The Cincinnati Bengals fell behind early against the Pittsburgh Steelers and never recovered, suffering a big hit to their playoff hopes in the process.
Along the way, the team had to work around the losses of names like Ja’Marr Chase and DJ Reader to interesting results.
A look at the snap counts and some takeaways:
- Rookie Andrei Iosivias played 72 percent of the snaps and had a good showing, displaying a few times that he might have the upside of a player who can be a long-term solution.
- Trenton Irwin played 41 percent with Chase out, while Higgins got 81 percent.
- Irv Smith Jr. was a surprise inactive, with Drew Sample leading the way among tight ends at 55 percent.
- Rookie Jordan Battle got 81 percent of the snaps in the secondary as the youth movement continues.
- BJ Hill led the way on the interior at 73 percent, with Zach Carter getting the biggest bump to the same number.
- The defense also used edges inside as expected. Another longer-depth name, Jay Tufele, played 14 percent.
- Based on the showings and usages, it’s Hill and everyone else and the interior will be an emphasis this offseason with Reader scheduled to be a free agent.
