When basketball games are close from the opening tip to the final buzzer, coaches tend to shorten the bench. Fewer players get into the game and the top talents dominate the playing time.
That’s exactly what Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski did in his team’s Week 10 win over the Houston Texans. In a game where weather conditions largely negated the passing game, the snap counts for both teams were abbreviated.
Cleveland ran 65 offensive plays to Houston’s 57. The Browns had just 16 players take an offensive snap, a season-low. The biggest impact came at wide receiver.
Three wideouts all played exactly 38 snaps: Rashard Higgins, KhaDarel Hodge and Jarvis Landry. Donovan Peoples-Jones was on the field for 16. Having no single WR play more than 58 percent of the snaps is a testament to the weather and game conditions.
The tight end breakdown continues to establish the status quo: Austin Hooper (55 snaps) is the top dog, followed by rookie Harrison Bryant (36) and then David Njoku (23).
Nick Chubb returned to the lineup and played 28 reps. That’s 10 less than Kareem Hunt, who also missed a few snaps after taking a hard shot in the second half. No other RB was on the field other than for special teams.
On defense, 18 Browns saw action. That’s also a season-low. Four players played all 57 snaps: CBs Denzel Ward and Terrance Mitchell, LB B.J. Goodson and S Ronnie Harrison.
Myles Garrett continues to play over 80 percent of available reps. The superstar DE logged 46 snaps. Safety Andrew Sendejo was next at 45, his lowest total and percentage of the year. Olivier Vernon also played 45 as the DE opposite Garrett.
Safety Karl Joseph did not play on defense. His regular reps were divided up between safety Sheldrick Redwine (17 snaps) and more usage of the No. 3 LB spot, which rotated between Malcolm Smith (27) and Sione Takitaki (17).
The Texans’ base three-WR offense led to former Houston first-round pick Kevin Johnson playing more than usual as the slot corner. Johnson played 39 reps, more than any linebacker got in the game.
[lawrence-related id=55106]
