Bengals at Browns snap count takeaways: Continuity on offense continues to plague production

The Bengals secured their third straight losing season, but this year they will also have the distinction of finishing as the worst team in the AFC North. Not exactly the finish most fans expected after a 4-1 start to the season.

Their latest loss to the Browns was pretty embarrassing, despite how the game ended, and the team’s stubbornness with who plays remains a factor in their inadequacy.

Here are this week’s snap count takeaways:

• The Bengals went back to their old ways of struggling to convert on third down. That led to them running only 47 offensive play compared to the Browns 69. The Bengals offense struggled for most of the game, and it wasn’t until halfway through the fourth quarter when they found their footing by finishing the game with two touchdowns in just a couple of minutes. Why did they struggle to move the ball? The next few takeaways should answer that pretty clearly.
• This team keeps trying to make Alex Erickson (32) and Cody Core (43) out to be these guys capable of being replacement receivers. The two combined for four catches for 71 yards on the day. It’s unfair to blame them entirely — as Bill Lazor’s attempts to utilize their skill sets with his play designs have been rendered ineffective — and it also doesn’t help that Jeff Driskel just isn’t the most accurate of quarterbacks. Still, a guy like Auden Tate (three) would be able to provide the needed catch radius for Driskel’s errant throws, and Josh Malone (one) is also rotting away on the bench as well. You have to wonder what is really going on with the former fourth-round pick.
• The offensive line had so many missed assignments in Week 16, which is pretty much unacceptable from a coaching standpoint. You also have a guy like Bobby Hart who played every single snap, but he struggled most of the game. It is pretty troubling that his spot as a starter has never even been challenged during this season. The same could go for Alex Redmond and Billy Price, but Price is a rookie who is probably going to be better off at guard anyway. It’s frustrating to see the unit falter, so consistency against competent defensive fronts after 15 games without the coaching staff making any proper adjustments, but they’re sticking with it until the end it seems.
• Rookie cornerback Darius Phillips (41) got some extended playing time with Dre Kirkpatrick (15) exiting the game. His biggest play was when he broke up a pass in the end zone, but aside from that, his impact was minimal. It is also worth noting that fellow rookie cornerback Davontae Harris was also active for the second time this season.
• Christian Ringo has also worked himself into a pretty nice role. He played 43 snaps, which is up there with guys like Geno Atkins (46) and Andrew Billings (44). With players like Michael Johnson and Sam Hubbard (35) along with Jordan Willis (24) playing exclusively on the edge now, Ringo’s competition for snaps at defensive tackle is as minimal as it will ever be.