it was assumed that Chicago would run plenty of 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, and two wide receivers).
And while both Kmet and Gerald Everett saw the field plenty, it was surprising to see Kmet get a lower snap total. Everett saw 34 snaps with Kmet seeing just 27. The difference isn’t monumental, but it was a surprise, to say the least.
Another surprise was rookie WR Rome Odunze’s lack of usage. Odunze saw just 77% of offensive snaps, and with Keenan Allen missing some of this game, that lack of reps becomes even more surprising.
Not only did Odunze see a smaller share of snaps than expected, but his overall usage was surprisingly low. That is partially due to the lack of consistency in the passing game, but his four total targets this week came in on the lower end.
The last thing to note from the offense this week was the lack of snaps for RB Khalil Herbert. Last season, Herbert was the team’s lead back, rushing for over 600 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
This offseason, the Bears went out and signed D’Andre Swift in free agency, as Swift has taken the reigns as the lead back in Chicago. However, it was still shocking to see Herbert in for just six offensive snaps compared to Travis Homer’s 11 reps.
Bears Defense
Defensively, the spread of snaps across the board didn’t raise too many questions.
One surprise from Week 1 was the lack of usage from linebacker Jack Sanborn. Last season, Sanborn continued his strong NFL career after signing with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2022.
In 2023, Sanborn was fifth in the team in tackles (65) while ranking sixth the year prior (64). To start this season, Sanborn saw just three defensive snaps, making more of an impact on special teams with his 24 reps.
Another surprise defensively was DeMarcus Walker (53) playing more snaps than Montez Sweat (44). Now, Sweat was coming into the game with a toe injury that caused him to be a limited participant at practice on Wednesday and Thursday.
For Chicago’s sake, that caution was likely to ensure Sweat didn’t reaggravate anything that would keep him out longer than necessary. However, his usage was a bit shocking when looking at the numbers alone.
Lastly, despite playing only 59% of defensive reps, newly acquired EDGE Darrell Taylor was one of Chicago’s top performers this week.
Taylor turned his 38 snaps into eight total tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble. Having joined the Bears only 11 days before this explosive performance via trade, Chicago might’ve struck gold on this edge rusher.