The Pittsburgh Steelers won their 2017 regular season home opener Sunday afternoon over the Minnesota Vikings 26-9 and the snap counts from the game have now been compiled. While there aren’t many surprises included in them, there are a few totals worth pointing out.
Offensive line – As expected, Alejandro Villanueva, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro and Marcus Gilbert all started. Villanueva, however, left the game with heat-related issues and was replaced by Chris Hubbard for 21 plays. Hubbard, however, later had to replace Gilbert at right tackle for 15 plays. Hubbard also played a few snaps at tight end.
Running backs – Le’Veon Bell was on the field for all but six plays against the Vikings. Rookie James Conner played four offensive snaps while Terrell Watson played just one.
Wide receiver – Rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster played 38 offensive snaps against the Vikings after playing 25 in Week 1. Eli Rogers played one-less snap than the rookie did.
Tight ends – With tight end Vance McDonald sidelined by a back injury, Xavier Grimble played 16 offensive snaps Sunday against the Vikings after playing just one in Week 1.
Defensive linemen – Filling in for an injured Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu played 54 of a possible 66 snaps against the Vikings. L.T. Walton played just 10 and while active Sunday, Daniel McCullers did not see the field.
Outside linebackers – Rookie T.J. Watt started again and played 20 snaps before exiting with a groin injury. Bud Dupree made his season debut against the Vikings and played 64 of 66 snaps. Anthony Chickillo replaced Watt and played 46 defensive snaps in addition to being a core special teams player. Veteran James Harrison did not play Sunday
Defensive backs – Cornerback Mike Hilton played 55 snaps in the slot and William Gay played 20 in total. Safety Mike Mitchell played 65 of 66 total snaps after playing a lower percentage last week.
| PLAYER | POS | OFFENSIVE SNAPS | DEFENSIVE SNAPS | SPECIAL TEAM SNAPS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R.Foster | G | 74 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 23% |
| D.DeCastro | G | 74 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 23% |
| B.Roethlisberger | QB | 74 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| M.Pouncey | C | 74 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| J.James | TE | 71 | 96% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 23% |
| A.Brown | WR | 70 | 95% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| L.Bell | RB | 68 | 92% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| M.Gilbert | T | 59 | 80% | 0 | 0% | 5 | 16% |
| A.Villanueva | T | 53 | 72% | 0 | 0% | 2 | 6% |
| M.Bryant | WR | 47 | 64% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| C.Hubbard | T | 41 | 55% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 32% |
| J.Smith-Schuster | WR | 38 | 51% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 10% |
| E.Rogers | WR | 37 | 50% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 23% |
| X.Grimble | TE | 16 | 22% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 23% |
| R.Nix | FB | 11 | 15% | 0 | 0% | 22 | 71% |
| J.Conner | RB | 4 | 5% | 0 | 0% | 1 | 3% |
| D.Heyward-Bey | WR | 2 | 3% | 0 | 0% | 19 | 61% |
| T.Watson | RB | 1 | 1% | 0 | 0% | 17 | 55% |
| R.Shazier | ILB | 0 | 0% | 66 | 100% | 2 | 6% |
| A.Burns | CB | 0 | 0% | 65 | 98% | 7 | 23% |
| S.Davis | S | 0 | 0% | 65 | 98% | 7 | 23% |
| M.Mitchell | S | 0 | 0% | 65 | 98% | 3 | 10% |
| J.Haden | CB | 0 | 0% | 64 | 97% | 3 | 10% |
| B.Dupree | OLB | 0 | 0% | 64 | 97% | 2 | 6% |
| C.Heyward | DE | 0 | 0% | 57 | 86% | 9 | 29% |
| M.Hilton | CB | 0 | 0% | 55 | 83% | 15 | 48% |
| T.Alualu | DE | 0 | 0% | 54 | 82% | 2 | 6% |
| V.Williams | ILB | 0 | 0% | 48 | 73% | 9 | 29% |
| A.Chickillo | OLB | 0 | 0% | 46 | 70% | 23 | 74% |
| J.Hargrave | NT | 0 | 0% | 23 | 35% | 2 | 6% |
| T.Watt | OLB | 0 | 0% | 20 | 30% | 5 | 16% |
| W.Gay | CB | 0 | 0% | 20 | 30% | 0 | 0% |
| L.Walton | DE | 0 | 0% | 10 | 15% | 5 | 16% |
| A.Moats | OLB | 0 | 0% | 2 | 3% | 6 | 19% |
| R.Golden | S | 0 | 0% | 1 | 2% | 22 | 71% |
| T.Matakevich | ILB | 0 | 0% | 1 | 2% | 22 | 71% |
| S.Johnson | ILB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 22 | 71% |
| C.Boswell | K | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 14 | 45% |
| C.Sensabaugh | CB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 13 | 42% |
| J.Berry | P | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 12 | 39% |
| K.Canaday | LS | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 12 | 39% |
| B.Allen | CB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 6 | 19% |
| B.Finney | C | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 13% |
