Bengals snap count vs. Cowboys shows defensive line looks even deeper than last season

The Bengals starters were about as bad as they could be against the Cowboys in the second week of the preseason. The snap counts lend to that idea. They also show some bubble players who may be in trouble, and others who are closer to securing a sacred roster spot.

The Bengals’ offense only played 55 snaps while the Cowboys had 68. The low snap count for Cincinnati’s offense was mostly due to the team failing to sustain drives. It wasn’t the best game for any offensive member of the Bengals. Defensively, we saw the team really spread out the snaps in favor of the young defensive linemen who could end up playing big roles this season.

Snap count takeaways:

• Wide receiver John Ross (40) played the most snaps of any offensive skill position player. It’s somewhat odd as he will be one of the starting receivers at the beginning of the season. But, the team is trying to give him work to get him ready for the regular season. For a frame of reference, Tyler Boyd and A.J. Green only played 17 and 13 snaps respectively. Even Alex Erickson only played 20 snaps. Despite his extensive playing time, Ross caught only two passes. One was for 29 yards and the other for a two point conversion, which isn’t recorded in the box score as a reception. That is still a good sign as to him being valuable in the red zone.
• Safety Jessie Bates III (40) got plenty of run prior to the Bengals releasing George Iloka (22). In fact he played the most of any defensive player. He finished the game with four tackles, and he’ll certainly be starting in the next preseason game with Iloka out the door.

• Jordan Willis (38), Sam Hubbard (36) and Ryan Glasgow (30) received the next three highest snap counts on the defense after Bates. Each of them played well, too. Willis finished the game with two sacks. Hubbard had a strip sack, and Glasgow had four tackles including one for a loss. If last season was any indication, these guys will be rotated into the lineup early and often on game day, so seeing them produce is a great sign.
• Jeff Driskel (32) was given every chance to secure the Bengals’ backup quarterback job. Matt Barkley only received 10 snaps as Cincinnati also decided to play rookie Logan Woodside (9). Driskel was 10/16 with no touchdowns and one interception. In his defense, the interception he threw was an insane play by Cowboys defensive back Chidobe Awuzie. We will have to see how Driskel does next week.
• Offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi was given the most offensive snaps with 42. If he were in Cleveland I would have assumed that he was being punished by Hue Jackson. I would say Ogbuehi’s situation differs from Ross’ though. We didn’t see many bright spots from Ogbuehi despite him playing almost all of the game. It is clear the Bengals are giving him every chance to go out there and prove he is better than Bobby Hart (14) at right tackle, but he has failed to do that.
• Christian Westerman (41) was close behind Ogbuehi for the most offensive snaps. Westerman played the most last week, and he played very well in his first outing. It was surprising to see despite all that, the Bengals didn’t give him a shot at right guard with the first team. Instead that nod went to Trey Hopkins to start and later Alex Redmond (38) got time with the starters, too. It is still unclear whether Westerman will ever get a shot at this point, which is beyond disappointing.

• As far as bubble players who look to be in trouble, Cody Core has to be at the top of the list as the most recognizable name. He didn’t participate this week, and he saw Auden Tate (17) receive special teams snaps, which seemed to be the one thing Core was hanging onto as an advantage over the rookie wide receiver. Core is dealing with an undisclosed injury.
• Ryan Hewitt is another name to watch for as the roster gets trimmed down. He has received only 12 snaps over the first two preseason games combined while comparable players (Cethan Carter, for example) received more than that this week alone. It is becoming more and more clear that Hewitt may not be part of Bill Lazor’s plans.