Breaking Down the Miami Dolphins Week 17 Snap Counts
The Miami Dolphins snap count breakdown against the Buffalo Bills in Week 17 had a couple of pretty revealing items.
The one that stands out, even though it wasn't necessarily that surprising, is that running back Matt Breida did not play one down on offense.
Instead, Breida played just nine snaps on special teams.
This is significant because Breida is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason after being acquired in a trade with the 49ers for a fifth-round pick in the 2020 draft.
Based on what happened in Buffalo, it's probably difficult to envision Breida being back with the Dolphins in 2021.
The Buffalo game also had to be disappointing for wide receiver Mack Hollins, who played only four offensive snaps after getting 40, 69 and 49 snaps the previous three games. Hollins is another player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the spring.
At wide receiver, DeVante Parker played 76 snaps in his return to action and Lynn Bowden Jr. played 78, with Isaiah Ford getting the third-most action with 63 snaps.
Marcus Kemp, who was elevated from practice squad Saturday, played strictly on special teams. Rookie Malcolm Perry played only two snaps on offense, though he scored his first NFL touchdown (on a 25-yard reception) on one of them.
Because the Dolphins played from behind from the second quarter on, the tight end snaps were skewed heavily toward Mike Gesicki, who played 64, compared to 23 for Durham Smythe and 19 for Adam Shaheen.
Smythe's snap count was his lowest since the Denver game on Nov. 22 when he played 13 snaps.
On defense, the number that stood out was the 12 snaps for edge defender Shaq Lawson, which likely was a reflection on him being at less than 100 percent after he was listed as questionable on the final injury report of the week.
Andrew Van Ginkel tied for his second-most snaps of the season with 46 and had yet another strong outing. If anything, he showed he actually deserved more snaps.
With Elandon Roberts and Kamu Grugier-Hill missing the game because of injury and illness, respectively, special teams core player Calvin Munson played 22 snaps on defense, only two fewer than he had played in the first 15 games combined.
Rookie first-round pick Noah Igbinoghene got his first snaps on defense in four games, but that came in the final minutes long after the outcome had been decided.
He played nine snaps on defense, as did special teams regulars Jamal Perry and Sam Eguavoen, while rookie fifth-round pick Jason Strowbridge got eight snaps.
Interestingly, linebackers Jerome Baker and Kyle Van Noy played every snap on defense, even when Buffalo had two running plays before the two-minute warning.
