Browns' Week 17 Offensive Snap Counts vs. Steelers

Below, we analyze the snap counts on offense for the Cleveland Browns' Week 17 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Quarterback

Davis made his second start of the season in the Browns' regular season finale, and I left the game thinking, "never again." Davis wasn't the issue when the team was blown out by the Bengals a few weeks ago, but he was a significant liability against a very porous Steelers defense. With how Cleveland's defense played for a good portion of that game, I feel confident in saying that if Josh McCown had been under center, the Jets would be in the postseason right now. The Browns had a whopping 83 plays against Pittsburgh, a season-high for a non-overtime game.

Running Back

Isaiah Crowell continued his strong end-to-the-season and got the Browns near the end zone a couple of times. Unfortunately, Austin Davis couldn't find open receivers or was horribly inaccurate, so Crowell didn't get a crack to punch it in at the goal line. Duke Johnson did a nice job breaking free on one of his catches, but it's also evident of Pittsburgh's poor tackling that Cleveland didn't take advantage of as much as they could have. Both running backs should be back next year, either in the same capacity or as reserves.

Wide Receiver

The Browns looked to be desperately trying to get Travis Benjamin to 1,000 yards receiving on the season, but he came up 30 yards short. He'll be in contract negotiations with the club, but will his lessened productivity over the past month lower Cleveland's bid to him? Darius Jennings couldn't catch too many 50/50 balls that I think NFL receivers should have. Terrelle Pryor will benefit from Sashi Brown remaining in place -- him as a project receiver could carry over into a new coaching staff. Taylor Gabriel had to leave the game early with a frickin' fractured orbital socket -- ouch!

Tight End

Cleveland was able to get Gary Barnidge over 1,000 yards on the year, but couldn't get him a touchdown to become the team's single-season record holder for touchdowns by a Browns tight end.

Offensive Line

The offensive line surrendered seven sacks and 8 hits on the quarterback. I'd put about 3-4 of those sacks of Austin Davis' ineffectiveness, especially the one where he slowly rolled to the sideline and just took a sack instead of throwing the ball away. Cleveland still did some good things running the ball with their pull-guard running, but Cameron Erving was schooled again in pass protection.

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Amount of Offensive Plays, By the Week

• Week 1: 71 plays
• Week 2: 49 plays
• Week 3: 75 plays
• Week 4: 71 plays
• Week 5: 88 plays*
• Week 6: 79 plays*
• Week 7: 75 plays
• Week 8: 63 plays
• Week 9: 53 plays
• Week 10: 69 plays
• Week 11: Bye Week
• Week 12: 69 plays
• Week 13: 63 plays
• Week 14: 78 plays
• Week 15: 55 plays
• Week 16: 68 plays
• Week 17: 83 plays

We'll have coverage on the defensive snap counts later on.