Vikings snap counts vs. Broncos: Anthony Barr, Joejuan Williams make season debuts

The Vikings' winning streak finally came to end on Sunday night. Despite leading the Broncos for nearly three full quarters, they were unable to pull away and eventually lost 21-20 on a late touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Courtland Sutton. Similar to some early-season losses, the Vikings could've easily won the game if they had simply been able to take care of the football.

A 3-0 loss in the turnover department gives the Vikings 20 turnovers on the season and drops their differential back down to -6. That was such a massive issue earlier this year, and after they had made a big dent in that stat during their five-game winning streak, it reared its ugly head again in primetime. There was an early Josh Dobbs fumble (which should've been a Broncos penalty), a game-changing Alexander Mattison fumble in the second half, and a Dobbs interception when he got hit as he threw.

Outside of the turnovers and some slightly conservative playcalling with the lead, the Vikings played well in Denver. The offense ran the ball well and got a couple more Dobbs touchdowns. The defense was outstanding on third down and in the red zone. Even special teams chipped in with a big fake punt. It was just one of those losses that boiled down to holding onto the football.

From a playing time standpoint, the Vikings continued to rely on their depth. Let's take a look at their offensive and defensive snap counts from Week 11 to see what we can learn.

Vikings offensive snap counts vs. Broncos (out of 74)

QB Josh Dobbs: 74
RT Brian O'Neill: 74
RG Ed Ingram: 74
LT Christian Darrisaw: 74
LG Dalton Risner: 74
C Garrett Bradbury: 74
K.J. Osborn: 71
WR Jordan Addison: 70
TE T.J. Hockenson: 52
RB Alexander Mattison: 48
WR Brandon Powell: 44
TE Josh Oliver: 34
RB Ty Chandler: 23
TE Johnny Mundt: 13
FB C.J. Ham: 10
WR Jalen Nailor: 3
WR N'Keal Harry: 2

Osborn made his return from missing one game with a concussion and immediately stepped back into an every-down role at receiver alongside Addison — but only had one catch for seven yards. On a night where the Vikings leaned on their running game, no one caught more than four passes. That included Oliver tying his career-high with four catches.

Powell made several nice plays in the WR3 role, showing off serious burst with the ball in his hands on a 22-yard gain. Even when Justin Jefferson comes back, there's a case to be made that Powell deserves to have some kind of role on offense. Nailor was relegated to WR4 duties with Osborn back and will be WR5 when Jefferson returns.

Mattison doubled up Chandler in snaps. He was having one of his best games of the season as a runner before he coughed up a critical fumble in the third quarter, ending an opportunity for the Vikings to go up by multiple scores. Chandler was extremely explosive — 110 yards from scrimmage on 14 touches — but it was his assignment who hit Dobbs on the interception early in the fourth quarter.

Vikings defensive snap counts vs. Broncos (out of 55)

S Camryn Bynum: 55
S Harrison Smith: 55
CB Byron Murphy Jr: 55
S Josh Metellus: 55
LB Ivan Pace Jr: 55
CB Mekhi Blackmon: 53
OLB Danielle Hunter: 52
OLB D.J. Wonnum: 51
DT Harrison Phillips: 40
DT Jonathan Bullard: 31
OLB Pat Jones II: 27
LB Troy Dye: 22
CB Joejuan Williams: 17
LB Anthony Barr: 12
DT Dean Lowry: 9
DT Khyiris Tonga: 8
DT Jaquelin Roy: 4
S Theo Jackson: 4

In the Vikings' first full game without injured captain Jordan Hicks, Pace stepped into his every-down role and played well. Not only was he relaying all of the defensive calls from Brian Flores, he finished as Minnesota's leading tackler and highest-graded defender (per PFF). The rookie also nearly came up with a takeaway just before the Broncos' go-ahead touchdown.

It was a less successful night for Blackmon, who took the place of an injured Akayleb Evans in the starting lineup. He tackled well but was in coverage for several big plays by the Broncos, including the decisive Sutton touchdown.

Dye, Williams, and Barr also played big roles due to the Hicks and Evans injuries. Elevated from the practice squad, Williams got the nod instead of Andrew Booth Jr. and made a key play in coverage against Jerry Jeudy to prevent a touchdown. Barr was also elevated from the PS for his season debut and recorded a tackle. His role could grow in the coming weeks.

Top 11 in special team snaps