CINCINNATI — The lingering question for the Cincinnati Bengals from Sunday’s 26-25 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs was why rookie seventh-round safety Daijahn Anthony was on the field for such a high-leverage play despite barely seeing any action before that.
Anthony’s pass interference penalty on 4th-and-16 is one of those “what if” plays that will be debated as the season drags into the cooler months, and it’ll especially be relevant if the Bengals go into the postseason ruing what could have been a much better seed had it not been for the loss at Arrowhead.
Breaking Down Cincinnati Bengals Snap Counts From Loss to Kansas City Chiefs
Here are the snap countdowns and some takeaways from Sunday’s loss:
Offense
Wide Receivers
Ja’Marr Chase was closer to his regular workload, playing 92% of the snaps, the majority of which left him frustrated as he saw constant double teams and was targeted only five times.
It was the fewest targets he’s ever had in a game in which he played at least 10 snaps.
Andrei Iosivas played 100% of the snaps in the season opener but received some rest Sunday in Kansas City, playing 82% of the snaps. He converted those into just two receptions for 7 yards, but both catches resulted in touchdowns.
Trenton Irwin had the most WR3 snaps for the second game in a row with Tee Higgins out, but he only had one catch for five yards on six targets.
Rookie Jermaine Burton saw his snaps more than double from four to nine, and his lone catch was Joe Burrow’s biggest throw of the game, a 47-yard gain that covered 40 yards in the air on the team’s first offensive snap of the second half.
But Burton would play only two more snaps the rest of the way.
Charlie Jones was on the field for just two snaps.
Tight Ends
Rookie Erick All Jr. led the way with 33 snaps (54%), barely outpacing Drew Sample’s 31 (51%) as the Bengals leaned more heavily into 12 personnel.
Drew Sample would have had more snaps, but head coach Zac Taylor said he was getting an IV while the Bengals were inside the 10-yard line late in the third quarter before scoring their second touchdown.
Mike Gesicki followed close behind with 30 snaps (49%) and had the biggest impact in the passing game, catching seven passes on nine targets for 91 yards.
Tanner Hudson, who was listed as doubtful with a knee injury, was active but did not play. The Bengals needed to make Hudson active because he is their backup long snapper.
Running Backs
For the second week in a row, Zack Moss was far more involved than Chase Brown, and the disparity grew larger.
Moss played 50 snaps (82%) to Brown’s 11 snaps (18%), and the former tripled the latter in carries. Moss rushed 12 times for 34 yards; Brown carried four times for 31 yards.
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The most surprising element in the running back breakdown was that neither was involved in the passing game. Moss had one catch for 13 yards, while Brown wasn’t targeted once.
Personnel Groupings
11 (three WR, one TE, one RB): 32 snaps, 52%
12 (two WR, two TE, one RB): 19 snaps, 31%
13 (one WR, three TE, one RB): 3 snaps
22 (one WR, two TE, two RB): 1 snap
Using three wide receivers for just 54% of the plays marks the second-lowest number in the Zac Taylor era behind 25% in a Week 15 loss to the New England Patriots in 2019.
It will be interesting to see when Higgins returns if the Bengals go back to more three-receiver sets that they are comfortable with, or if Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher continue to lean into more 12 personnel as All emerges as a blocking/receiving dual threat.
Defense
Defensive Tackles
The attrition at the position continued as both B.J. Hill and Sheldon Rankins left the game with hamstring injuries.
The Bengals already were without rookie second-round pick Kris Jenkins Jr. (thumb) and third-round pick McKinnley Jackson (knee).
Hill played 14 snaps before injuring himself driving wide receiver Xavier Worthy out of bounds on a five-yard reception in the second quarter. Initially listed as questionable to return, Hill was declared out prior to the start of the second half.
Rankins suffered his hamstring injury on Kansas City’s opening drive of the second half. He tried to return to the game but couldn’t continue and finished with 30 snaps.
The injuries left the Bengals with just two healthy tackles, Jay Tufele and Zach Carter.
Carter led the group with 41 snaps (69%), while Tufele played 32 snaps(54%). It was the second highest total of Tufele’s career behind the 35 he played in the Week 8 Monday Night Football game at Cleveland in 2022.
Defensive Ends
Sam Hubbard led the edge rushers with 45 snaps. But due to the injuries to Rankins and Hill, Hubbard kicked inside and played seven snaps at defensive tackle.
Trey Hendrickson played 41 snaps and was a menace with two sacks and three quarterback hits while getting Kansas City left tackle Kingsley Suamataia benched.
Joseph Ossai saw the biggest leap in usage with 31 snaps after logging only 13 in the season opener. Part of that was a result of Hubbard moving inside, but that was only seven plays.
Newcomer KJ Henry played eight snaps.
Linebackers
Logan Wilson was the only Bengals defender who played all 59 snaps.
Germaine Pratt came off the field twice and played 57, while Akeem Davis-Gaither logged 16 (27%).
Other than the meaningless season finale last year against Cleveland, it was Davis-Gaither’s highest volume game since midway through 2022.
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And one of his snaps was particularly well timed, as Davis-Gaither intercepted a Patrick Mahomes pass intended for Travis Kelce in the first quarter.
Joe Bachie played two snaps in goal line.
Defensive Backs
Anthony, a seventh-round rookie, was on the field for four plays, but he’s officially credited with two snaps because two others were wiped out by penalties — on him.
Anthony’s illegal contact penalty negated DJ Turner II’s interception in the third quarter, and his pass interference on 4th and 16 in the closing minute gave the Chiefs new life and enabled Harrison Butker to kick the game-winning field goal.
"That's early contact and it is a catchable ball." – @GeneSteratore pic.twitter.com/LL3G08XyWE
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 15, 2024
Vonn Bell played 58 snaps (98%) and Geno Stone 57 (97%).
Cornerbacks Cam Taylor-Britt (58) and Dax Hill (57) also were on the field for nearly every play.
Mike Hilton only played two snaps on Kansas City’s game-opening, 16-yard field goal drive. He finished with 37 snaps (63%), but his veteran presence wasn’t on the field for the 4th-and-16 play that ultimately decided the outcome.
Turner only played three snaps, while safety Jordan Battle logged one — a 3rd-and-4 play in the second quarter.
Personnel Groupings
- Nickel (five DB): 38, 64%
- 4-3 (four DL, three LB): 13, 21%
- Short yardage (five-plus DL): 6
- Dime (six DB): 1
- Quarter (seven DB): 1
The Bengals held the Chiefs to two yards or fewer on eight of the 13 snaps in 4-3.
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