A Snap Count Breakdown from the Bengals' Win Over the Buccaneers
CINCINNATI — The Bengals beat the Buccaneers 19-14 on Saturday night in their first preseason game of the 2021 season.
The starting skill guys only played one series, but the snap counts from the game do give us an idea of where players truly are on the depth chart and who the coaches are trying to get a closer look at.
Let's start on offense where starting right guard Michael Jordan was on the field for 18% (13) of the snaps. He wasn't treated like Tee Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase or Tyler Boyd, but he was only on the field for two series.
Why is that significant? Well, on the surface, it would appear that Jordan has a clear lead in the battle to be the starting right guard. Xavier Su'a-Filo was on the field for 25 snaps (35%). Jackson Carman played 40 snaps (56%). If the coaching staff had seen enough of Su'a-Filo, there's no way he'd be on the field that much.
The same goes for Carman, who had an uneven night. He flashed his potential in the run game, but struggled in pass protection.
On the flip side, starting left guard Quinton Spain, right tackle Riley Reiff and left tackle Jonah Williams only played six snaps (8%). Everyone knows Reiff and Williams were going to be Week 1 starters, but it looks like Spain has secured the started left guard job.
Like Carman, rookie D'Ante Smith was also on the field for 40 snaps (56%). He spent time at tackle and guard and may ultimately be versatile enough to play both spots if needed in the regular season.
That was the hope for Carman, but Smith has outplayed him in training camp.
Tight ends Thaddeus Moss and Mitchell Wilcox both played a significant amount. Moss was on the field for 36 offensive snaps (51%) and Wilcox played 35 plays (49%). They also contributed on special teams, taking 12 and 15 snaps, respectively.
The coaches clearly wanted to get a look at both young players. Veteran tight end Mason Schreck was only on the field for 15 plays (21%).
On defense, Cam Sample led the way with 49 snaps (79%).
Darius Hodge had a great game, finishing with five quarterback hits, 1.5 sacks and three tackles, despite only being on the field for 26 snaps (42%).
Winston Rose and Joe Bachie appear to be in the hunt for a key role on the Bengals' special teams unit. They played 10 and 14 special teams snaps in their quest to land a spot on the 53-man roster
Here's a look at the playtime percentage and snap counts for each player on the team.
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