Welcome to the Week 8 edition of Snaps, Pace, & Stats, where we examine trends in snap totals and no-huddle usage. It is meant to be a 30,000-foot view of upcoming games, with the goal of identifying which matchups will – and which will not – be played on fertile fantasy soil.
Up in pace
| Rank | Week 7 Snaps | 2018 Snaps/Game | Opponent Wk 7 Snaps | 2018 Opp Snaps/Gm |
| 1 | Tampa Bay (88) | Baltimore (74.1) | Cleveland (88) | Cleveland (74.9) |
| 2 | Chicago (77) | Cleveland (71.9) | New England (77) | Arizona (70) |
| 3 | Kansas City (70) | Green Bay (69.2) | Baltimore (70) | Cincinnati (69.6) |
| 4 | New Orleans (70) | Indianapolis (69) | Cincinnati (70) | Kansas City (68.9) |
| 5 | N.Y. Jets (69) | Philadelphia (68.6) | Minnesota (69) | Pittsburgh (68.3) |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals
The Buccaneers profile as a snap-generating offense, even if their totals have thus far flown just below the radar. They rank ninth in plays per game (66.7) and their contests average the eighth-most combined snaps. Since Jameis Winston took over, however, things are picking up (more in No-Huddle Notes). Tampa Bay’s ninth-best-graded run defense remains stout despite a rash of front-seven injuries. Their pass defense is a well-documented disaster and opponents are beginning to catch on, as they’re facing the 13th-highest pass rate during neutral situations – and it’s rising. The Bucs offense also skews pass-heavy when games are close (64%; sixth-highest), which makes sense considering their embarrassment of receiving riches and dearth of rushing talent. Facing a Bengals defense that’s being thrown at on 61.8% of situation-neutral snaps (seventh-highest) will keep Winston lubed up.
Cincinnati is apparently back to their old tricks. They finished last in the league with 57.9 plays per game a season ago, and after three weeks in which they averaged 56.7 snaps, the Bengals rank sixth-lowest this year (59.7). Of course, they allow 69.6 plays per game (third-highest), so this is not a Cowboys-esque universal snap drain. Despite the lack of play volume, there is hope for Cincinnati this week. The Bucs invite passing, and the Bengals are throwing at the third-highest situation-neutral rate (67.6%). Converting a few more third downs against Tampa Bay’s barely-there pass defense will do wonders for an offense’s snap volume. Considering the Bengals are scoring the sixth-most points on a per-snap basis, while the Bucs allow a league-high, loading a handful more plays into the red rifle should lead to a shootout.
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