Bengals Week 5 Snap Count Takeaways: Cincinnati can breathe a sigh of relief after rookie's injury scare
The Cincinnati Bengals only lost by three points to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, but a lot more problems exist for them with a 1-4 record now staring them in the face. While the offense continues to roll, they failed to achieve a level of perfection required to win with how unreliable their defense has become. Let's […]
The Cincinnati Bengals only lost by three points to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, but a lot more problems exist for them with a 1-4 record now staring them in the face. While the offense continues to roll, they failed to achieve a level of perfection required to win with how unreliable their defense has become.
Let's check out what the snap counts had to say about the game.
Bengals Week 5 Snap Counts vs Ravens
Right tackle scare
Paycor Stadium held its collective breath in the third quarter when rookie Amarius Mims (47) went down with what looked like a lower leg injury around the top of his foot. Fears of an Achilles injury crept in when the cart came to take him off the field, but the team officially listed him as questionable to return with an ankle injury.
Turns out, Mims got hit in the ankle that he had surgically repaired last year. Nothing more.
“I gave up a tackle for a loss, and during the process of giving up the tackle for a loss I got spun around and just kicked my ankle that I previous had surgery on this past year,” Mims told Cincinnati Bengals on SI's Jay Morrison. “I just went into a little shock. Probably just hit a couple of nerves in it.”
Mims returned to the field after missing 20 snaps. In his place came Cody Ford (26), who also repped as an extra blocker with Mims in the game. Ford has become the emergency swing tackle now that Trent Brown is on the Reserve/Injured list.
Defensive line up and down
Many firsts were had Sunday for the defensive line. It was the first game since Zach Carter was waived to make room for both Myles Murphy (34) and McKinnley Jackson (9). It was the first time B.J. Hill (56) played in three weeks. It was the first time Kris Jenkins Jr. (45) started a game.
Murphy did play well in his debut, which allowed Trey Hendrickson (47) and Sam Hubbard (51) to take more plays off throughout the afternoon. It goes without saying, however, that the Bengals' defensive line still is not getting the job done rushing the passer as Lamar Jackson had a field day in and out of the pocket. The only piece that's still missing is Sheldon Rankins, who missed his third straight game with a hamstring injury.
Other notes
Dax Hill (14) suffered a knee injury early on and was declared out, putting DJ Turner II (68) back on the field like he was last week for a struggling Cam Taylor-Britt (76). The defense was already down Mike Hilton, who was inactive with a knee injury of his own. Rookie Josh Newton (11) got some run in his absence, but practice squad elevation Jalen Davis (33) took the majority of Hilton's snaps.
A drive after Vonn Bell (70) allowed a big passing play, Jordan Battle (8) finally saw the field in Bell's place before getting pulled out for the veteran starter. Cincinnati's issues at safety simply aren't going away any time soon.
Bengals are single-handedly proving why complementary football is still required to win
Cincinnati couldn’t be more imbalanced as a team right now.
