Playing time winners & losers for Steelers vs. Giants (Preseason Week 1)

The 2017 NFL season is under way, and with that, the Pittsburgh Steelers just closed the books on their first preseason game against the New York Giants.

As is customary with a preseason game, a number of Steelers starters sat out, leaving an opportunity for other players to have their name called. With injuries also factoring into playing time, it was interesting to see who the winners and losers were from Friday’s game.

Offensive Winners

Raise your hand if you know who Keavon Milton is.

Milton, a second-year tackle from Louisiana-Monroe, played the most snaps (78%) on offense.

That was mostly the case with the backup offensive linemen, as Matt Feiler, Jerald Hawkins, Brian Mihalik, and Kyle Friend all logged more than half of the game’s snaps for the offense.

Marcus Tucker and Canaan Severin also played 54% of the game, with Cobi Hamilton coming in at 52%. Knile Davis played the most snaps at running back (44%) with Terrell Watson (33%) getting a healthy look as well.

Offensive Losers

While Fitzgerald Toussaint didn’t log many carries, I assume that’s more to the coaches wanting to see what Davis and Watson were capable of.

Ethan Cooper, the only lineman added as a free agent or through the draft this season, only saw nine reps. In a game where most of the starting offensive line was yanked after 12 plays, that’s not a good way for him to get noticed.

JuJu Smith-Schuster also played very little (7 snaps) leaving the game to be evaluated for a concussion. He did not return.

Defensive Winners

T.J. Watt played an astonishing 82% of the game’s defensive plays, even switching from his anticipated role on the right side of the defense to the left in the second half.

Next in line was CB Brian Allen, the Steelers fifth-round pick, who stayed in for 70% of the plays. This was a solid game for Allen who could be a roster bubble candidate.

A lot of the “starters” in this game, and penciled in as such going forward until others get healthy, only played about one-third of the game: Jordan Dangerfield, Robert Golden, Tyler Matakevich, Coty Sensabaugh, Ross Cockrell, Cam Heyward, and Vince Williams.

Recently acquired corner JaCorey Shepherd saw a decent amount of field time with 18 snaps, considering he’s been with the team only a week or so.

Defensive Losers

Undrafted rookie free agent acquisition Francis Kallon only saw the field for five plays. He’ll need more time to prove his worth behind a stacked defensive line depth chart.

More disappointing is Daniel McCullers 13 reps as a fourth-year veteran on the team. Following the departure of Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt, and Cam Heyward from the game, Pittsburgh rode with Tyson Alualu, L.T. Walton, and Johnny Maxey for nearly the remainder of the game.

William Gay‘s eight snaps were paltry, but he’s also a veteran: as opposed to McCullers who is fighting for his NFL career, Gay had the veteran privilege of leaving the game early to watch from the sidelines.


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