Bengals Week 1 snap count distribution: Offense still getting out-snapped

The Bengals played their first meaningful game of the season, and they made quite a few things clear based on who played in the game. The Bengals got rid of a few big-name players over the offseason, so it is time to see how the team plans on replacing them this season.

Here are our top snap count takeaways from the Bengals’ win over the Colts:

• There is no more rotation at offensive tackle. Cordy Glenn (55) and Bobby Hart (55) both played the entire game. Although maybe they should try a different option at right tackle as Hart was destroyed all game long. He even allowed former-Bengals defensive lineman Margus Hunt to get two sacks on Andy Dalton.
• The Bengals were severely out-snapped by the Colts. Cincinnati ran 55 plays while the Colts ran 82. The biggest reason for this is because the Bengals defense couldn’t get off the field on third down. Indianapolis was 11/17 on third downs. That is something that needs to be corrected after it was a huge issue last season as well.
• Joe Mixon (42) saw a vast majority of the snaps at running back after his hot start to the game. Giovani Bernard (14) still saw time, but it was hard to take Mixon off the field with how productive he was. He had 149 total yards and a touchdown against the Colts. It will be interesting to see if that will become the norm going forward.
• John Ross (36) caught his first pass and touchdown on Sunday, but he was still third in snaps at receiver. A.J. Green (52) obviously led the pack, and Tyler Boyd (48) saw plenty of playing time as well. It seemed to work out well as everyone was fairly productive.
• Tyler Eifert (22) was kept under his 50 snap count pretty easily as the team looks to preserve him for the entire season. What is more interesting is that Tyler Kroft (17) didn’t have the most snaps at tight end. It was actually C.J. Uzomah (36) was out there the most. It may have been due to him being one of the better blockers out of the group, but it is especially interesting after Kroft scored seven touchdowns last season.
• Defenders who played all 82 snaps include William Jackson, Nick Vigil and Jessie Bates III. Bates is kind of surprising, but it seemed like the team doesn’t want to rotate that much outside of the defensive line if they don’t have to. Jackson also finally doesn’t have to rotate anymore, and is clearly viewed as one of the best defenders on the team after breaking out last season. Vigil’s numbers shouldn’t be surprising. He did this last season until an injury ended his year early.
• Billy Price also took all the snaps at center. This means both Price and Bates played their entire first game in the NFL. That is basically unheard of for a Marvin Lewis team, which hopefully says a lot about the future for these players. Typically, offensive linemen don’t leave the game unless there’s an injury, so expect Price to be playing 100 percent of this year’s snaps.
• It was strange not to see Vincent Rey playing with Vontaze Burfict serving his suspension. It was also strange not to see him replace Preston Brown (46) when he went down with an injury. It seem like the team has more confidence in their younger linebackers like Jordan Evans (31) and Hardy Nickerson Jr. (36) going forward. This may be a farewell season for Rey.
• It only took Shawn Williams 13 snaps to get ejected due to his hit on Andrew Luck. This allowed Clayton Fejedelem (69) to play extensively though. It also allowed him to make the game-winning play when he forced a fumble, scooped it up and then took it to the house.
• As far as the defensive line goes, it is much of the same as Carlos Dunlap (65) and Geno Atkins (56) are playing a majority of the game. One thing to watch will be how long Michael Johnson (46) holds onto his snaps ahead of what seems to be much more talented group of linemen in Carl Lawson (42), Jordan Willis (39) and even Sam Hubbard (7 defensive snaps and 1 on offense).