Adrian Phillips was one of the obvious stars of New England’s impressive 27-24 win over the Chargers Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles.
Playing his former team, Phillips had a pair of interceptions including a pick-6 that swung the game in the visitor’s favor in the fourth quarter.
Now in his second season in New England, Phillips has clearly settled into the back end of the Patriots defense. Not only was he making plays in the win over the Chargers, Phillips logged 55 snaps (92 percent) on defense, second only to every-down-DB Devin McCourty among Patriots defenders.
After tying a season-high in playtime percentage, Phillips has now played 81 percent of the Patriots snaps this season. His three interceptions are tied for the New England lead, while NFL press box statistics rank him fourth on the team with 35 tackles on the season.
“It was sweet,” Phillips said with a big smile of his big day against his former team.
Beyond Phillips’ impressive output, here are some other notes from the Patriots’ snap counts in the big win over the Chargers in L.A.:
--New England logged a season high for offensive snaps for the second straight week, with 77 against L.A. Mac Jones and offensive linemen Mike Onwenu, Shaq Mason, David Andrews and Ted Karras all played each of the 77 snaps in beating the Chargers.
--Jakobi Meyers continues to play more than any other skill player for the Patriots, on the field for 71 snaps (92 percent) in the win.
Meyers had a team-high nine targets leading to four catches for 37 yards. He also found the end zone, sort of, on a successful two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. He’s still searching for his first NFL touchdown catch.
--Kendrick Bourne saw his playing time dip significantly, specifically after the wide receiver lost a fumble following a third-down catch in the third quarter. Bourne played just 23 snaps (30 percent) before being benched. He did tie for a team high with four catches for 38 yards on seven targets on the day.
--Damien Harris logged a season-high 41 snaps (53 percent) against a suspect Chargers run defense. Harris ran the ball 23 times for 80 yards and a touchdown, while also having a couple long runs, one for a TD, called back due to holding penalties.
--Tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith were on the field for 50 and 49 plays, respectively. Henry had one catch for 33 yards, while Smith caught both balls thrown his way for just 13 yards as a bounced back from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss time a week ago against the Jets.
--Bouncing back to the game day roster after being inactive against New York, rookie running back Rhamondre Stevenson was very active in his 12 snaps (16 percent). The fourth-round pick ran the ball eight times for 25 yards and caught one of the two passes thrown his way for 5 yards.
Ten chances with the ball on 12 plays is pretty crazy-high rate.
--Whether fans like it or not, veteran Brandon Bolden still has a pretty solid hold on the Patriots third down back role with James White on IR. Bolden played 25 snaps (32 percent) in L.A., recording four rushes for 26 yards though he was not targeted in the passing game.
--The Patriots defense was on the field for 60 snaps against the Chargers. Devin McCourty was the only New England defender to play all 60 snaps, this a week after sitting out the second half against the Jets due to injury. McCourty has now played 100 percent of snaps in six of the Patriots eight games this season, playing 91 percent of the team’s defensive snaps overall.
--Matt Judon was on the field the most among New England’s front seven defenders, playing 54 snaps (90 percent). Judon has logged 90 percent playtime each of the last two weeks and has played 85 percent of defensive snaps on the season. Judon finished with 1.5 sacks against the Chargers, giving him an even 8 in his first season in New England, the two-time Pro Bowler’s career-best of 9.5 sacks already well in reach before the midpoint of the season.
--Rookie Christian Barmore played the most defensive snaps among defensive linemen for the second straight week, on the field for 38 plays (63 percent) in the win. Barmore finished the effort with four tackles and a half sack.
--While Phillips, McCourty, Kyle Dugger (49 snaps, 82 percent), Jalen Mills (52 snaps, 87 percent) and J.C. Jackson (54 snaps, 90 percent) were the clear top five defensive backs on the field, recent practice squad promotion Myles Bryant was next in line. The second-year former undrafted player logged 38 snaps (63 percent) compared to Joejuan Williams’ 15 snaps (25 percent).
--Dont’a Hightower played a season-low 32 snaps (53 percent).
--Jamie Collins’ role continues to be very limited in his return to New England, playing just seven snaps (12 percent) in L.A. In his four games back with the Patriots Collins has logged 3, 17, 16 and 7 snaps.
--Matthew Slater and Cody Davis led the special teams aces with 25 snaps (83 percent) in the kicking game.
--It’s worth noting that while guys like Phillips and Dugger are on the field a ton on defense, both are also very active in the kicking game with 12 and 14 snaps, respectively. Bolden logged 20 plays on special teams in addition to his 25 snaps on offense.
