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The Cincinnati Bengals had a forgettable preseason outing against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
The starting offense had a promising start, but the defense struggled mightily from start to finish versus a deep Chiefs offense. In turn, the Bengals’ offense failed to put the ball in the end zone, though they didn’t have as many possessions as a team normally would since the defense repeatedly allowed the Chiefs to have long drives that ate up clock.
That made it hard to take anything positive away from this game, but it still offered several notable developments in terms of snap count distribution. Below is the full snap count for the full roster, including special teams snaps.
Snap count takeaways:
- The starting offensive line got in an entire half of work, something you don’t typically see until the third preseason game, if at all. However, I like this strategy for the Bengals, being that Cedric Ogbuehi, Trey Hopkins and Jake Fisher have spent very little regular-season time at their respective positions (none in Hopkins’ case). The Bengals are wise to give them extra work with Clint Boling and Russell Bodine to ensure all five guys’ chemistry is as strong as it can possibly be in Week 1.
- Speaking of Hopkins, for the second straight week, he got all of the snaps with the starting offensive line. It’s become clear the right guard spot is Hopkins’ spot to lose, but Andre Smith still has time to make a push for that spot. After not playing last week, Smith got a good amount of work versus the Chiefs, though it wasn’t anything that makes you think he’s better than Hopkins.
- Boom Williams has fallen way behind in the running back competition, so much that he barely saw the field at all this week. If he keeps getting 3-5 snaps per game in the preseason, it’s hard to see him even making the practice squad. However, not playing Boom much could be the Bengals trying to hide his talents and sneak him onto the practice squad.
- Adam Jones dressed but didn’t play so the Bengals could get extended looks at Darqueze Dennard, William Jackson III, KeiVarae Russell and Bene Benwikere. Jackson looked like the best one, but after him, you could have made good cases for any of the other three. It doesn’t matter for Dennard, who has his roster spot locked up, but there’s still a heated battle between Russell and Benwikere for that final cornerback spot.
- Ryan Hewitt rarely saw the field. Shocker. The proverbial best fullback in football continues to be the best fullback that never seems to get on the field. In his place, guys like Tyler Kroft and Cethan Carter have gotten extended looks at fullback in addition to tight end. Hewitt’s roster spot shouldn’t be in jeopardy, but paying a guy over $2 million per year to rarely see the field seems silly.
- Joe Mixon got more playing time than Jeremy Hill while working with the starting offensive line for the entire first half. However, Mixon was able to produce just 16 yards on six runs, while Hill produced 28 on six runs. I think Hill keeps his starting job for a while, but Mixon is going to get a heavy amount of touches as early as Week 1 in the regular season.
Bengals Preseason Week 2 Snap Counts
| # | NAME | POS. | Snaps | % time played | Special teams snaps | % time played on ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | NAME | POS. | Snaps | % time played | Special teams snaps | % time played on ST |
| 3 | Elliott, Jake | K | -- | -- | 4 | 16% |
| 4 | Bullock, Randy | K | -- | -- | 4 | 16% |
| 5 | McCarron, AJ | QB | 28 | 46% | ||
| 6 | Driskel, Jeff | QB | 8 | 13% | ||
| 7 | Monday, Will | P | -- | -- | 4 | 16% |
| 9 | Hamilton, Karel | WR | 13 | 21% | ||
| 10 | Huber, Kevin | P | -- | -- | 4 | 16% |
| 11 | LaFell, Brandon | WR | 23 | 38% | ||
| 12 | Erickson, Alex | WR | 11 | 18% | 6 | 14% |
