Here are the snap counts for the New England Patriots from their 35-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals
Offensive line and Tom Brady are iron men
Nate Solder, Joe Thuney, David Andrews, Shaq Mason, Marcus Cannon, and Tom Brady played all 64 offensive snaps. The Patriots did not use an offensive lineman as a 6th blocker, which is a good sign for the blocking up front.
James White leads the running backs
White (39, 61%) was ahead of LeGarrette Blount (25, 39%), while D.J. Foster didn’t see the field on offense. FB James Develin (8, 12%) chipped in a few snaps in limited time.
Three of the four receiver positions are locked down
Julian Edelman (58, 91%), Rob Gronkowski (57, 89%), and Chris Hogan (56, 88%) are the full time starters on offense, while Martellus Bennett (36, 56%) is battling an ankle injury. Danny Amendola (26, 41%) played more than he has all season and out-snapped rookie Malcolm Mitchell (11, 17%) for the first time all year. AJ Derby (3, 5%) and Matthew Slater (1, 2%) added a handful of snaps, too.
Defense continues to lean on Alan Branch and Malcom Brown
Branch (53, 78%) and Brown (44, 65%) continue to play what arguably might be too many snaps on a weekly basis. In 2015, Branch and Brown exceeded 60% of the snaps a combined 4 times all year. Brown has passed the 60% threshold 4 times this season on his own, and Branch has done it 3 times. Woodrow Hamilton (20, 29%) and Anthony Johnson (10, 15%) chipped in some snaps of their own, but Hamilton’s injury affected the rotation.
Rob Ninkovich has leapfrogged Chris Long
Jabaal Sheard (48, 71%) is still the top pass rusher, but Ninkovich (46, 68%) outsnapped Long (41, 60%). This is best for the rotation, although Trey Flowers (21, 31%) should probably see more snaps.
Elandon Roberts didn’t miss much time to injury
Roberts was shaken up early in the game, but he still managed to play 50 (74%) of the defensive snaps. His missing time is why Ninkovich was on the field, but Roberts joined Dont’a Hightower (66, 97%) as the top linebackers. Barkevious Mingo only added 8 (12%) snaps, but it felt like more.
The Patriots secondary played three-safety sets
Devin McCourty (67, 99%), Malcolm Butler (66, 97%), Logan Ryan (66, 97%), and Patrick Chung (63, 93%) rarely left the field, except for on goal line when Nate Ebner (4, 6%) played. Duron Harmon (49, 72%) saw plenty of time, while Eric Rowe (26, 38%) played more in the second half.
The following played 15+ special teams snaps:
Barkevious Mingo (22), Nate Ebner (21), Geneo Grissom (21), Patrick Chung (19), Brandon King (18), Jonathan Jones (18), Jordan Richards (17), Matthew Slater (17)