Snap Count Observations From the Buccaneers' Week 16 Win Over the Panthers
The Buccaneers captured their first NFC South title with a 32-6 win over the Panthers Sunday, despite missing numerous key players on both sides of the ball. It was an all-around gritty effort that got the team back on track after a rough loss to the Saints in Week 15.
So, who helped contribute to the Bucs' division title?
You can find AllBucs' breakdown below.
Offense
Tampa Bay's snap counts on offense for Week 16 vs. Carolina.
Rob Gronkowski now has 60+ snaps in his last three games, so that's a great sign that he's not just healthy, but staying that way. The Panthers had a great game plan for him on Sunday, but the attention freed up room for guys like Antonio Brown and Cyril Grayson Jr. to make plays. Speaking of Brown, he was on the field for an impressive 79% of the time, going far beyond the "20-30" plays Bruce Arians quoted earlier in the week. Grayson also made his first NFL start and played the most he's ever played. He made it count, logging three receptions for 81 yards. Both marks were good for second-most on the team in Week 16.
Per Pro Football Focus, Grayson led all receivers and tight ends with 20 snaps out of the slot. Tyler Johnson, who played 54% of offensive snaps, was second with 16. Arians called Grayson a "ferocious blocker" after the game, so as of now, it looks like the Bucs may have found their replacement for Chris Godwin's slot role.
There's another role that's still up in the air, as well, and that's Scotty Miller's role. It's logical to assume that Miller would've seen a good chunk of playing time this week due to all the injuries the Bucs offense is dealing with, but he saw just three snaps and was targeted just once during the game.
Cameron Brate played the most he's played since Week 10 and caught a touchdown out of the deal. In fact, the Bucs deployed a bunch of three tight end sets in this game, as well as their jumbo package with Josh Wells. That makes a lot of sense considering how dedicated they were to running the ball in this game (they tied their season-high in rushing attempts).
Ke'Shawn Vaughn and Ronald Jones II saw their largest chunk of playing time this year and responded with 135 combined rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, including Vaughn's stellar 55-yard touchdown run that gave the Bucs their 7-3 lead from which they never looked back.
And of course, Blaine Gabbert, Le'Veon Bell, Robert Hainsey, and Nick Leverett all saw some action during mop-up duty at the end.
Defense/Special Teams
Bucs' snap counts on defense for Week 16 vs. Panthers. Numbers on the far right indicate special teams snaps.
Mike Edwards played every single snap in this game, which is good, because the Bucs really needed him on Sunday. He also tied for the team lead with seven tackles, so he produced, too.
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka's 52 snaps are a season- and career-high. It's good to see him receive the majority of the snaps between Anthony Nelson and Cam Gill, but it's also fair to wonder how much of that had to do with Shaquil Barrett leaving the game in the third quarter with a knee injury. Barrett's absence guaranteed JTS more playing time, but either way, it's good to see him on the field, especially when he's hitting the quarterback, as he did on Sunday. Barrett's injury also led to Nelson and Gill seeing a dramatic uptick in snaps, as expected. Nelson recorded his third sack of the season, a tackle for loss, and two quarterback hits in this game. He's becoming a solid part of the pass rushing rotation in his third season.
Kevin Minter was in for 70% of the defensive game plan and had a great game, recording five tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit. He's no Lavonte David, but the Bucs defense shouldn't see too much of a drop-off on the second level when Minter is in the game. Will Gholston made the most of his playing time with a team-leading 2.5 sacks and continues to be arguably the most underrated player on this defense. Steve McClendon also saw a lot of playing time, but that likely had to do with the Panthers' base offense being 12 personnel and how they like to run the ball with Cam Newton. Regardless, McClendon got in on the sack party with a half-sack of his own.
Richard Sherman saw just three snaps, but it makes sense to limit his activity when considering the injury issues he's had. It's best to make sure he's ready for the playoffs, at the end of the day. Especially since the Bucs have their top-3 corners back. The rest of the guys on defense came in during the game's final minutes, but it is worth noting that Rashard Robinson saw his first action on defense since Week 7 and made two tackles.
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