Three things we learned from Chiefs snap counts vs. Bengals

A quick note from the Bengals’ side

No one likes being kicked when they are down but we also need to be able to tell the truth. And here is the truth. The Bengals came into the game with a plan to rotate their right guards for some evaluative measures because neither one is a good option. And that’s exactly what happened against the Chiefs.

Look, the Chiefs were able to get solid pressure against Joe Burrow, at least to force him to readjust, but the sacks really never came for Kansas City. In fact, it was the Bengals who were taking down the Chiefs quarterback left and right in the second half (with three-man rushes at that). Coming off of a game in which Joe Burrow was sacked 9 times (against the Titans), the Bengals were right to experiment a bit.

Here’s the thing: the Bengals gave Hakeem Adeniji and Jackson Carman nearly identical playing time (34 and 35 snaps, respectively) and neither option should count on a starting spot next season. However, even with a literal revolving door planned in the interior, the Chiefs still couldn’t bring down Burrow. Furthermore there’s this stat:

No one should argue that Chris Jones is ineffective, but it’s startling to see a big fat zero there. And the fact that the competition here in the middle of the Bengals offensive front was as mediocre as it can get in the postseason makes it even more disheartening.