Steelers snap counts: How Pittsburgh used Justin Fields and Mike Williams; other takeaways from Week 12

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) throws the ball during warm ups before the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field Stadium. 
Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

You can learn a lot about the 2024 Steelers from the team’s snap counts.

Welcome back to Steelers snap counts following a Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

Steelers Week 12 snap count takeaways

  • Van Jefferson played just 25% of the offensive snaps, likely due to an injury that caused him to miss some time. It resulted in George Pickens seeing slightly more snaps than usual (90%) while Calvin Austin III jumped from 34% last week to 60% against Cleveland. Mike Williams played just 28%, even less than last week’s 31%.
  • Ben Skowronek was a much smaller part of the gameplan this week: just two snaps (3%) after playing 19 (26%) against the Ravens.
  • Even in the ugly weather, Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth, an expected “security blanket” in the passing game, only played 64% of the offensive snaps (still a slight uptick from Week 11).
  • For those curious, Russell Wilson played 91% of offensive snaps (61). Fields played the remaining 9% (six).
  • Jaylen Warren (38 snaps — 57%) out-snapped Najee Harris at running back (27 snaps — 40%).
  • In his first game back, tight end MyCole Pruitt logged 46% of offensive snaps.
  • After playing him in just 65% of defensive snaps last week, the Steelers relied heavily on Cam Heyward against Cleveland, with the veteran playing 87% of defensive snaps.
  • Payton Wilson (53%) played more than Elandon Roberts (44%) against the Browns after a few weeks of being the ILB3.
  • Keeanu Benton played just under 50% of the defensive snaps. It’s not unheard of this year, but an interesting decision given the Steelers’ struggles in the trenches against Cleveland.
  • Cam Sutton started but played only 16% of the snaps. Beanie Bishop Jr. only played 40% but is still clearly out-snapping the veteran.
  • The Steelers’ offense to defense snap ratio this week: 67:55.

Making the most of it award

There’s no clear winner this week, with Justin Fields having too many negative plays to be a true candidate. Instead, it’ll go to wide receiver Van Jefferson, who logged two catches for 39 yards on just 17 snaps. That’s solid production.

Now, here’s a full look at the Steelers snap counts from Week 12’s loss:

Steelers Week 12 snap counts

Snap counts via Next Gen Stats.

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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