Browns snap counts: Injuries cause big offensive shakeup vs. Steelers

1 hour ago 1

The Cleveland Browns improbably got back into the win column in Week 17.

Despite facing a Steelers team that would've locked up the AFC North with a win over the previously 3-12 Browns, Cleveland managed to prevail, entirely shutting down Pittsburgh's offense in a 13-6 victory. They managed to do so without either of their top two tight ends, their top running back, and starting defensive tackle Maliek Collins, and with star rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger significantly hampered by injury during Sunday's contest.

The win drew mixed reactions, considering the long-term ramifications of the team playing itself out of quarterback range in the 2026 NFL Draft, but it was still a very impressive effort against a division rival that had much, much more on the line at this point in the season.

Let's dive into how the Browns used their personnel in Sunday's upset win.

The 100%ers

Offense (5): OT Cam Robinson, OT KT Leveston, C Luke Wypler, G Joel Bitonio, QB Shedeur Sanders
Defense (4): S Grant Delpit, LB Carson Schwesinger, S Ronnie Hickman, CB Denzel Ward

Four of the Browns' starters on the offensive line, along with Sanders, played all 52 offensive snaps for the Browns. On the other side of the ball, Schwesinger toughed it out through a thigh injury to play all 66 defensive snaps, alongside three of the Browns' starting defensive backs -- including Ward, who was the target of Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' final three pass attempts with the game on the line.

Offense

The playing time of the Browns' skill position players saw a big shakeup in Week 17. Jerry Jeudy led all wide receivers on the team, playing 49 of 52 snaps (94%), followed by Cedric Tillman at 58% (30 of 52). Behind Tillman was Malachi Corley, playing 38% of the snaps, while Isaiah Bond -- who has taken on WR2 and WR3 responsibilities at various points this season -- played just 23% of the snaps. Gage Larvadain played 4 of 52 snaps (8%).

In the backfield, with Judkins and Jerome Ford both absent, it was undrafted rookie Raheim Sanders leading the charge with 42% of the snaps, followed by fourth-round pick Dylan Sampson at 35%. Trayveon Williams was the team's third back with 23% of the snaps on Sunday.

With Njoku out and Fannin absent for most of Sunday's game, Blake Whiteheart played the most snaps of any tight end at 62%. Brendan Bates (48%) and Sal Canella (35%) also saw expanded roles with the injuries to the position group. Fannin was only able to play 12 of the Browns' 52 offensive snaps against the Steelers (23%).

Guard Tevin Jenkins played 60% of the snaps before leaving the game with a concussion. In his absence, Zak Zinter (31%) and Wyatt Teller (17%) both saw playing time.

Defense

For the second straight week, defensive end Myles Garrett played over 90% of the Browns' defensive snaps, as he was on the field for 62 of their 66 plays (94%) against Pittsburgh. He was held without a sack, still leaving him one shy of the NFL's single-season record heading into Cleveland's final game of the 2025 season.

Alongside Ward, who played all of the snaps as mentioned above, the team's other starting cornerback, Tyson Campbell, played 85% of the defensive snaps. Safety Rayshawn Jenkins (55%) and cornerback Tre Avery (44%) also saw active roles in the secondary on Sunday.

The Browns' typically deep interior defensive line rotation was limited to just four players against the Steelers. Mason Graham led the way per usual with 79% of the defensive snaps, while Shelby Harris played a similarly-high 71%. Mike Hall Jr. played 19 of 66 snaps (29%), while Adin Huntington played 23% of the snaps.

Special teams

Cornerback D'Angelo Ross saw no playing time on defense this week, but he did lead the team with 18 special teams snaps (86%). He was the only Browns player to play more than 15 such snaps, as four players -- linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold, safeties Donovan McMillon and Christopher Edmonds, and Avery -- all tied for second at that mark. Whiteheart (67%), Huntington (57%), and defensive end Cameron Thomas (52%) also all played double-digit special teams snaps.

This article originally appeared on Browns Wire: Browns snap counts: Injuries cause big offensive shakeup vs. Steelers

Read Entire Article