The New England Patriots began the Jerod Mayo era with a stunning 16-10 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Patriots dominated Cincy in the trenches, excelled on defense, and received strong performances from Rhamondre Stevenson and Jacoby Brissett. There’s much to dissect from the season-opening win, including how Mayo used his players.
Let’s look at the Patriots’ snap count totals in all three phases and offer some takeaways.
Patriots Snap Count Totals in Win Over Bengals
Offensive Snap Counts
- G Layden Robinson: 65 (100%)
- G Michael Jordan: 65 (100%)
- OT Mike Onwenu: 65 (100%)
- QB Jacoby Brissett: 65 (100%)
- C David Andrews: 65 (100%)
- TE Hunter Henry: 54 (83%)
- OT Vederian Lowe: 53 (82%)
- RB Rhamondre Stevenson: 51 (78%)
- WR K.J. Osborn: 40 (62%)
- WR DeMario Douglas: 39 (60%)
- WR Tyquan Thornton: 38 (58%)
- TE Austin Hooper: 36 (55%)
- WR Ja’Lynn Polk: 35 (54%)
- OT Caedan Wallace: 18 (28%)
- RB Antonio Gibson: 14 (22%)
- OT Chukwuma Okorafor: 12 (18%)
Defensive Snap Counts
- S Kyle Dugger: 51 (100%)
- S Jabrill Peppers: 51 (100%)
- LB Ja’Whaun Bentley: 51 (100%)
- CB Christian Gonzalez: 51 (100%)
- DE Keion White: 41 (80%)
- CB Marcus Jones: 41 (80%)
- LB Jahlani Tavai: 37 (73%)
- DT Daniel Ekuale: 37 (73%)
- CB Jonathan Jones: 36 (71%)
- NT Davon Godchaux: 33 (65%)
- LB Anfernee Jennings: 28 (55%)
- S Jaylinn Hawkins: 25 (47%)
- DE Deatrich Wise: 23 (45%)
- CB Marco Wilson: 15 (29%)
- LB Joshua Uche: 13 (25%)
- LB Oshane Ximines: 11 (22%)
- DE Jeremiah Pharms: 11 (22%)
- DT Trysten Hill: 7 (14%)
Special Teams Snap Counts
- LB Raekwon McMillan: 17 (81%)
- DB Marcellas Dial: 17 (81%)
- S Brenden Schooler: 17 (81%)
- LB Christian Elliss: 17 (81%)
- DB Dell Pettus: 12 (57%)
- P Bryce Baringer: 9 (43%)
- LS Joe Cardona: 9 (43%)
- K Joey Slye: 8 (38%)
- CB Alex Austin: 7 (33%)
- RB JaMycal Hasty: 6 (29%)
- G Nick Leverett: 4 (19%)
- TE Jaheim Bell: 3 (14%)
Patriots Snap Count Takeaways
Patriots Offense
- Rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk saw an immediate role with the fourth-highest usage among Patriots wideouts. Kayshon Boutte saw zero snaps while fellow rookie Javon Baker was a healthy scratch. Polk’s understanding of the offense and sure hands could lead to even more playing time in the weeks ahead.
- Rookie tackle Caedan Wallace saw 18 snaps while serving as a jumbo tight end. It remains to be seen whether Wallace will seize control of either tackle job, but it’s clear the Patriots want the rookie on the field.
- By contrast, Chukwuma Okorafor was benched after just 12 snaps. That might’ve been the last of him at left tackle.
- Tyquan Thornton started the game and finished with two catches for 27 yards (most among Patriots receivers) over 38 snaps. The third-year pro probably doesn’t have a long leash, but he earned this opportunity with a strong camp and now must capitalize on it.
Patriots Defense
- Keion White saw 80% of the snaps, good for the third-highest usage of his career. His big role coincided with Deatrich Wise Jr. seeing just 45% of the snaps while mostly playing as a sub-rusher. White started to out-snap Wise late last season, and that trend continued Sunday. The Patriots have a new franchise defensive end.
- Jabrill Peppers played 100% of the snaps despite dealing with a hip injury that left him barely able to walk the previous two days. Gutsy performance.
- Jaylinn Hawkins repped as the clear No. 3 safety. He likely would be the next man up in the event of an injury to Peppers or Dugger.
- Marco Wilson saw 15 snaps as the No. 4 corner ahead of Alex Austin and Marcellas Dial Jr., both of whom only played on special teams. Wilson probably has the highest upside of the three, but that job remains up for grabs.
- Daniel Ekuale saw 37 snaps as the top Christian Barmore replacement. It was the third-most snaps he’d seen since joining New England in 2022. We’ll see if Jeremiah Pharms and Trysten Hill see more snaps in the coming weeks, but for now, the job is Ekuale’s to lose.
- Same old story for Joshua Uche, who saw 13 snaps as a sub-rusher on passing downs. Uche still is nursing a foot injury, which might’ve contributed to the reduced playing time. Nevertheless, it’s fair to wonder whether the Patriots still doubt Uche’s ability to hold up against the run.