It's time for our weekly look at the San Francisco 49ers snap counts from the team's Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Below are all the notable takeaways from who played, how much they played and what it might mean moving forward. As a reference point for percentage of snaps played, the offense was on the field for 66 snaps and the defense played 71.
- Injuries plagued the 49ers on Sunday. Marquise Goodwin (quad) went down just 17 plays into the game. That led to Dante Pettis seeing an every-down role. The rookie played 48 snaps in his NFL debut, catching two passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
- The 49ers had plenty of shuffling on the offensive line due to two key injuries at guard. Mike Person (foot) played just 20 snaps before leaving and then Joshua Garnett got hurt 14 snaps later. That forced Mike McGlinchey to move inside to right guard with Garry Gilliam (32 snaps) coming in at right tackle. We should get an injury update from Kyle Shanahan later on Monday.
- San Francisco shuffled defensive linemen in and out of the game consistently. Arik Armstead lead the group with 58 snaps. DeForest Buckner (53), Solomon Thomas (39) and Cassius Marsh (35) were the next three to see the most playing time. Earl Mitchell (32), Ronald Blair (24), D.J. Jones (20) and Sheldon Day (17) also saw a healthy role. That's eight guys heavily involved on the 49ers defensive line. A consistent rotation should help keep Buckner as fresh as possible on passing downs. He was a monster on Sunday, posting 2.5 sacks.
- Elijah Lee (10 snaps) stepped in for Brock Coyle (61 snaps) in the fourth quarter after Coyle suffered a concussion. K'Waun Williams (38 snaps) also got dinged up at one point which led to Jimmie Ward stepping in for five reps.
- The running back split was almost right down the middle. Alfred Morris saw 34 reps with Matt Breida getting 30. Kyle Juszczyk was also heavily involved with 26 snaps. The carry split was also nearly identical. Morris ran the ball 12 times for 38 yards with Matt Breida running for 46 yards on 11 carries. That timeshare is likely to continue until one guy is able to truly separate himself as the hot hand.
- Richard Sherman played all 71 snaps for the 49ers defense and said he came out feeling fine. It was a positive debut for him. Sherman allowed one 18-yard catch to Stefon Diggs but was solid besides that and had one pass breakup.
- Random snap counts: Kendrick Bourne (8), Trent Taylor (37) and Mark Nzeocha (33).
