Bengals Week 14 Snap Counts vs Cowboys: Defensive adjustments finally arrive and signal towards the future
For once, we're not talking about the Cincinnati Bengals' defense letting down the offense in a one-score loss. More tweaks were made that led to a wild 27-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Let's see what the snaps from Monday had to say about the win. Bengals Week 14 Snap Counts vs Steelers Defensive changes signal […]
For once, we're not talking about the Cincinnati Bengals' defense letting down the offense in a one-score loss. More tweaks were made that led to a wild 27-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
Let's see what the snaps from Monday had to say about the win.
Bengals Week 14 Snap Counts vs Steelers
Defensive changes signal
This was the first time both edge defenders Myles Murphy (34) and Joseph Ossai (30) out-snapped Sam Hubbard (21) this season. Murphy and Hubbard matched each other with one pressure generated on a combined 29 pass rushing snaps, but Ossai got in a couple clean wins and his second sack from his last three games. Hubbard's playing time has needed a dip for a while now, and it took 10 weeks with both Ossai and Murphy healthy to make it a reality. Murphy will be back next season, but the other two probably won't. This is needs to a trend for the remainder of the year.
In the secondary, nickelback Mike Hilton (34) played his second-lowest percentage of the defense's snaps all season. He was beaten on Dallas' first drive of the game for a CeeDee Lamb touchdown, which set the tone for how the rest of his night went. Josh Newton (60) took the majority of slot snaps when Hilton was on the sideline, giving Marco Wilson (12) opportunities out on the boundary. Hilton is a free agent next season and is likely on his way out, so giving Newton some run in his place is smart.
Newcomers have settled
Running back Khalil Herbert (7) and wide receiver Isaiah Williams (4) have each been in Cincinnati's offense for about a month, and their current usage seems to be where it'll be capped until injuries cause them to play more. Herbert had two carries for four yards while three of Williams' four reps came on running plays as a blocker. With Chase Brown (59) and Ja'Marr Chase (66) dominating in their high-market share roles, it's tough to argue for the offense spreading the wealth more.
Tight end Cam Grandy (17) played more snaps in this game than he had in his first three games combined. He's firmly TE3 behind Drew Sample (49) and Mike Gesicki (20) as he's earned plenty of trust as a run blocker and is gaining more involvement in the passing game with seven routes ran after running a combined six in his first three games.
Other notes
Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (60) ended up following CeeDee Lamb later in the game as evidenced by his nine snaps in the slot. His previous season-high for slot snaps was five.
Linebacker Joe Bachie (3) suffered a groin injury and left the game in the fourth quarter. Maema Njongmeta (3), who allowed the block punt and recovered the subsequent Cowboys fumble later in the quarter, replaced Bachie on the rare occasions the Bengals deployed three-linebacker groupings.