The initial snap counts from the Pittsburgh Steelers Week 17 Sunday afternoon road loss against the Cleveland Browns are now in and they are listed below along with a few observations from each position group. As usual, we will verify the counts during our weekly play charting.
Offensive linemen: The Steelers rested center Maurkice Pouncey against the Browns on Sunday so center J.C. Hassenauer (67) started in his place and went on to play every snap along with the other expected starters, tackle Alejandro Villanueva (67), guard Kevin Dotson (67), guard David DeCastro (67), and tackle Chukwuma Okorafor (67). Backups, tackle Jerald Hawkins (0), guard Danny Isidora (0) and tackle Anthony Coyle (0) didn’t play any offensive snaps against the Browns despite all dressing for the game.
Wide receivers: JuJu Smith-Schuster (56) and Diontae Johnson (58) played the highest number of snaps against the Browns with rookie Chase Claypool (35) and James Washington (30) not too far behind both. Ray-Ray McCloud (12) saw limited action while Deon Cain (6) was also dressed but limited in snaps against the Browns.
Running backs: James Conner (43) was the bell cow against the Browns on Sunday. Benny Snell Jr. (11) and rookie Anthony McFarland Jr. (13) both saw some backfield action against the Browns while Jaylen Samuels (0) and fullback Derek Watt (0) were both used only on special teams on Sunday in Cleveland.
Tight ends: Eric Ebron (0) was out on the COVID list on Sunday, so Vance McDonald (59) and Kevin Rader (12) had to shoulder the load at the tight end position against the Browns. It was the first snaps of the season for Rader, who also played some on special teams.
Quarterbacks: The Steelers rested starter Ben Roethlisberger (0), so Mason Rudolph (58) started in his place. Third-stringer Joshua Dobbs (9) saw situational work at quarterback.
Defensive linemen: Starter Cameron Heyward (0) was held out of Sunday’s game to rest up for the playoffs. Stephon Tuitt (52) led the snap total charger on the defensive line against the Browns while Tyson Alualu (51), Chris Wormley (41), Henry Mondeaux (13), Isaiah Buggs (9), and rookie Carlos Davis (7) all saw playing time in the rotation.
Inside linebackers: Vince Williams (28) saw limited work against the Browns, so Avery Williamson (55) and Marcus Allen (34) had to carry the load against the Browns. Tegray Scales (0) was limited to some special teams snaps. Robert Spillane (0) remains on the Reserve/Injured list.
Outside linebackers: Starter T.J. Watt (0) was inactive on Sunday to rest up for the playoffs and backup Cassius Marsh (0) missed the game on the COVID list. That left rookie Alex Highsmith (60), Olasunkanmi Adeniyi (40), and Jayrone Elliott (32) to play all the snaps at outside linebacker against the Browns.
Cornerbacks: Joe Haden (0) was out Sunday on the COVID list, so Cameron Sutton (54) saw the bulk of the snaps opposite Steven Nelson (43). Justin Layne (16) got some work outside in sub packages along with slot cornerback Mike Hilton (23), who got his expected playing time. Rookie James Pierre (18) received some extended action against the Browns as well.
Safeties: Starters Minkah Fitzpatrick (62) played every snap on Sunday while Sean Davis (43) filled in for the injured Terrell Edmunds (0) at the other safety spot. Jordan Dangerfield (1) and rookie Antoine Brooks Jr. were limited to special teams work.
Special teams: Dangerfield (18), D. Watt (17), Mondeaux (14), Layne (13), and Allen (13) were the special teams snaps leaders against the Browns on Sunday in Cleveland.
| PLAYER | POS | OFFENSIVE SNAPS | DEFENSIVE SNAPS | SPECIAL TEAM SNAPS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D.DeCastro | G | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 16% |
| A.Villanueva | T | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 16% |
| K.Dotson | G | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 16% |
| C.Okorafor | T | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 16% |
| J.Hassenauer | C | 67 | 100% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| V.McDonald | TE | 59 | 88% | 0 | 0% | 9 | 36% |
| D.Johnson | WR | 58 | 87% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| M.Rudolph | QB | 58 | 87% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| J.Smith-Schuster | WR | 56 | 84% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| J.Conner | RB | 43 | 64% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| C.Claypool | WR | 35 | 52% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 28% |
| J.Washington | WR | 30 | 45% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| A.McFarland | RB | 13 | 19% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| K.Rader | TE | 12 | 18% | 0 | 0% | 12 | 48% |
| R.McCloud | WR | 12 | 18% | 0 | 0% | 8 | 32% |
| B.Snell | RB | 11 | 16% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 16% |
| J.Dobbs | QB | 9 | 13% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| D.Cain | WR | 6 | 9% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| M.Fitzpatrick | S | 0 | 0% | 62 | 100% | 4 | 16% |
| A.Highsmith | OLB | 0 | 0% | 60 | 97% | 7 | 28% |
| A.Williamson | ILB | 0 | 0% | 55 | 89% | 4 | 16% |
| C.Sutton | CB | 0 | 0% | 54 | 87% | 12 | 48% |
| S.Tuitt | DE | 0 | 0% | 52 | 84% | 6 | 24% |
| T.Alualu | DE | 0 | 0% | 51 | 82% | 3 | 12% |
| S.Davis | S | 0 | 0% | 43 | 69% | 12 | 48% |
| S.Nelson | CB | 0 | 0% | 43 | 69% | 2 | 8% |
| C.Wormley | DE | 0 | 0% | 41 | 66% | 7 | 28% |
| O.Adeniyi | OLB | 0 | 0% | 40 | 65% | 11 | 44% |
| M.Allen | ILB | 0 | 0% | 34 | 55% | 13 | 52% |
| J.Elliott | OLB | 0 | 0% | 32 | 52% | 6 | 24% |
| V.Williams | ILB | 0 | 0% | 28 | 45% | 2 | 8% |
| M.Hilton | CB | 0 | 0% | 23 | 37% | 0 | 0% |
| J.Pierre | CB | 0 | 0% | 18 | 29% | 12 | 48% |
| J.Layne | CB | 0 | 0% | 16 | 26% | 13 | 52% |
| H.Mondeaux | DE | 0 | 0% | 13 | 21% | 14 | 56% |
| I.Buggs | DE | 0 | 0% | 9 | 15% | 4 | 16% |
| C.Davis | DT | 0 | 0% | 7 | 11% | 0 | 0% |
| J.Dangerfield | S | 0 | 0% | 1 | 2% | 18 | 72% |
| D.Watt | FB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 17 | 68% |
| J.Samuels | RB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 40% |
| M.Wright | K | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 40% |
| T.Scales | ILB | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 9 | 36% |
| K.Canaday | LS | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 28% |
| J.Berry | P | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 7 | 28% |
| A.Brooks | S | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 5 | 20% |
| J.Hawkins | T | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 4 | 16% |
