Steelers Vs. Bengals: Player Snap Counts And Analysis – Week 6

The Pittsburgh Steelers sixth regular season game of 2018 against the Cincinnati Bengals resulted in the team’s second road win of the year and now their record is 3-2-1 entering their bye week. The initial snap counts from the Week 6 game in Cincinnati against the Bengals have now been released and below is a quick recap of the notable numbers.

Offensive linemen – Nothing sticks out again this week when it comes to this position group. All five starters played every offensive snap while backup tackle Chukwuma Okorafor played 8 offensive snaps as an extra blocker/tight end eligible player. Matt Feiler and B.J. Finney both dressed for the Sunday game but did not see the field at all on offense.

Wide receivers – A lot of two tight end personnel groupings on Sunday resulted in rookie wide receiver James Washington only playing 16 offensive snaps. Justin Hunter also ate into a few of Washington’s Sunday snaps as he was on the field for 14 offensive plays in total with veteran wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey sidelined again with an ankle injury. Ryan Switzer played all of two offensive snaps against the Bengals.

Running backs – James Conner played 66 offensive snaps in total against the Bengals, 90% of the possible 73. Backup running back Stevan Ridley played 6 snaps. Rookie running back Jaylen Samuels was on the field for special teams snaps only.

Tight ends – Vance McDonald and Jesse James both played 51 offensive snaps against the Bengals and quite often were on the field at the same time. Backup Xavier Grimble even played 21 offensive snaps against the Bengals so you can see how heavy the tight end usage was in the game.

Defensive linemen – Backup Tyson Alualu played just 13 of a possible 62 total defensive snaps against the Bengals. Daniel McCullers dressed again and played just 5 defensive snaps against the Bengals while starter Javon Hargrave logged 21 total snaps Sunday afternoon. Starters Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt played 49 and 48 defensive snaps, respectively.

Linebackers – Backup outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo logged just 15 defensive snaps as he once again spelled starters T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree. Inside linebacker Jon Bostic played 33 of 62 possible snaps and fellow inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich logged just 2 snaps in Cincinnati. Rookie inside linebacker Matthew Thomas was limited to special teams play only against the Bengals.

Cornerbacks – Coty Sensabaugh and Artie Burns rotated again at one outside spot with the former getting the lion’s share of the total snaps at 36. Starting slot cornerback Mike Hilton played 46 of 62 possible snaps against the Bengals. Even Cameron Sutton saw the field on defense for 28 snaps in total on Sunday. Starter Joe Haden missed just as few snaps on Sunday with wrist or hand injury of some sort.

Safeties – Veteran safety Morgan Burnett was inactive once again on Sunday so rookie Terrell Edmunds started in his place and nearly played every snap once again along with fellow safety Sean Davis, who did have to leave for a few plays early in the contest due to a minor injury. Jordan Dangerfield played four snaps in total against the Bengals and once again was the upback on the punt team.