If you really want to gain some understanding as to just how shorthanded the Pittsburgh Steelers offense was on Sunday against the Patriots, I think no individual statistic might illustrate that point better than noting the fact that wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, who is essentially fifth on the depth chart when everybody is healthy, logged 62 of the Steelers’ 72 offensive plays during the game, which was three more snaps than Antonio Brown played.
Sammie Coates played seven snaps during the game. Markus Wheaton didn’t even dress. Eli Rogers was sidelined for undisclosed reasons despite being healthy, which suggests that there is likely a disciplinary issue at play with regards to that situation.