Just when you think you have it all figured out…

I really thought I had it figured out. Bud Dupree was getting eased back into playing, James Harrison was limited to keep him fresh, and Ladarius Green hadn’t played half of a game yet, but would soon.

Just when you think you have it all figured out… (no that’s not a typo, but I had to emphasize it!)

The Steelers snap counts were, well, different. Several players saw more playing time than expected, and several others saw little or no time at all.

Let’s examine who played what, on each side of the ball.

Offense

The league’s official tally shows the Steelers offense playing 75 total plays versus 73 a week earlier, against the Giants.

Very little changed in terms of who played the most: Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger were in for every single play this week. The offensive line also played the entire game, with the noticeable change being B.J. Finney subbing for the injured Ramon Foster.

Le’Veon Bell, who had a monster game, only came out for three plays, for Fitzgerald Toussaint (1 carry, 6 yards).

After those mainstays, Jesse James logged the next-best time with 50 reps (67%) which was a small uptick in his playing time since Ladarius Green’s return.

Green, who had only played in snow once in his career, saw a small decrease in his playing time from a 48% high on 35 snaps last week, to 28 snaps (37%) this week.

The root cause could be a Pittsburgh running game which was red-hot on Sunday: Chris Hubbard out-snapped Green by two plays (30/40%) while Roosevelt Nix (25/33%) saw his most action of the year.

David Johnson also saw a lot of playing time, around his usual 1/4 to 1/3 split (22/29%).

The bigger packages allowed the Steelers to push the Bills top-ranked run D around to the tune of 240 yards, without allowing a single sack of Big Ben.

Eli Rogers and Cobi Hamilton saw a similar share this week with 35/47% and 34/45% respectively, while Sammie Coates saw a single snap while still (apparently) recovering from his finger and hand injuries.

What do all of these numbers mean for the Steelers offense? It means they are built for just about anything.

Throw downfield? Check.

Power run game? Check.

The only thing that has derailed Pittsburgh’s offense so far has been themselves: costly mistakes such as penalties or turnovers.

Otherwise, don’t expect to have a handle on who will play how much, and when: outside of the line and the Killer B’s.

Defense

A slew of Steelers stayed in the entire game. For Sean Davis, Ryan Shazier, Artie Burns and Ross Cockrell, that’s been more of the norm lately. Stephon Tuitt joins that list this week, as does, surprisingly, the 38-year-old James Harrison.

The outside linebacker rotation had it’s revolving door broken by the ageless Harrison, and second-year LB Bud Dupree. The duo caused headaches for the Bills offensive line all day long, and thus, neither really left the field. (Dupree would only leave for a single snap, for Anthony Chickillo.)

Lawrence Timmons nearly logged the entire game as well with a 48 snap, 92% share of playing time.

Mike Mitchell followed next with 39 reps, good for 75% of the game. Mitchell had been playing the full game, but left with an injury scare (knee) before returning later on. He was replaced by Robert Golden (17/33%) for those snaps.

Ricardo Mathews would see 34 snaps (65%) in place of Javon Hargrave (who sat out with a concussion) while second-year defensive lineman L.T. Walton saw a decent amount of playing time with 18 reps (35%) which is the same amount as Daniel McCullers, who many thought would get the starting nod. (Instead Walton was in for the first series.)

William Gay also saw 34 snaps (65%) playing as the nickel corner.

I’d like to say there’s no real surprises here, but not seeing Arthur Moats, Jarvis Jones or Vince Williams in this game, did come as a bit of a surprise. I did not expect Dupree or Harrison to play the full game, and Chickillo had been one of the linebackers seeing the most playing time (and success) in Dupree’s absence.

The secondary is nearly as cohesive as the Steelers offensive line in terms of starting and finishing games. Had Mitchell not been banged up, I have no doubt he never leaves the field either.

Timmons had been an ironman most of the season, but obviously leaves the field in certain situations. He still played all but 4 snaps.

Walton, as a second-year guy (taken in the 6th round last season) may be the freshest surprise, in that he’s stepping in and getting the job done as well.

The defense may have found the right combination of players, and Dupree appears to be in football shape; a much needed disruptive force that had been missing for most of 2016.

If the play counts are any indication, the Steelers may be ready to ride with their 2015 first round selection, and Harrison. Dupree had a career-high 2 sacks, while James Harrison had at least one sack in his previous three games prior to Sunday.

It all points to the right combination on defense, coming together at the right time.