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Picking up the pace: Don't expect a big snap load in Bills-Patriots

FOXBORO, MA - NOVEMBER 23: Tyrod Taylor #5 of the Buffalo Bills is tackled by Rob Ninkovich #50 of the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium on November 23, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Welcome to the Week 4 edition of Snaps, Pace & Stats, where we examine trends in snap totals and no-huddle usage. It is meant as a 30,000-foot view of upcoming games, with the goal of identifying which matchups will — and which will not — be played on fertile fantasy soil.

This week we will hit on a pair of potentially high-paced matchups not as glaringly fantasy-friendly as the two high-total games that pop off the schedule page. It is not news that the Colts and Jaguars (in London) and the Saints in San Diego warrant fantasy exposure — so we will skip them and focus on the next rung down.

Up in pace

Rank Week 3 Snaps 2016 Snaps/Game Opponent Wk 3 Snaps 2016 Opp Snaps/Gm
1 Tampa Bay (82) Carolina (72.7) Los Angeles (82) Miami (75.7)
2 New Orleans (79) Tampa Bay (72.7) Atlanta (79) Los Angeles (73.3)
3 Arizona (77) Houston (70.3) Buffalo (77) Buffalo (71.0)
4 Cleveland (74) Dallas (68.0) Miami (74) Atlanta (70.0)
5 Carolina (72) Seattle (68.0) Minnesota (72) Cleveland (69.7)

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears

The Lions are sixth in pass attempts and 22nd in run rate despite trailing on only 39 percent of snaps (12th-lowest). After moderately successful rushing games against the Colts and Titans, they could do nothing on the ground in Green Bay and insist on treating scat-back Theo Riddick as a between-the-tackles runner. The Lions will throw often against the Bears — who allow the sixth-most plays per game (68.3) — and will do it with the league’s second-highest no-huddle rate (48 percent). They have incrementally increased their tempo each week, topping-out at a 58-percent rate against the Packers.


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