Each week after the Bucs game, we’ll take a closer look at the snap count distribution on Tampa Bay’s offense and defense. Assess what you can learn from the players who played the most and least in the game.
Let’s take a closer look at the Bucks players who played the most snaps and the Bucks players who played the least during the heartbreaking 26-24 loss to the Cowboys in prime time. Tampa Bay is no longer given a direct path to the postseason.
bucks offense
How the Bucks replace Cade Otton and how he uses his snaps overall will always be a big question. Otton typically plays nearly every snap on offense, consistently appearing over 95% of the time. As it turns out, the Bucs didn’t put this together by going tight end by committee, they just primarily used Payne Durham in similar amounts. Durham played 60 of 72 snaps and played 93% of the game. He had five catches for 29 yards and a fumble that was recovered by Baker Mayfield. Ko Kieft played in 12 snaps, while rookie Devin Culp played in just three snaps.
Bucs WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by Jeffrey Jones/PR
Following Durham, wide receiver Jalen McMillan played the most snaps of any skill position player in Tampa Bay’s offense at 83%, followed closely by Mike Evans at 81%. Sterling Shepard, who would normally be next on this list among wide receivers, missed the remainder of the game after hitting 33% due to a hamstring injury.
Of all the players, Ryan Miller was the one to catch up, with 46%. That was more than Trey Palmer and Rakim Jarrett, who each played 18% of the snaps. Miller was rewarded with a wide-open touchdown in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to two points against the Bucs.
Last week, it was Rathard White who outscored Bucky Irving 51% to 44%. Irving got more playing time than White this week, 57% to 50%. I’ll never complain about Irving’s performance. Not only was it interesting to see White take most of the snaps at the start of the game, then the Bucks fell behind and needed to throw more. Unfortunately, the most memorable part was the ending in which White’s fumble on the first play of the final drive ended the Bucs’ chance to rally and take the lead.
backs defense
The Bucs are riding defensive tackle Kariya Kanshi as far as possible. Kanshi It accounted for a whopping 95% of the match. He recorded two tackles and a half-sack, which he shared with Yahya Diaby on the night. It will be interesting to see if Cuncy can maintain that productivity for the rest of the season. That’s a lot to give to a player in that position.
Bucs CB Jamel Dean and S Christian Isien with Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb – Photo courtesy of USA Today
The Bucs appear to have significantly reduced usage of all defensive tackles after Cuncey, Vita Vea, and Logan Hall. Vea played 80% and Hall 48%. Meanwhile, Greg Gaines played just 14 snaps and Will Golston had four snaps. The Bucs don’t seem to trust their other outside linebackers either. Anthony Nelson once again outplayed Joe Tryon-Soyinka and they cut into Joe Tryon-Soyinka’s play. Chris Braswell took a backseat in the rotation and appeared on two plays.
Inside linebacker JJ Russell saw his snaps increase from 60% last week to 73% last night. His biggest contribution was making a top-20 interception for Dallas when Tampa Bay was trailing by two points. There will be, or at least there should be, a complete overhaul of the linebackers next season.
Safeties Kayvon Meriwether and Mike Edwards split the snaps down the middle at 31 snaps, 52% each. Cristian Idzien played almost all games as a strong safety at 93%. On the defensive end, cornerback Jamel Dean and linebacker Lavonte David were the only two players to play 100% for the entire game.
