Bengals Week 5 Snap Counts: Trey Hendrickson’s usage takes unexpected turn while different personnel played behind him
Hendrickson wasn’t on the field as much as you’d expect.
The Cincinnati Bengals were outmatched from the jump against the Detroit Lions in Week 5, and their 37-24 loss takes them down to 2-3 on the season.
There weren’t many injuries to note for the Bengals entering the game, and bumps and bruises suffered during the day didn’t quite impact who played and who didn’t. That said, there are some interesting takeaways to be had when looking at the complete snap counts from the Cincinnati’s Week 5 loss to the Lions:
Bengals Week 5 Snap Counts vs. Lions
Trey Hendrickson out-snapped at defensive end
This was a surprise. Yes, Detroit had a lead for basically the entire game and didn’t need to throw the ball, but Trey Hendrickson (37) only playing 60% of the snaps on the day is a pretty low number for the defense’s best overall player. He had two sacks on 22 pass-rushing snaps. 14 total snaps of his came in the second half, and only six in the fourth quarter. Joseph Ossai (38) played the most at the position, and three defensive tackles were over both of them.
Despite Hendrickson’s usage being a tad low, Myles Murphy (13) was also surprisingly less active than expected. Cam Sample (20) saw more action, but Murphy made use of his six pass-rushing reps to notch his first full sack since 2023.
Linebackers become more needed than cornerbacks
Cornerback Josh Newton (3) was effectively one of three staring cornerbacks last week and Cam Taylor-Britt (22) barely played at all. This week, neither one played over 50% of the defense’s snaps as Dax Hill (62) and DJ Turner II (62) played the whole game. Cincinnati opted to utilize 4-3 personnel (three linebackers, two cornerbacks) for most of the game to counter Detroit’s offense, which mainly deploys 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends).
This led to rookie Barrett Carter (33) tallying a career-high in snaps as the third linebacker behind starters Logan Wilson (62) and Demetrius Knight Jr. (36). Carter and Knight combined for 14 total tackles and zero missed.
Expert analysis on Bengals’ Week 5 snap counts against Lions
- Backup guard Dalton Risner (1) came in for starting left guard Dylan Fairchild for one play, which happened to be Cincinnati’s first touchdown of the day. Jake Browning (62) threw a 15-yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase (57), the first of two scores for the All-Pro wide receiver.
- Tight end Noah Fant (15) was third among the position in snaps in his first game back from a concussion.
- Chase Brown (33) and Samaje Perine (29) were a near equal split in the backfield at running back. Brown amassed the same yardage as Perine (27 yards) despite having eight to the latter’s four carries.
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