An analysis of the snap counts from the Minnesota Vikings' 16-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Ford Field:
Offense (69 total plays)
Quarterback: Teddy Bridgewater 69
Offensive line: Matt Kalil 69, Joe Berger 69, John Sullivan 69, Mike Harris 69, Vlad Ducasse 69, Austin Wentworth 2.
Receivers:Greg Jennings 65, Charles Johnson 64, Jarius Wright 44, Cordarrelle Patterson 8, Adam Thielen 3.
Running backs: Matt Asiata 45, Ben Tate 13, Joe Banyard 11, Jerome Felton 3.
Tight ends: Kyle Rudolph 61, Rhett Ellison 24, Chase Ford 2.
Noteworthy: Rudolph had his best game since coming back from sports hernia surgery, catching seven passes for 69 yards to lead the Vikings' receivers. Rudolph caught every pass targeted for him, came back from an injury after Asiata rolled up on his leg and provided a hint of the safety blanket he can be for Bridgewater when he reached up to grab a high throw from the rookie on the Vikings' second touchdown drive. ... The Vikings used more empty-backfield sets on Sunday than they have most of the season, often splitting Asiata out wide in three-receiver sets with Rudolph. Patterson still played only eight snaps, with most of them coming after Wright was injured on the Vikings' final drive. He was targeted with three passes on the final drive, catching two, and was the target on the Vikings' final play, when Bridgewater's throw fell incomplete as a defender made contact with Patterson. ... Jennings caught Bridgewater's touchdown pass on a well-designed crossing play, when he ranged behind the Vikings' offensive line to stay out of traffic, and made a sensational catch on a 26-yarder that Bridgewater threw behind him. ... Tate got in the game before Banyard, gaining just 8 yards on five carries. Asiata ran hard against a tough Lions front, but the Vikings didn't spend much time on the ground in the second half; they had only eight designed run plays after halftime, gaining just 12 yards. According to ESPN Stats and Information, the Vikings gained just 8 yards before first contact on those eight rushes. ... Wentworth saw time as an extra offensive lineman on Asiata's first-quarter touchdown.
Defense (51 total plays)
Defensive line: Everson Griffen 46, Brian Robison 44, Linval Joseph 40, Shamar Stephen 29, Tom Johnson 26, Corey Wootton 12, Justin Trattou 6.
Linebackers: Chad Greenway 51, Gerald Hodges 51, Jasper Brinkley 17.
Defensive backs: Captain Munnerlyn 51, Harrison Smith 51, Xavier Rhodes 48, Andrew Sendejo 43, Josh Robinson 35, Antone Exum 8, Jabari Price 2, Shaun Prater 1.
Noteworthy: The Vikings departed from their usual plan with their secondary, assigning Rhodes to follow Calvin Johnson across the field for a good portion of the day. The Lions tried to counter by putting Johnson in the slot -- where Rhodes rarely covered him -- but the Vikings' strategy of assigning their impressive second-year corner to one of the game's best receivers worked; Johnson caught just four passes for 53 yards, and the Lions threw for just 153 yards overall. The Lions' two biggest plays against Rhodes came when he was playing well off Johnson in a stack route that gained 18 yards, and when Hodges effectively set a pick for Johnson on a crossing route that went for 23. ... Sendejo fared well in place of Robert Blanton, knifing in to stop Golden Tate for no gain on a third-down screen that forced the Lions to kick a field goal in the third quarter. Both he and Rhodes left with injuries, with Exum and Price filling in for them at their respective spots. The Vikings also used Prater for one snap in a three-safety secondary. ... After splitting nickel snaps between Hodges and Brinkley last week with Anthony Barr out, the Vikings ditched that plan on Sunday, keeping Hodges on the field the entire time. ... Griffen and Robison continued to see most of the work at defensive end, and both had good days getting after the quarterback; they combined for four hurries, and Robison drilled Matthew Stafford twice. ... The Vikings used Trattou as the left end in a new nickel rush package, moving Robison to three-technique tackle on a few third downs.
Top special-teams contributors: Trattou (16 snaps), Thielen (15), Audie Cole (15), Exum (15), Price (14), Banyard (14), Scott Crichton (13), Marcus Sherels (11), Ellison (11).
