Each week I’ll take a closer look at the snap count distribution for the Bucs offense and defense, assessing what we can learn from who played the most and who played the least on game day.

Here’s a look at which Bucs played the most – and the least – in the team’s narrow 28-24 victory over the New York Jets in Week 17.

Bucs Offensive Snap Counts

Antonio Brown played 26 of 39 snaps before his sideline outburst ended his Bucs’ career. That seems perfectly reasonable, considering he was less than 100 percent and isn’t going to be on the field in most 13 personnel packages. Moving forward, the key for the Bucs will be how they replace Brown. Right now, it looks like Cyril Grayson and Tyler Johnson will be the No. 2 and No. 3 receivers for the Bucs.

Grayson has emerged as a playmaker, with back-to-back 81-yard games. But he’s yet to prove what he can do at high volume. He’ll have that opportunity for the rest of the season, with Brown gone and Chris Godwin on injured reserve. Johnson will need to step up as well. The second-year wideout slightly out-snapped Grayson, while catching four passes for 50 yards. But Johnson’s third down drop that forced the Bucs to settle for a field goal was a huge moment in the game. Of course, Grayson’s 33-yard touchdown made it all obsolete.

Mike Evans barely out-snapping Johnson and Grayson shows what kind of shape he was in. It was a rough game for Evans too, as he failed to post up for a jump ball opportunity down the sideline, resulting in an interception. That led to three points for the Jets, and likely took away at least three points for the Bucs. Later in the game, Evans dropped a big play deep in Jets’ territory. It’s also noteworthy that Breshad Perriman played just 11 snaps. Is he the WR4 now?

At running back, more shuffling occurred in Week 17. Ronald Jones went down with an ankle injury, forcing the Bucs to play without their top three running backs. Leonard Fournette and Giovani Bernard are currently on injured reserve. Le’Veon Bell, in his second game with the team, actually out-snapped Ke’Shawn Vaughn 26-to-24. If Jones can’t play next week, Bell could get the start against the Panthers.

Rob Gronkowski is going to need to be a warrior for the Bucs as they move into the playoffs. The big tight end played 70 of 74 snaps against the Jets, catching seven passes for 115 yards. Cam Brate played his usual 21 reps, while O.J. Howard saw a bump up to 14. Howard was still not targeted in the game.

Defensive Snap Counts

The biggest surprises for the Bucs defensively were the curious decisions in the secondary. Despite making Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean active, defensive coordinator Todd Bowles was hesitant to go to his two starting cornerbacks on Sunday. Murphy-Bunting and Dean arrived late to the game thanks to a fiasco with their private flight, but they were warmed up and ready to go by the Jets second drive.

Murphy-Bunting was finally inserted in the second quarter, but bowed out quickly with an injury. This sent Dean into the game, playing 32 snaps the rest of the way. Why was Dean not out there before Murphy-Bunting, when the former has been the superior player this season? Why was Mike Edwards, not Murphy-Bunting (when healthy), playing in the slot?

For the first time this season, the Bucs had all five starting members of their secondary active for the same game. However, I don’t believe they played a snap together once again. Pretty remarkable. If Murphy-Bunting can’t play in Week 18, the Bucs will go an entire season without their starting secondary playing a single snap together.

Kevin Minter played 57 of 61 snaps, a trend that just cannot continue. With the Bucs limited at defensive back, maybe they felt like they couldn’t run more dime packages, especially with Richard Sherman out. But Minter was a massive liability in the run and pass game. The Bucs need Lavonte David back for the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Anthony Nelson and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka played most of the game, while Cam Gill picked up 15 snaps. All three impressed at times, but the pass rush was inconsistent overall. As the game progressed, the Bucs called on Vita Vea and Ndamukong Suh to play more snaps. Vea went over 55 percent of the team’s defensive snaps for just the second time since his injury against Washington.