Bengals vs. Chargers snap count takeaways

Some telling snap counts.

There were no snap limitations for Tee Higgins after a multi-week absence. The veteran wideout took 69 snaps and led the Cincinnati Bengals in receptions (nine) and receiving yards (148) in his return to the lineup, which nearly was enough to spark a comeback win that fell short vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.

Ja’Marr Chase took 81 of the unit’s 82 snaps. Andrei Iosivas played 56 snaps, and rookie Jermaine Burton played 18. Trent Irwin added four snaps. We knew that Higgins would step back into his role as WR1a, but it is disappointing to see so much less of Jermaine Burton.

Chase Brown took the most running back snaps at 68, with newcomer Khalil Herbert taking a mere four. Tight end Drew Sample had a handful of his 49 snaps in the backfield as well. He was second in tight end snaps behind Mike Gesicki, who played 51 snaps but did not record a single reception. Tanner Hudson added nine snaps, and rookie Cam Grandy added one.

The running backs and tight ends who were seeing action when both units were healthy are now just getting a bigger slice of the pie with the loss of Zack Moss and Erick All.

Vonn Bell and Jordan Battle continue to share snaps at strong safety, but this week, the split shifted back in Bell’s favor. The veteran took 60% of the defensive snaps, and Battle took the other 40%. This is disheartening since it appeared that Battle was slowly taking over the job.

Although he was second at defensive tackle behind only BJ Hill, the absence of Sheldon Rankins did not lead to a major upswing in snaps for rookie Kris Jenkins. Hill played 51 snaps, and Jenkins played 38.

Fellow rookie McKinnley Jackson added 23 snaps, and veteran Jay Tufele added 15. It would appear that even without Rankins, the team is hesitant to ask for too much out of their pair of rookie tackles.

Trey Hendrickson played the majority of snaps at defensive end, with 57. Sam Hubbard and Joseph Ossai split roughly the same amount, taking 30 and 29, respectively. Myles Murphy wasn’t far behind with 23 snaps.

The cornerback snap counts are a bit crazy. Between Cam Taylor-Britt getting benched and DJ Turner getting hurt, Josh Newton and slot cornerback Mike Hilton actually led the unit with 51 snaps each. There is a lot to unpack here, but here are the basics. With a good performance and the likely season-ending injury to Turner, Newton will get a chance to start across from Taylor-Britt. DJ Ivey, who played a mere eight snaps, better be ready to go if Taylor-Britt’s struggles continue.

Logan Wilson played all 67 defensive snaps, and Germaine Pratt played all but two. Akeem Davis-Gaither also saw significant action playing 20 defensive snaps, and rookie Maema Njongmeta added 4. Both Davis-Gather and Njongmeta added 30 snaps on special teams, whereas fellow linebacker Shaka Heyward added 20 snaps.

Bengals vs. Chargers Snap Counts