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

Let’s get a closer look at the Bucs players who received the highest and lowest number of snaps in their hard fought 28-13 win over the Raiders on Sunday afternoon.

Bucs Offense

Bucs RB Rachaad White – Photo by: USA Today

These numbers were always going to be skewed because running back Bucky Irving could hardly play due to a hip and back injury. With all of that said, fellow running back Rachaad White was so important for the Bucs on Sunday. He played 76% of the snaps and was essentially the focal point of the offense with 17 rushing attempts for 90 yards and a touchdown along with two catches for 19 yards and a scores.

We’ve said on several Pewter Report Podcasts that White is very valuable to this team, and this game was a good example of how important he is. Tampa Bay has fantastic depth at running back as Sean Tucker, who had 11 snaps, had a 34-yard run that essentially sealed the game.

Even though he does it season and season out and game in and game out, Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans still deserves all of the praise in the world for continuing to ball out on a weekly basis. The stat line of four catches for 69 yards may not set off the fireworks postgame, but he was still very important for what the offense wanted to do. Jalen McMillan and Sterling Shepard played their similar amounts, and they each had good games. The Bucs receivers besides Mike Evans are coming alive and that’s a great sign.

During most weeks we praise Cade Otton for how much he’s able to play, and that’ll continue. Otton played in 97% of the game and had the dagger to close it out with a 44 yard catch and run. His 70 yards on three receptions were the most receiving yards by any Bucs player in the game, just edging out Evans. The story is just about fellow tight end Payne Durham as it is Otton. Durham was in for 40% of the snaps, the most of this season and his career as the Bucs look to go heavy with running the ball.

Bucs Defense

Bucs LB Lavonte David and DT Logan Hall – Photo by: USA Today

Tampa Bay literally can’t go a game without someone getting injured and particularly in the secondary.  Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. left the game with a knee injury after only 16 snaps, which had to make the Bucs adjust quickly. A bunch of credit needs to go to Christian Izien, who played the third most snaps in the game at 65, which was 97%, along with Kaevon Merriweather, who was in for 55 snaps (82%) as he held it down with Winfield no longer available.

Izien’s snap count was the third highest on the team after cornerback Jamel Dean and Lavonte David played 100% of the game. There were some people worrying and wondering about the lack of snaps for Vita Vea. Well, that concern is a complete myth and was a  ridiculous sentiment. It’s literally the fourth most snaps he’s seen in a game this season, and his his highest snap count was last week against the Panthers, so the team is playing him more down the stretch.

Outside linebacker usage became a curiosity in this game after the Bucs downgraded Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to out on Saturday. Everybody knew it was going to be Yaya Diaby and Anthony Nelson starting, but the Bucs used Diaby a little bit less than the week before. He played over 90% against the Panthers and just 79% of the snaps against the Raiders. I don’t look at this as a significant impact for the Bucs defense considering Diaby still played a lot and it didn’t mean much more for rookie Chris Braswell. Nelson was at 69%, so he played a similar amount, too.

Another thing we learned on Saturday was that J.J. Russell was out, so that meant the Bucs didn’t have veterans K.J. Britt or Russell lining up next to David. Next in line was Vi Jones, who played 40 snaps, which was 60%. It was probably the right move to not exactly throw him to the wolves, and although the Raiders are a low level team, how mad can anyone be at the defense allowing just 13 points?

A big shout out needs to be sent out to rookie nickelback Tykee Smith in his return to the lineup. He played 43 snaps in the game, coming in at 64% and had a very important interception in the third quarter near the goal line when he stepped in front of Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers, his former teammate at Georgia. The team and the Tampa Bay defense are just better when he’s in the game. Hopefully his on-field presence leads to more wins and a division title.