The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with a host of injuries, and in their Week 4 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that resulted in a host of lineup changes. We’ve got the full snap count below, and you can view the gamebook PDF as well.
The offensive line dealt with a whole host of injuries. Left tackle Joe Staley injured his knee 24 snaps into the game, and was replaced by Garry Gilliam. Mike McGlinchey suffered a knee injury of his own late in the second quarter and was replaced by Erik Magnuson. Staley did not return, while McGlinchey was able to get back early in the third quarter. Add in Weston Richburg suffering an injury but not missing any snaps, and it was a rough day for the line.
The wide receiver position took some hits as well. Dante Pettis injured his knee on a punt return and did not get in any offensive snaps. He has been ruled out for this week, and is week-to-week after that. Marquise Goodwin missed some snaps with thigh and hamstring issues, and is questionable this week.
Matt Breida emerged as the primary running back in Week 4, playing 38 snaps to Alfred Morris’ 14 snaps. Both players entered the game as questionable with knee injuries, but early reports on Sunday said Breida was further ahead than Morris. I am guessing that is why Breida ended up with more work, but I’m curious to see if the rotation is in fact changing to Breida’s advantage.
The most interesting somewhat injury related angle is at free safety. Adrian Colbert was cleared to play on Sunday after a Week 3 hip injury, but he ended up playing exclusively on special teams. D.J. Reed started in his place at free safety, with head coach Kyle Shanahan later saying it was because Colbert wasn’t able to get in enough defensive reps in practice. Colbert will be one to watch this week when the practice participation reports arrive after getting in two limited sessions last week.
An interesting non-injury angle was with fullback Kyle Juszczyk. He played 37 snaps, which accounted for 62 percent of total offensive snaps. In Week 1, Juszczyk played on 39 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. In Week 2, he played in 62 percent of their snaps and in Week 3, he played in 78 percent of the offensive snaps. If Jerick McKinnon was healthy, I suspect we would not see such high totals, but it seems to have provided a big opportunity for the 49ers “offensive weapon,” particularly as a passing down back.
49ers snap count vs. Chargers, Week 4
| Player | Offense | Defense | ST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Offense | Defense | ST |
| Laken Tomlinson | 60 | 5 | |
| Mike Person | 60 | 3 | |
| Weston Richburg | 60 | 2 | |
| C.J. Beathard | 60 | ||
| Mike McGlinchey | 57 | 5 | |
| George Kittle | 50 | ||
| Pierre Garçon | 48 | ||
| Matt Breida | 38 | ||
| Garry Gilliam | 37 | 5 | |
| Kyle Juszczyk | 37 | 5 | |
| Marquise Goodwin | 37 | ||
| Trent Taylor | 31 | 4 | |
| Kendrick Bourne | 25 | ||
| Joe Staley | 24 | 2 | |
| Garrett Celek | 17 | 11 | |
| Alfred Morris | 14 | ||
| Erik Magnuson | 3 | 3 | |
| Earl Mitchell | 1 | 33 | 6 |
| Raheem Mostert | 1 | 20 | |
| Fred Warner | 68 | 15 | |
| Antone Exum | 68 | 13 | |
| D.J. Reed | 68 | 11 | |
| Reuben Foster | 68 | 1 | |
| Jimmie Ward | 57 | 15 | |
| DeForest Buckner | 52 | 12 | |
| Ahkello Witherspoon | 50 | 2 | |
| Solomon Thomas | 49 | 5 | |
| K'Waun Williams | 45 | 1 | |
| Arik Armstead | 38 | 6 | |
| Ronald Blair | 31 | 1 | |
| Greg Mabin | 29 | 16 | |
| Cassius Marsh | 28 | 15 | |
| Sheldon Day | 24 | 1 | |
| Malcolm Smith | 23 | 2 | |
| D.J. Jones | 17 | 5 | |
| Mark Nzeocha | 26 | ||
| Elijah Lee | 26 | ||
| Tarvarius Moore | 25 | ||
| Tyvis Powell | 20 | ||
| Bradley Pinion | 16 | ||
| Adrian Colbert | 16 | ||
| Cole Wick | 15 | ||
| Kyle Nelson | 10 | ||
| Robbie Gould | 5 | ||
| Dante Pettis | 1 |