Bengals newcomers dominate snaps in Week 1 vs. Vikings

The Cincinnati Bengals squeaked out a win against the Minnesota Vikings this week. This was our first chance to really get a look at how some of the new and returning players will get run during the game. It is also a good chance to see how players are rotated within the flow of a game now that the season so far.

Here are the snap count takeaways from the Bengals win against the Vikings:

• The Bengals were out snapped by the Vikings to the tune of 69 snaps to 83. The Vikings were quite a bit more efficient moving the ball than the Bengals on early downs. Each team struggled on third down, but the Vikings really seemed to dominate holding onto the ball whereas the Bengals either had quick efficient drives or stalled out early.
• Offensively, having Joe Burrow return to the field always feels good. It also feels great to have the narrative of Ja’Marr Chase’s struggles get blown away. He had the most snaps of any receiver with 62 snaps while Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd only had 51. Higgins did deal with some dehydration. It also helps that he added five catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in his debut.
• One of the biggest names from the preseason, Darius Hodge, only had one snap defensively. He was a hot name after dominating the preseason, but his absence didn’t have too much of an impact as the defensive line dominated the Vikings offensive line.
• The defensive line saw plenty of Sam Hubbard (72) and Trey Hendrickson (68). Then Cam Sample (29) saw plenty of snaps on the edge. The interior saw far more rotation. Newcomer, Larry Ogunjobi (59) led players in there and looked dominant in his debut. D.J. Reader (48) also saw plenty of time in his return. Josh Tupou (28) and B.J. Hill (24) also saw plenty of run. Hill even managed to get two sacks in his debut after being traded for from the Giants near the final cutdown day.
• Surprisingly, Auden Tate (8) did not seem to be wide receiver No. 4. When Tee Higgins and Chase missed some snaps with dehydration, it was Mike Thomas (16) who was out on the field more. Considering Tate’s reputation and ability as a big target, it is interesting he wasn’t the first one up.
• Finally, defense had some interesting rotations with linebackers and safeties. It appears Logan Wilson (72) saw a vast majority of the snaps and seems to be the guy at linebacker. After him, there seems to be a pretty even dispersion. Germaine Pratt (37), Akeem Davis-Gaither (16), Jordan Evans (16) and even Ricardo Allen (23) all seem to be rotated based on situations. Davis-Gaither and Allen seem to be favored in obvious passing situations with at least three wide receiver set. Pratt gets more of the run on earlier downs with Wilson, and Evans remains a linebacker to bring in on obvious running situations, which were more prominent facing Dalvin Cook

What were some of the things you were interested to see from how the snaps got dispersed in Week 1?