Bills vs. Bears 2014: rep counts from Buffalo's 23-20 win

The first round of snap counts are in after the Buffalo Bills' 23-20 overtime win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday. As is our custom, we'll be breaking these down on a weekly basis, as well as keeping tabs on the running totals for each player throughout the 2014 season. Let's take a look.

Offensive Line

• LT Cordy Glenn - 57 (100%)
• RT Seantrel Henderson - 57 (100%)
• OT Chris Hairston - 3 (5%)
• LG Chris Williams - 57 (100%)
• RG Erik Pears - 57 (100%)
• C Eric Wood - 57 (100%)

No surprises here - the starting five played a fully healthy game, and therefore played every snap. Hairston saw a few run-blocking reps as an eligible sixth lineman, likely stemming from the absence of blocking tight end Lee Smith.

Offensive Skill

• QB EJ Manuel - 57 (100%)
• WR Sammy Watkins - 54 (95%)
• WR Robert Woods - 52 (91%)
• TE Scott Chandler - 37 (65%)
• RB C.J. Spiller - 30 (53%)
• WR Mike Williams - 30 (53%)
• RB Fred Jackson - 26 (46%)
• TE Chris Gragg - 19 (33%)
• FB Frank Summers - 17 (30%)
• WR Marquise Goodwin - 11 (19%)
• RB Anthony Dixon - 6 (11%)

As predicted, the Bills began experimenting with having two tailbacks on the field at the same time; it only happened on about 10 percent of plays, but we'll take it as long as it leads to role diversification and expansion for Spiller. It's interesting to see Woods squarely ahead of Williams on the depth chart; that had been expected all spring, but was thrown into doubt after Woods' strange use in the preseason. Don't expect to see a repeat performance from Gragg once the aforementioned Smith returns to the lineup.

Defensive Line

• DT Marcell Dareus - 58 (78%)
• DT Kyle Williams - 53 (72%)
• DE Jerry Hughes - 49 (66%)
• DE Mario Williams - 48 (65%)
• DE Jarius Wynn - 26 (35%)
• DE Manny Lawson - 25 (34%)
• DT Stefan Charles - 15 (20%)
• DT Corbin Bryant - 14 (19%)

I'd have to look back at the stats to see if it's ever happened before, but that snap count for Mario Williams has to be one of the lowest, if not the lowest, in his two-plus years with the Bills. Jim Schwartz is clearly keen on developing a rotation all along the line, but particularly at end, where both Wynn and Lawson saw more playing time than anticipated.

Linebackers

• LB Preston Brown - 74 (100%)
• LB Brandon Spikes - 52 (70%)
• LB Keith Rivers - 38 (51%)
• LB Ty Powell - 11 (15%)

A groin injury to Rivers that took him out of the game allowed Powell to log a few snaps, and may have skewed the coverage-down numbers a bit for Spikes. Nigel Bradham returns to the lineup this week, as well, which will further change things up. But it seems pretty obvious that the Bills really like Brown; he mostly struggled in Chicago, but did come up with a key fumble recovery.

Secondary

• CB Leodis McKelvin - 73 (99%)
• CB Corey Graham - 70 (95%)
• S Aaron Williams - 65 (88%)
• S Da'Norris Searcy - 60 (81%)
• CB Nickell Robey - 49 (66%)
• S Duke Williams - 29 (39%)
• CB Ron Brooks - 5 (7%)

Aaron Williams left this contest late in the fourth quarter with concussion symptoms; otherwise, he may have played much closer to 100 percent of snaps. (His status is definitely worth monitoring this week.) Duke Williams has carved out a significant role for himself as a passing-down safety. It will be interesting to see whether McKelvin, Graham, or Robey sees the biggest dip in playing time when Stephon Gilmore is able to return from his groin injury.