Bills-Texans snap count notes: Jerry Hughes seeing less field time

Final snap count numbers from the Buffalo Bills' 23-17 loss to the Houston Texans are in, and our 2014 Bills snap counts page has been updated to reflect not just this week's game, but the entire season's numbers. Be sure to check that out; here are just a few notes from what transpired in Week 4.

• Doug Marrone had hinted during the week that Kraig Urbik may work into a left guard rotation with rookie Cyril Richardson, but that did not materialize; Richardson played all 70 snaps on offense, while Urbik rode the pine.
• Do you wonder every Sunday morning, as Bills inactives are announced, why the team isn't playing Bryce Brown? Well, considering that they barely have room for third back Boobie Dixon - who hasn't played a snap of offense in either of the last two weeks - and that Brown isn't a great special teams player the way Dixon is, the answer should be obvious. Brown will have a hard time sneaking into the playing rotation this season.
• Frank Summers played six snaps in Houston, further evidence that the team abandoned the run a tad too early in this contest.
• Over the past two games, the Bills have closed a large playing time gap between Jerry Hughes and Jarius Wynn. In the first two games, Hughes played 100 snaps to Wynn's 51, but in the last two weeks, the gap is 67-62 in favor of Hughes. Wynn is playing solid run defense, and has earned some additional looks. Meanwhile, veteran Manny Lawson is now a clear No. 4 in the pecking order at end, though he is still playing quite a bit considering.
• The return of Keith Rivers did not hurt the playing time of Preston Brown much; he still logged 51 snaps (out of a possible 68). You can expect him to continue to replace Brandon Spikes on passing downs; Spikes (42 snaps) was the main beneficiary of the Nigel Bradham injury that cost him most of the second half.
• No more rotating cornerbacks! Stephon Gilmore played all 68 snaps in Houston. Leodis McKelvin played 56. And veteran Corey Graham, arguably the most dependable of the group, played eight. Though it's worth pointing out that the Bills may have taken him out of the rotation because of his added importance on special teams...
• The loss of special teams ace Marcus Easley forced the Bills to compensate by using several different players much more than usual in his stead. Graham's workload stood out; he saw 18 teams snaps in Houston, more than doubling his previous total from the first three weeks. Brown (18), Lawson (14), Da'Norris Searcy (14), Aaron Williams (11), and Rivers (12) all set season highs in terms of special teams reps.

Again, you can view the entire season's snap counts data at our page dedicated to the cause.