Bengals Week 7 snap counts: Defensive line rotation needs serious work

Fans are likely looking for answers after the Bengals’ 45-10 loss at the hands of the Chiefs. You may be wondering what changes can be made, and who should be getting more snaps. Hopefully we can find something in this week’s snap count takeaways to inspire some hope after a crushing defeat.

Here’s a look at the Bengals’ snap counts vs. the Chiefs from Sunday Night Football in Week 7:

• John Ross was active for the first time in two weeks after dealing with a groin injury. He only ended up playing 30 snaps, and when the game got out of hand he was sidelined with another (maybe the same) groin injury.
• Alex Erickson was rotated in fairly frequently playing 20 of the Bengals’ 59 offensive snaps. Tyler Boyd also came down to earth by only recording three catches for 27 yards, despite playing 58 snaps. He did catch three of his four targets.
• There has still been no attempt to mix up the offensive line as Alex Redmond and Bobby Hart played every snap again. Cedric Ogbuehi was active for the first time this season, and Jake Fisher played two snaps in jumbo packages, but other than that it was the same five offensive linemen we’ve seen since Billy Price’s injury.
• Jordan Evans has emerged as the team’s depth linebacker. He played 54 snaps Sunday night. He was out there in place of Nick Vigil and even Vontaze Burfict (44) after he left the game with a hip injury.
• Vincent Rey didn’t play any defensive snaps and Hardy Nickerson Jr. only played 13 (though, that’s still too many). Preston Brown was the only linebacker to play more than Evans with 58 snaps.

• Darqueze Dennard was out with a shoulder injury, and he was replaced by a combination of Tony McRae and Darius Phillips. McRae saw the most snaps with 28, but Phillips saw his share, too with 15. Dre Kirkpatrick played all 70 snaps while William Jackson took a break on eight, ending with a total of 62. It is clear the coaching staff is gaining some confidence in their rookie cornerback.
• Michael Johnson (31) getting the third most snaps as an outside rusher must stop. He is a great guy, and a very valuable rotational player, but when he is getting more snaps than guys like Carl Lawson (25) and Jordan Willis (26), you have an issue. This becomes even more obvious when your team is struggling to find a pass rush. The Bengals allegedly impressive pass rush notched just two sacks on Patrick Mahomes.
• Jeff Driskel saw his first action of the season. He played the final drive, which amounted to nine plays. This was the first time this season that Dalton didn’t play all of the offensive snaps. Obviously you don’t want to risk your quarterback to injury when you have zero chance of winning.

What are some changes you’d make to try and give the Bengals a spark after back-to-back losses.