Each week after every Bucs game we’ll take a closer look at the snap count distribution for the Tampa Bay offense and defense. We’ll assess what we can learn from who played the most and least from the game.

Here is a closer view of of which players received the most and least amount of snaps in the Bucs’ 19-3 win on Sunday Night Football over the Cowboys in Week 1.

Bucs Offense 

The Bucs had their hands tied following the elbow injury to left tackle Donovan Smith. That gave backup Josh Wells 63 percent of the snaps with the offensive line as the rest of the group played all 62 snaps.

When Leonard Fournette was re-signed this offseason there was much thought that he could be a three-down back this year. Tampa Bay utilized a lot of Fournette, as his 47 snaps were the most out of any skill position player.

Rookie running back Rachaad White did get some playing time and good experience in his first career game. White was given time at the end of the game to run out the clock, gaining a couple of first downs in the fourth quarter. The Bucs trusted White as the number two back considering Giovani Bernard only played on special teams.

Bucs WR Julio Jones – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

There’s no surprise that Mike Evans led the way at receiver, but it was Chris Godwin who was given a solid amount of snaps before exiting the game with a hamstring injury in the second quarter. Did the Bucs over do it with him? That’ll be up for debate this week. However, Godwin was impactful in one half with three receptions for 35 yards.

It was interesting that after Godwin was out, Russell Gage Jr. and Breshad Perriman were involved in the same number of plays with 26 snaps apiece. One would have thought that Gage, who was expected to be a replacement for Godwin, might have received more opportunities with another player down.

Julio Jones played 52 percent of the time, showing that for him it was about the quality of his play rather than the quantity, especially given his injury history. The Bucs mixed in all of the active tight ends on Sunday night with Cam Brate out-snapping Cade Otton by 12. Although fellow rookie Ko Kieft just had 16 snaps, they were very significant moments. It felt like he was on the field more often as he made key blocks to spring Fournette throughout the evening.

Bucs Defense

Only 16 players were used on defense for the Bucs. They essentially relied on all the starters that they had while mixing in a rotation on the defensive line. The best players on the field, which included linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David and defensive backs Antoine Winfield Jr. and Carlton Davis III, played all 69 snaps.

Bucs OLB Anthony Nelson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The best depth on the Bucs is at outside linebacker. All of the top four edge rushers had significant moments as Shaq Barrett and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka provided great pressure while Anthony Nelson came up with a sack. Barrett tied a career-high with seven pressures and injured quarterback Dak Prescott on a pass rush, hitting his throwing hand. Prescott will have surgery and will be out 6-8 weeks.

Winfield was involved often as the slot corner as planned. And it was Logan Ryan that got the bulk of snaps at free safety when the Bucs were in nickel, as he was used for 57 snaps.

Todd Bowles said that the defensive backs would rotate during the season as Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting battled to win the second corner job, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday night. Dean was in on every play, while Murphy-Bunting did not get a defensive snap. Neither did Keanu Neal, who did have special teams tackle. It’s hard to argue with how the playing time was divvied out since the Bucs allowed just 244 yards of offense to the Cowboys and only three points. Plus, no points were allowed on Tampa Bay’s defense after the opening drive.