Bengals Week 1 Snap Counts: Dax Hill goes full throttle, injuries test depth at guard and linebacker
A busy day in the office for Dax Hill, and other notes from Cincinnati’s Week 1 victory.
The first game, and win, of the Cincinnati Bengals’ regular season came down to the wire, but the road team eeked out a 17-16 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
A game that went down to the final seconds required 38 of the 48 active players to take snaps on offense or defense. Here are the complete snap counts from Cincinnati’s Week 1 victory:
Full day’s work for Dax Hill
Defensive back Dax Hill (74) was only off the field for two snaps Sunday, which says a lot about what his role truly is in Al Golden’s defense.
Hill is listed as the starting nickelback and 34 of his 74 snaps came in the slot. 16 also came at cornerback, 20 from the box, and a handful from other alignments, per Pro Football Focus.
This is not the usage of a player who’s only a NB. Hill is one of the top two cornerbacks on the depth chart, and there are no responsibilities under that umbrella term he doesn’t have in certain situations. When he’s still on the field when the defense has a seven-man box with three linebackers, that means something.
Starting CB DJ Turner II (46) interestingly split some time with backup Josh Newton (29), so that’s something to watch in specific matchups going forward.
Newcomer at tight end already has trust
Noah Fant (26) played the second most snaps at the tight end position behind starter Drew Sample (36). Mike Gesicki (16) didn’t see much of the field as the Bengals deployed more true 12 personnel packages with Fant and Sample as the TEs on the field with Ja’Marr Chase (45) and Tee Higgins (41) as the wideouts.
Fant ended up with four receptions for 26 yards and his first touchdown in a Bengals uniform. He may not always end up playing more than Gesicki, but it was encouraging to see how much trust he’s already accrued after being signed in training camp.
Other notes
- Linebacker Barrett Carter (14) took on the green dot in his rookie debut when starter and captain Logan Wilson (64) missed a brief stint of action with a concussion.
- Defensive tackle Mike Pennel (22) rounded out the defensive line rotation as a practice squad call-up. Pennel joined the team last Monday.
- Right guard Lucas Patrick (16) left the game with a calf injury and was replaced by Dalton Risner (36). Rookie Jalen Rivers (1) came on for his one snap when the offense went heavy with Cody Ford (4) in the backfield as a fullback. The play resulted in Fant’s touchdown.
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