Bengals Week 6 Snap Count Takeaways: Vision for Cincinnati's defensive line comes to fruition
The Cincinnati Bengals now have two 10-point road victories against struggling NFC teams after taking down the New York Giants, 17-7. It was an ugly game for the primetime spotlight of "Sunday Night Football," but a much-needed win for the visiting team nonetheless. Let's check out what the snap counts had to say about the win. Changing […]
The Cincinnati Bengals now have two 10-point road victories against struggling NFC teams after taking down the New York Giants, 17-7. It was an ugly game for the primetime spotlight of "Sunday Night Football," but a much-needed win for the visiting team nonetheless.
Let's check out what the snap counts had to say about the win.
Changing in the back
This was the first time all season that running back Chase Brown (33) saw the field more than his backfield partner Zack Moss (24). Brown ended up with the more productive night thanks to his 30-yard touchdown at the end of the game and would've had two scores if not for a questionable holding penalty on Cordell Volson (53). It was the difference between posting just 23 yards on nine other carries throughout the game, and he fumbled on one of those other nine attempts.
Moss couldn't get much going on his end with just 13 yards on six carries (including a lost fumble) as the Giants' defensive line won the war up front for most of the night. What has typically kept Moss on the field more than Brown is his role in pass protection, but Moss only took the field twice as a pass-blocker in the backfield, a season-low for him. Brown wasn't given any pass-blocking reps and has just two on the entire season thus far.
It's very clear that Brown is the more explosive option for the Bengals' run game, but Moss will still have a role to keep him fresh throughout the game. This may be the start of Brown taking the majority of the snaps going forward.
Realized defensive line rotation
B.J. Hill (55) led the way for defensive line snaps in his first regular season game against his former team, and he wasn't alone.
Every member of the Bengals' eight-deep rotation up front played at least 21 snaps in the first game with Sheldon Rankins (42), Myles Murphy (32) and McKinnley Jackson (21) all playing together. Hill, Rankins, Murphy, and Trey Hendrickson (47) all had pass rush win rates of at least 16% against true pass sets.
Hill was the star of the show in his homecoming as he registered four pressures and two hits on quarterback Daniel Jones, the first of which led to a signature red zone interception that fell into the hands of Hill's former college buddy Germaine Pratt (76).
New York's offensive line is far from a great challenge for the average defensive line, but this was promising to see from Cincinnati's pass rush. Now that health has re-entered the picture, there's hope that the defense can continue carrying its weight when the offense gets back on track.
Other notes
- This was the Bengals' first game without a tight end playing at least 50% of the offense's snaps. Drew Sample (26) played the most for 49% of the game with rookie Erick All Jr. (23) right behind him.
- Wide receivers Trenton Irwin (3) and Charlie Jones (2) only saw the field a couple times backing up the starting trio with Jermaine Burton a healthy scratch. Head coach Zac Taylor said after the game that the decision with Burton wasn't deep at all.
- In the first game without cornerback Dax Hill, DJ Turner II (78) expectedly played the entire game while rookie Josh Newton (5) saw the field for five snaps. Practice squad elevation Jalen Davis (16) acted as the first cornerback off the bench behind the three starters.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow confirms what was going through his mind during concussion scare vs Giants
Burrow was able to come back in the game after his helmet hit the turf hard.
