Steelers Vs. Browns: Player Snap Counts And Analysis – Week 1

The Pittsburgh Steelers first regular season game of 2018 against the Cleveland Browns ended in a very disappointing 21-21 tie as the home team overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force an overtime period in which neither was able to score in. The initial snap counts from the Week 1 game in Cleveland have now been released and below is a quick recap of the notable numbers.

Offensive linemen – Nothing really sticks out about this position group other than rookie tackle Chukwuma Okorafor playing 17 total snaps as an extra lineman/tight end. Additionally, guard B.J. Finney filled in at right guard David DeCastro for a few snaps due to a minor injury.

Wide receivers – While rookie James Washington apparently logged 11 offensive snaps in Sunday’s game, he certainly was hard to spot when on the field and that’s likely because he wasn’t targeted any in the passing game. Washington also logged 5 special teams snaps against the Browns. Justin Hunter, on the other hand, played 51 total offensive snaps and as the season progresses, that number will likely start decreasing in lieu of Washington’s going up. Newcomer Ryan Switzer surprisingly played 7 offensive snaps in addition to handling the kickoff and punt return duties throughout the game.

Running backs – James Conner was the only Steelers running back to play offensive snaps against the Browns.

Tight ends – Backup Xavier Grimble played 22 offensive snaps on Sunday with Vance McDonald inactive for the game.

Defensive linemen – Not only did defensive tackle Daniel McCullers dress over L.T. Walton on Sunday, he played 10 total defensive snaps against the Browns to boot. Backups Tyson Alualu and Javon Hargrave played 29 and 24 defensive snaps, respectively.

Linebackers – Jon Bostic was taken off the field quite a bit in sub-packages on Sunday and it resulted in him playing 59 defensive snaps in total.

Cornerbacks – Cameron Sutton played 33 total defensive snaps with quite a few of them coming after starter Joe Haden left the contest in the second half with a hamstring injury. Slot corner Mike Hilton played 60 total defensive snaps.

Safeties – Rookie Terrell Edmunds not only started against the Browns, he played 74 of a possible 89 defensive snaps on Sunday. Veteran safety Morgan Burnett, however, only logged 40 total defensive snaps against the Browns. Sean Davis was the only Steelers defensive player to play every snap against the Browns.