Bengals Week 13 Snap Counts vs Steelers: Cody Ford battles through first test at left guard
The bye week did not fix the Cincinnati Bengals' issues, magically. The Pittsburgh Steelers walked into Paycor Stadium and dropped 44 points on the home team. Cincinnati tried some different things on both sides of the ball that led to mixed results. Those decisions clearly didn't plug all the holes of this sinking 4-8 ship, but […]
The bye week did not fix the Cincinnati Bengals' issues, magically. The Pittsburgh Steelers walked into Paycor Stadium and dropped 44 points on the home team.
Cincinnati tried some different things on both sides of the ball that led to mixed results. Those decisions clearly didn't plug all the holes of this sinking 4-8 ship, but they are interesting to examine.
Let's see what the snaps from Sunday had to say about the game.
Bengals Week 13 Snap Counts vs Steelers
Left to guard
News broke right before kickoff that Cody Ford (62) had supplanted Cordell Volson as the starting left guard; a decision that lasted the entire game as Volson didn't see the field once. Ford ended up having a solid game outside of getting bench-pressed by All-Pro Cameron Heyward for a sack in the second half.
Ford did enough to justify this decision, but it's bigger than just this season. Volson has been the position's unquestioned starter since he won the job back in 2022. He's had his worst season in terms of pass protection this year as he ranks 57th out of 61 starters in Pass Blocking Efficiency. This move indicates that Volson's status as a starter for next year is very much in doubt, and it would be of little surprise if the team found a new long-term answer this offseason.
Battle for safety
Jordan Battle (52) got his first start at strong safety since the 2023 season finale. Battle's snaps had stabilized around 30 per game in recent weeks as he's been rotating with Vonn Bell (18) for most of the season, but the second-year player was given the reigns for most of Sunday until later in the game when Bell came in for extended action.
There's not much defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo hasn't tried this year in terms of swapping personnel. Myles Murphy (26) still being behind Sam Hubbard (34) at this point is beyond inexcusable, but Battle will likely have a shot at landing the starting job going forward in 2025.
Other notes
With Sheldon Rankins out again due to illness, Jay Tufele (14) was not only active, but he played more than rookie McKinnley Jackson (13) which hasn't happened since Week 5 when Jackson made his NFL debut.
Joe Bachie (13) became the third linebacker behind starters Germaine Pratt (69) and Akeem Davis-Gaither (68) with Logan Wilson out due to a knee injury.
Isaiah Williams (3) made his debut for Cincinnati after being claimed off waivers a month ago and ended up out-snapping Jermaine Burton (2). Burton's opportunities essentially evaporated with Tee Higgins (56) fully back in the mix.
Bengals’ backbreaking loss to Steelers further highlights a problem that should’ve already been addressed
Cincinnati’s season is in the grave, and accountability must be had.
