Taysom Hill only had to touch the ball 10 times against the Seahawks to wreck the game with 112 rushing yards, 22 passing yards and four total touchdowns.
But in the Week 6 loss to the Bengals, he saw only 15 snaps. Fellow play-maker Rashid Shaheed scored a 44-yard touchdown on his lone offensive touch, but in all played just nine offensive snaps. So, what gives?
"Obviously there's more in the game plan for both those guys going into the game, but it's just the way the flow of the game was going, and maybe they didn't get as many opportunities," offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said this week. "And so that's something that ... I can do a better job of getting those guys on the field more."
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Hill was also serving as the backup quarterback in the game, with Jameis Winston only active as the "emergency" third option with backup Jake Luton waived earlier in the week. However, that role hasn't and shouldn't limit Hill's snap count. WRs Jarvis Landry and Michael Thomas have still not practiced and appear to be on track for another missed week, though rookie Chris Olave has cleared concussion protocol and should be on the field for a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. And Hill's involvement will be something to expect.
"I think there's times as you're looking at the call sheet and what you're seeing defensively and you're saying, 'Okay, what what do we feel good about? Let's get to these plays next series.' And so in some cases, it might involve him. And in some cases, it might not,' Carmichael's said.
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Where Hill hasn't been involved at all is in the receiving game. He and Shaheed are now tied on the season with one target apiece.
The QB runs that were so effective against the Seahawks also didn't hit as often later in the game. After runs for 7 and 31 yards in the first half, his final three carries were held to just 2, 0 and -1 yards.
The perceived reduction in Hill's involvement was also probably a bit overblown. He was in on 23 of 79 snaps in Week 5 (30%). That number was 15 of 72 for Week 6 (21%). Compare that to Week 1, when he was in for 16 of 61 snaps (26%). In all, not a huge change.
The most noticeable difference is he ran the ball just five times, but he did throw four passes, meaning he had just one fewer "touch" compared to Week 5, excluding kick returns. If you include the two plays Hill lined up at quarterback and handed it off to Alvin Kamara, it was actually one more touch.
"We feel really good when he's out on the field," Carmichael said.
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