Snap Count Observations From the Buccaneers' Wild Card Win Over the Eagles
The Buccaneers' official snap counts from their Wild Card win over the Eagles are finally in and as expected, there are some different names on this week's log, some returning names, and then the usuals.
Who played the most during Week 19 of the 2021 season?
You can check out AllBucs' snap count observations/breakdowns below:
Offense
For starters, Tristan Wirfs played just a handful of snaps before leaving the game with an ankle sprain. He tried to come back in and fight through the pain, but it was too much. Tom Brady was even sacked on one of the snaps that he came back in for. Josh Wells took Wirfs' place at right tackle and was also injured, but it wasn't a game-ending injury and Wells was average at best as he played through the pain.
Ryan Jensen played every snap despite having to go into the blue medical tent after the Bucs' second touchdown. Dude is a total warrior, that's for sure.
Rob Gronkowski played the most out of all the other skill positions and it won't be a surprise if he plays even more due to Wirfs' potential absence. Tyler Johnson played his most snaps since Week 15, but only had two receptions for 30-yards. He's going to have do more as the postseason continues. It's that simple.
Giovani Bernard received the most playing time he's seen all year long and had his best game as a Buccaneer, by far.
Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard saw a decent amount of playing time and that will likely continue if Wirfs misses games. The same goes for Aaron Stinnie, who saw some extra playing time as an extra offensive lineman.
Scotty Miller saw a decent chunk of playing time, but his biggest impact came on special teams, where he prevented Jalen Reagor from making an attempt to recover the punt Reagor muffed. Jaelon Darden logged just two offensive snaps and continues to only serve as the team's primary kick returner.
Defense
Jamel Dean played every single snap due to the absence of Sean Murphy-Bunting and looked great as he racked up seven tackles and a pass deflection. Antoine Winfield Jr. came away with the first postseason sack of his career and continues to develop into one of the league's better safeties. Carlton Davis III was as sticky as ever and almost had a couple of picks on the day.
Lavonte David played an impressive 89% of snaps off his return from the foot injury that sidelined him for three weeks. It'll be nice to see him get back up to 100% of snaps, because that means the Bucs defense is a SMB away from being completely healthy (in terms of being on the field). Bruce Arians said Monday that LVD, Shaquil Barrett, and Jason Pierre-Paul were all on pitch counts due to their recent injuries. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson saw at least 40% of defensive snaps as a result and both players had an impact on the game.
Mike Edwards had a good game, but got dinged up on a punt return, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with him as the week continues on. Edwards also played nickel in place of SMB. Ross Cockrell, the team's former backup nickelback, only logged two snaps, so it looks like this is the plan moving forward for whenever SMB misses a game. Unless Edwards has to miss time, of course.
It makes a lot of sense that Rakeem Nunez-Roches and Steve McClendon played a decent amount, but it's a bit surprising to see Nacho with more snaps than Vita Vea. It was nice to see McClendon record that sack, as well.
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