The San Francisco 49ers beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday, but they dealt with a handful of injuries that led to some roster shuffling. The defense saw most of the injuries, so we will start with the defensive snap count today.
Michael Wilhoite injured his ankle early in the game, leaving after only seven snaps. He was on the injury report with an ankle injury, so it is possible it was an aggravation of that. His departure resulted in a significant bump in playing time for Gerald Hodges. The 49ers acquired Hodges in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings in early October. He slowly worked his way into playing time, getting a mix of special teams work, and limited defensive work. Later this week, we'll have a breakdown of his game.
NaVorro Bowman missed nine snaps as well due to a knee to the head. He was pulled from the game by the NFL's independent neurological consultant, and put through the concussion protocol. He cleared the protocol and returned to the game on the second snap of the third quarter. He missed the first snap because he misplaced his mouthpiece. His absence, coupled with that of Wilhoite briefly led to an inside linebacker duo of Gerald Hodges and Nick Bellore. Normally, Bellore is exclusively a special teams player. It was interesting that he got ILB work over Ray-ray Armstrong, who the 49ers claimed off waivers two weeks ago.
Aaron Lynch suffered a concussion of his own, and Ahmad Brooks was pulled from the game for a stretch. The reasoning for the latter's absence is still not entirely clear. Corey Lemonier and Eli Harold got a little extra work due to those issues. Ian Williams also briefly left the game with an injury, but returned and finished out the game. Mike Purcell once again got the bulk of the 3-4 defensive end snaps.
Defensive Line
Quinton Dial: 58
Ian Williams: 43
Mike Purcell: 39
Arik Armstead: 28
Tony Jerod-Eddie: 11
Tank Carradine: 4
Outside Linebackers
Ahmad Brooks: 50
Aaron Lynch: 40
Corey Lemonier: 38
Eli Harold: 24
Inside Linebackers
NaVorro Bowman: 69
Gerald Hodges: 65
Nick Bellore: 7
Michael Wilhoite: 7
Cornerbacks
Tramaine Brock: 78
Kenneth Acker: 77
Jimmie Ward: 55
Dontae Johnson: 9
Safety
Jaquiski Tartt: 78
Eric Reid: 78