Welcome back to Steelers snap counts following a Week 18 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Here’s the latest on how Pittsburgh used its personnel ahead of the playoffs.
Steelers Week 18 snap count takeaways
Van Jefferson’s three-catch, 18-yard game was one of his best this season, but it’s still surprising to see him holding onto his WR2 position in Week 18. After being out-snapped by Calvin Austin III and Mike Williams last week, Jefferson leapfrogged both against the Bengals, logging 67% offensive snaps to Austin’s 66% and Williams’ 22%.
George Pickens played more snaps than usual with 91% of offensive snaps, but he didn’t have a yard to show for it.
Pat Freiermuth also had a lot of playing time with 79% of the offensive snaps. For most of the day, he was one of the few bright spots for the Steelers offense, and his snap counts reflected that.
Najee Harris (52% of offensive snaps) was the Steelers’ top running back against the Bengals, over Jaylen Warren (just 36%) and Cordarrelle Patterson (12%).
Connor Heyward dropped to TE4 against the Bengals, with MyCole Pruitt seeing more snaps. You have to wonder how secure the younger Heyward’s roster spot is entering 2025 (The fumble recovery was good, though).
Spencer Anderson got some playing time, logging 22% of offensive snaps, largely in replacement of an injured Mason McCormick at guard.
On defense, Cory Trice Jr. played 94% of snaps in replacement of the injured Donte Jackson. That’s a lot of reps for the second-year player.
T.J. Watt was the Steelers’ top outside linebacker, playing 79% of defensive snaps. Alex Highsmith logged 76%, Nick Herbig 31%, Preston Smith 25%, and Jeremiah Moon 2%.
Beanie Bishop Jr. played just 8% of defensive snaps to Cameron Sutton’s 85%.
Montravius Adams saw 24% of defensive snaps after the Steelers’ decision to make Dean Lowry and Isaiahh Loudermilk inactive.
Patrick Queen saw his usual 100% of defensive snaps, and Payton Wilson was the next most-played inside linebacker with 56%. Elandon Roberts followed with 37%.
The Steelers’ offensive-to-defensive plays ratio this week: 58:71.
Making the most of it award
There are a few good candidates this week, but none more so than Beanie Bishop Jr., who recorded an interception despite playing just six defensive snaps. Play the rookie more!
Now, here’s a full look at the Steelers snap counts from Week 18’s loss:
Steelers Week 18 snap counts
Snap counts via Next Gen Stats.
Offense Week 18
Player
Position
Offensive snaps
OS%
Total snaps
Player
Position
Offensive snaps
OS%
Total snaps
Broderick Jones
T
58
100%
61
Dan Moore Jr.
T
58
100%
59
Isaac Seumalo
G
58
100%
59
Zach Frazier
C
58
100%
58
Russell Wilson
QB
58
100%
58
George Pickens
WR
53
91%
53
Pat Freiermuth
TE
46
79%
49
Mason McCormick
G
46
79%
47
Van Jefferson
WR
39
67%
39
Calvin Austin III
WR
38
66%
41
Najee Harris
RB
30
52%
30
Jaylen Warren
RB
21
36%
27
Darnell Washington
TE
21
36%
24
Spencer Anderson
T
13
22%
16
Mike Williams
WR
13
22%
13
MyCole Pruitt
TE
11
19%
11
Cordarrelle Patterson
RB
7
12%
13
Connor Heyward
TE
5
9%
23
Ben Skowronek
WR
5
9%
17
Defense Week 18
Player
Position
Defensive snaps
DS%
Total snaps
Player
Position
Defensive snaps
DS%
Total snaps
Minkah Fitzpatrick
FS
71
100%
76
Patrick Queen
ILB
71
100%
76
Joey Porter Jr.
CB
71
100%
76
Cory Trice Jr.
CB
67
94%
72
DeShon Elliott
FS
66
93%
71
Cameron Sutton
CB
60
85%
63
T.J. Watt
OLB
56
79%
57
Alex Highsmith
OLB
54
76%
56
Cameron Heyward
DT
46
65%
53
Payton Wilson
ILB
40
56%
58
Larry Ogunjobi
DT
39
55%
43
Keeanu Benton
DT
38
54%
41
Elandon Roberts
ILB
26
37%
31
Nick Herbig
OLB
22
31%
42
Preston Smith
DE
18
25%
18
Montravius Adams
NT
17
24%
24
Damontae Kazee
SS
7
10%
10
Beanie Bishop Jr.
CB
6
8%
16
James Pierre
CB
4
6%
22
Jeremiah Moon
OLB
2
3%
22
Special teams Week 18
Player
Position
Special teams
ST%
Total snaps
Player
Position
Special teams
ST%
Total snaps
Nick Herbig
OLB
20
77%
42
Jeremiah Moon
OLB
20
77%
22
Payton Wilson
ILB
18
69%
58
Connor Heyward
TE
18
69%
23
James Pierre
CB
18
69%
22
Miles Killebrew
SS
18
69%
18
Tyler Matakevich
MLB
18
69%
18
Mark Robinson
ILB
18
69%
18
Ben Skowronek
WR
12
46%
17
Beanie Bishop Jr.
CB
10
38%
16
Christian Kuntz
LS
8
31%
8
Corliss Waitman
P
8
31%
8
Cameron Heyward
DT
7
27%
53
Montravius Adams
NT
7
27%
24
Chris Boswell
K
7
27%
7
Jaylen Warren
RB
6
23%
27
Cordarrelle Patterson
RB
6
23%
13
Minkah Fitzpatrick
FS
5
19%
76
Patrick Queen
ILB
5
19%
76
Joey Porter Jr.
CB
5
19%
76
Cory Trice Jr.
CB
5
19%
72
DeShon Elliott
FS
5
19%
71
Elandon Roberts
ILB
5
19%
31
Larry Ogunjobi
DT
4
15%
43
Cameron Sutton
CB
3
12%
63
Broderick Jones
T
3
12%
61
Pat Freiermuth
TE
3
12%
49
Calvin Austin III
WR
3
12%
41
Keeanu Benton
DT
3
12%
41
Darnell Washington
TE
3
12%
24
Spencer Anderson
T
3
12%
16
Damontae Kazee
SS
3
12%
10
Ryan McCollum
C
3
12%
3
Alex Highsmith
OLB
2
8%
56
Dan Moore Jr.
T
1
4%
59
Isaac Seumalo
G
1
4%
59
T.J. Watt
OLB
1
4%
57
Mason McCormick
G
1
4%
47
What are your takeaways from this week’s snap counts? Join the Behind the Steel Curtain community and let us know in the comments!
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