Cincy Jungle
The most interesting aspect of the snap count sheet was who did not appear on it. Cam Taylor-Britt was a healthy scratch for the Bengals on Thursday Night Football. Not only was he replaced in the lineup by Josh Newton, but he was surpassed by Marco Wilson and DJ Ivey to even suit up.
The unit looked pretty strong without Taylor-Britt. Despite giving up one long fade to DK Metcalf, DJ Turner had another great night. Dax Hill and Josh Newton also played well. Even so, it is interesting that Taylor-Britt wasn’t even out there. Did he miss a meeting or display a poor attitude? Or are they attempting to trade him and don’t want to get him hurt? Something strange is going on.
Three of the top defensive backs played every snap (Geno Stone, Jordan Battle, and Dax Hill), while DJ Turner played all but one. Josh Newton was significantly lower, playing 46% of snaps.
The defensive back group might just be set if the team plans to move on from Taylor-Britt immediately.
Another defender who played every snap was Barrett Carter. The rookie linebacker making his second start might be the best tackler on the team. That is an area where fellow linebacker Demetrius Knight, who played 84% of defensive snaps, has struggled. Defensive captain Logan Wilson was significantly lower, playing 46% of the time, with Oren Burks only seeing 11% of defensive snaps.
The team seems content to ride out the mistakes and missed tackles that come from having a pair of rookies starting at linebacker.
With Trey Hendrickson out and Shemar Stewart just returning from injury, Myles Murphy got his chance to shine as a defensive end. He took 74% of snaps, compared to 77% for Joseph Ossai. Stewart and Cam Sample took 39% and 25% of snaps, respectively.
Murphy moved into the second slot this week, but is that a function of how the team feels about him or merely that they didn’t want to put too much on Stewart right away?
On the interior of the line, it was BJ Hill (67%), TJ Slaton (56%), and Kris Jenkins (47%) seeing most of the action, with Mike Pennel rounding out the group at 11% of defensive snaps. The big three are clearly established at this position, with Pennel playing a complementary role.
The offensive line and quarterback were consistent for all of the team’s 76 offensive snaps.
At wide receiver, Ja’Marr Chase played all but one snap. Tee Higgins played 87% of snaps, and Andrei Iosivas played 70%. Mitchell Tinsley also played a respectable 13% of snaps. They continue to roll with their top guys for nearly every snap.
Noah Fant was the team’s top tight end for the second week in a row. He played 68% of snaps, with Drew Sample adding 51% and Cam Grandy rounding out the group with 8% of snaps. This shows that they knew they had to pass the ball to win it.
Running back was nearly a two-to-one...
