Bucs at Falcons Week 18 Snap Count Analysis

Each week after each Bucs game, we take a closer look at the quick count distribution for Tampa Bay’s offense and defense. We will assess what we can learn from who has played the game the most and the least.

Here’s a closer look at which players received the highest and lowest number of snaps in the Bucs’ 30-17 defeat on Sunday afternoon en route to the Falcons in the Week 18 regular season finale.

Bucs attack

Well, this is a different look than other weeks, right? The Bucs didn’t have much to play for in this game and were fairly careful using their starters, with the backups playing almost all of the second half. Only three offensive linemen played all 55 snaps with Brandon Walton, Luke Goedeke and Nick Leverett. The latter two really stood out, given that Goedeke moved over to play right tackle, where he played at Central Michigan, and Leverett’s openly switched to center in the game after Robert Hainsey was injured.

For the first time this season, Tom Brady didn’t play 100% of the snaps, but he did have the most of any quarterback. Brady had played 31 to Blaine Gabbert’s 14 and Kyle Trask’s 10. Tampa Bay struggled to get the ball with three outs several times in the second half, so that would have played into the numbers.

The highest number of snaps after the offensive linemen was wide receiver Deven Thompkins, who was thrilling to watch. He made four catches for 25 yards and ran around for 17 yards. Thompkins showed great ability to break tackles and battle for the ball in a fight with a defender. He was the best wide receiver next to Chris Godwin.

Speaking of Godwin, it was a special day for him as his six receptions for 55 yards led the team in the game. But more importantly, Godwin’s performance earned him over 100 catches and 1,000 yards on the season. Breshad Perriman had the second most snaps while Russell Gage was third.

Believe it or not, it was Giovani Bernard who led the way in snaps and production for the running backs. He was in 45% of the time and recorded seven rushing attempts for 28 yards. Ke’Shawn Vaughn was second on snap percentage and ran eight times for 26 yards. Rachaad White and Leonard Fournette were rarely used, as the Bucs save them the postseason.

While Cade Otton usually plays a high percentage of snaps, it looks like Tampa Bay is also saving him for the playoffs, only playing him in 19 snaps. Despite making 11 appearances, Kyle Rudolph made the most of it by scoring his first touchdown of the season. Cam Brate looked invisible even though he was on for 49% of the game.

Box defense

So many injuries to the Bucs forced safety Antoine Winfield Jr. to play 100% of the 68 snaps. Even at the end of the game, when most of the reserves were in, Winfield was still going. Outside linebackers Anthony Nelson and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka were in a similar situation, as they played 75% and 72%, respectively.

The Bucs didn’t intend to use their starters much. Players like Akiem Hicks and Jamel Dean were barely there after two series, and linebackers Lavonte David and Devin White were done by halftime. This gave us a look at KJ Britt and JJ Russell, but there was nothing positive that stood out either.

The Tampa Bay defensive line saw a jump in plays for defensive tackle Logan Hall, while role players Pat O’Connor and Deadrin Senat were involved. Regulars Will Gholston and Rakeem Nunez-Roches had time in the first half.

In secondary, once Dean was out of the game, the Bucs had Sean Murphy-Bunting and Zyon McCollum on the outside corner. They used Dee Delaney at the nickel position and he finished with a solid game, finishing second on the team with eight tackles and one tackle for loss, bringing his snap count to 69%.