Steelers Offensive Snap Counts: Passing Emphasis Gets Baron Batch Involved

The Steelers clearly looked to throw the ball frequently in their Week 3 loss at Oakland. The inclusion of running back Baron Batch (27 plays) wasn't anticipated but isn't shocking, either. Jonathan Dwyer (eight plays) may still be suffering lingering effects from a toe injury he sustained last week, and that could have limited his playing time.

Between Batch, Dwyer and Isaac Redman (29) on a rotational basis and the fact the Steelers only ran 20 times (27 percent), they looked to exploit match-ups they had in the passing game. The plan worked very well, racking up 433 yards on those 70 plays (6.1 yards per play), with 379 of them coming through the air.

Tight end Heath Miller missed Wednesday and Thursday practice last week with a rib cage injury, but played all 74 offensive plays. And he managed to catch two touchdowns in the process.

Moving ahead, the Steelers are off in Week 4 and return to host Philadelphia in Week 5. They could add RB Rashard Mendenhall into the mix that week, which would be a welcome boost in production. The Steelers as a team rushed 20 times for 54 yards - 2.7 yards per carry. Removing the non-running backs (quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had one carry for eight yards, and wide receiver Mike Wallace had one carry for one yard), the Steelers ran 18 times for 45 yards - 2.5 yards a carry with a long of seven (Redman).

Play totals for each player are after the jump.

Steelers Offensive Play Counts, Week 3, at Oakland

Willie Colon, 74

Ramon Foster, 74

Maurkice Pouncey, 74

Ben Roethlisberger, 74

Heath Miller, 74

Max Starks, 74

Marcus Gilbert, 68

Mike Wallace, 65

Antonio Brown, 63

Emmanuel Sanders, 52

Isaac Redman, 29

Baron Batch, 27

Will Johnson, 16

Leonard Pope, 12

Chris Rainey, 9

Jonathan Dwyer, 8

Kelvin Beachum, 6

David Paulson, 5

Jerricho Cotchery, 5