Bengals vs. Jaguars snap counts: 2nd half resurgence gives defense much needed break

A year ago, the Cincinnati Bengals took down the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 4 to notch their first win of Joe Burrow’s career. 362 days later, Burrow and his team embarked on primetime comeback to boost their record to 3-1 on the new season.

How the Bengals got to 24 points after their sluggish first half is either a testament to Burrow and the offense’s capabilities, or the sheer ineptitude of Jacksonville’s defense. Perhaps it’s both. However you interpret Thursday night’s wild ride, it’s clear something changed when they exited the locker room after half-time.

Let’s see how the snap counts reflect what we saw on the field.

• The Bengals barely out-snapped the Jaguars 58 to 56. Jacksonville ran 35 plays in the first half as Cincinnati’s offense looked anemic after their first drive. Trevor Lawrence and Co. took advantage and picked apart a tired defense that was playing on short rest. The script fortunately flipped for the Bengals after the half as the out-snapped the Jags 36-21.
• The starting five offensive linemen played all of their 58 snaps together, and swing tackle Isaiah Prince (14) got in for 13 run plays as an eligible extra blocker. Prince saw some action last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but this week he was featured for most of the offense’s heavy run packages. He played his part well.
• Joe Mixon (40) was a beneficiary of those packages before he left the game in the second half with an ankle injury. Samaje Perine (16) got nearly all of Mixon’s snaps when he was sidelined and three carries that netted seven yards. Chris Evans (2) got a couple reps as a receiver.
• It was once again a platoon effort to replace Tee Higgins at wide receiver. Auden Tate (20), Mike Thomas (18), and Trenton Irwin (16) all got in the mix with Ja’Marr Chase (46) and Tyler Boyd (36). Boyd suffered what looked like a wrist injury early in the fourth quarter and sat out for a play afterwards. He did finish the game, though.
• Brandon Wilson (56) played the entire game at free safety while Jessie Bates III was out with a neck injury. Trayvon Henderson was elevated from the practice squad to provide depth, but he did not see the field on defense. Most of Wilson’s defensive snaps have been in the box since Lou Anarumo took over as defensive coordinator, so this was a different game than Wilson usually played.
• Cameron Sample saw a decrease in his usage (10) after averaging about a 35% snap percentage for the first three weeks. Him and Wyatt Rey (8) were rarely used as Sam Hubbard (49) and Trey Hendrickson (48) held down the end spots.
• Trae Waynes (53) nearly played every snap in his debut outing for Cincinnati. Eli Apple (51) had been filling in for Waynes while he was out this year, but Apple played on the other side of the formation this week while Chidobe Awuzie was out with a groin injury.