| 13 | Whitfield, Kermit | WR | 18 | 13% | 2 | 8% |
| 14 | Dalton, Andy | QB | 25 | 41% | ||
| 15 | Ross, John | WR | DNP | DNP | ||
| 16 | Core, Cody | WR | DNP | DNP | ||
| 17 | Russell, Alonzo | WR | 18 | 30% | 2 | 8% |
| 18 | Green, A.J. | WR | 21 | 34% | ||
| 20 | Russell, KeiVarae | CB | 40 | 60% | 9 | 36% |
| 21 | Dennard, Darqueze | CB | 29 | 43% | 5 | 20% |
| 22 | Jackson, William | CB | 31 | 46% | 4 | 16% |
| 23 | Benwikere, Bene | CB | 35 | 52% | 9 | 36% |
| 24 | Jones, Adam | CB | DNP | DNP | ||
| 25 | Bernard, Giovani | HB | DNP | DNP | ||
| 26 | Shaw, Josh | CB | 32 | 48% | 9 | 36% |
| 27 | Kirkpatrick, Dre | CB | DNP | DNP | ||
| 28 | Mixon, Joe | HB | 19 | 31% | ||
| 29 | McRae, Tony | CB | DNP | DNP | ||
| 30 | Peerman, Cedric | HB | DNP | DNP | ||
| 31 | Smith, Derron | S | 52 | 78% | 10 | 40% |
| 32 | Hill, Jeremy | HB | 14 | 23% | ||
| 33 | Carson, Tra | HB | 21 | 34% | 9 | 36% |
| 34 | Williams, Stanley | HB | 3 | 5% | ||
| 36 | Williams, Shawn | S | 15 | 22% | 2 | 8% |
| 37 | Cox, Demetrious | DB | 22 | 33% | 10 | 40% |
| 39 | Williams, Jarveon | HB | 5 | 8% | 8 | 32% |
| 40 | Wilson, Brandon | S | DNP | DNP | ||
| 42 | Fejedelem, Clayton | S | 28 | 42% | 6 | 24% |
| 43 | Iloka, George | S | DNP | DNP | ||
| 44 | Laufasa, Darrin | FB | 3 | 5% | 2 | 8% |
| 46 | Harris, Clark | LS | -- | -- | 8 | 32% |
| 47 | Dawson, P.J. | LB | DNP | DNP | ||
| 49 | Albright, Bryson | LB | 12 | 18% | 9 | 36% |
| 50 | Evans, Jordan | LB | 31 | 46% | 10 | 40% |
| 51 | Minter, Kevin | LB | 18 | 27% | 3 | 12% |
| 52 | Bell, Brandon | LB | 17 | 25% | 6 | 24% |
| 53 | Flowers, Marquis | LB | 19 | 28% | 2 | 8% |
| 55 | Burfict, Vontaze | LB | 19 | 28% | 2 | 8% |
| 56 | Nickerson, Hardy | LB | 25 | 37% | 14 | 56% |
| 57 | Rey, Vincent | LB | 12 | 18% | 6 | 24% |
| 58 | Lawson, Carl | LB | DNP | DNP | ||
| 59 | Vigil, Nick | LB | 31 | 46% | 6 | 24% |
| 60 | Johnson, T.J. | C | 23 | 38% | 3 | 12% |
| 61 | Bodine, Russell | C | 30 | 49% | ||
| 62 | Redmond, Alex | G | 23 | 38% | ||
| 63 | Westerman, Christian | G | 23 | 38% | 1 | 4% |
| 64 | Dielman, J.J | G | 8 | 13% | 1 | 4% |
| 65 | Boling, Clint | G | 30 | 49% | 1 | 4% |
| 66 | Hopkins, Trey | G | 29 | 48% | 3 | 12% |
| 67 | Glasgow, Ryan | DT | 29 | 43% | 7 | 28% |
| 68 | Tupou, Josh | DT | 21 | 31% | 1 | 4% |
| 69 | Williams, DeShawn | DT | 13 | 19% | 1 | 4% |
| 70 | Ogbuehi, Cedric | OT | 30 | 49% | 2 | 8% |
| 71 | Smith, Andre | G | 23 | 38% | ||
| 72 | Stanton, Dustin | G | 8 | 13% | 1 | 4% |
| 73 | Winston, Eric | OT | 23 | 38% | 3 | 12% |
| 74 | Fisher, Jake | OT | 30 | 49% | 3 | 12% |
| 75 | Billings, Andrew | DT | 21 | 31% | 3 | 12% |
| 76 | Brown, Ryan | DE | 15 | 22% | ||
| 77 | Lechler, Landon | OT | 8 | 13% | ||
| 78 | Perkins, Kent | OT | 8 | 13% | 1 | 4% |
| 79 | Lee, Cameron | G | 8 | 13% | ||
| 79 | Dean, David | DT | DNP | DNP | ||
| 80 | Malone, Josh | WR | 20 | 33% | 7 | 28% |
| 81 | Kroft, Tyler | TE | 20 | 33% | 7 | 28% |
| 82 | Carter, Cethan | H-B | 20 | 33% | 8 | 32% |
| 83 | Boyd, Tyler | WR | 18 | 30% | ||
| 85 | Eifert, Tyler | TE | 25 | 41% | ||
| 86 | Schreck, Mason | TE | 17 | 28% | 3 | 12% |
| 87 | Uzomah, C.J. | TE | DNP | DNP | ||
| 88 | Brown, Chris | WR | 19 | 31% | ||
| 89 | Hewitt, Ryan | H-B | 3 | 5% | 8 | 32% |
| 90 | Johnson, Michael | DE | 19 | 28% | 2 | 8% |
| 91 | Hardison, Marcus | DE | 24 | 34% | 1 | 4% |
| 92 | Sims, Pat | DT | 15 | 22% | 2 | 8% |
| 93 | Clarke, Will | DE | 22 | 33% | 3 | 12% |
| 94 | Smith, Chris | DE | 22 | 33% | 2 | 8% |
| 95 | Gilberry, Wallace | DE | 7 | 10% | ||
| 96 | Dunlap, Carlos | DE | 20 | 30% | 2 | 8% |
| 97 | Atkins, Geno | DT | 14 | 21% | 1 | 4% |
| 98 | Thompson, Brandon | DT | 11 | 16% | 1 | 4% |
| 99 | Willis, Jordan | DE | 24 | 36% | 8 | 32% |
| # | NAME | POS. | Snaps | % Time Played | Special Teams Snaps | % time played on ST |
What are your top takeaways from the snap breakdown?