CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals went into Monday night's game with a plan to use veteran Eric Winston extensively at right tackle.
They did just that.
Signed two weeks ago as a fill-in for starting right tackle Andre Smith, who suffered a triceps tear five weeks ago, Winston was making his first start in a Bengals uniform. He appeared as a reserve last week at Cleveland and impressed coaches. A quick study, Winston grasped the playbook so quickly that they believed the Week 16 prime-time game was a good time to start him.
Winston appeared on all 65 of the Bengals' plays, according to Pro Football Focus' snap counts.
Expect him back in the starters' role Sunday when the Bengals travel to Pittsburgh for a prime-time game that will decide the AFC North.
Along with Winston's playing time, it was interesting to note that cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, the late-game hero of the 37-28 win, was part of 22 snaps, per PFF. That was 31.4 percent of all the Bengals' defensive plays. He checked in at the very end of the third quarter after veteran starter Terence Newman was burned on a series of deep third-quarter throws. In the final three minutes of the game, Kirkpatrick intercepted two passes, including one that was returned 30 yards for a touchdown to help ice the victory.
Receiver A.J. Green, who was in and out of the game after suffering bruised right biceps on a hard hit on the first play of the Bengals' second drive, appeared on 26 plays. He was part of 40 percent of the offensive snaps. Targeted four times, he didn't catch a pass for only the second time in his career.
Here are the complete snap-count numbers for the Bengals from Monday night:
OFFENSE (65 plays)*
OG Clint Boling (65), OT Andrew Whitworth (65), C Russell Bodine (65), OG Kevin Zeitler (65), OT Winston (65), QB Andy Dalton (65), WR Mohamed Sanu (62), TE Jermaine Gresham (60), WR Brandon Tate (49), RB Jeremy Hill (41), WR Green (26), WR Dane Sanzenbacher (25), RB Giovani Bernard (24), H-back Ryan Hewitt (23), TE Kevin Brock (12), OT Marshall Newhouse (2), RB Rex Burkhead (1).
DEFENSE (70 plays)*
LB Vincent Rey (70), S George Iloka (70), S Reggie Nelson (69), CB Leon Hall (68), DE Carlos Dunlap (64), CB Adam Jones (60), DE Wallace Gilberry (58), DT Geno Atkins (53), DT Domata Peko (46), LB Rey Maualuga (45), CB Newman (44), DE Robert Geathers (36), S Taylor Mays (26), CB Kirkpatrick (22), DT Brandon Thompson (18), LB Marquis Flowers (10), DE Margus Hunt (6), CB Darqueze Dennard (3), LB Nico Johnson (1), S Shawn Williams (1).
SPECIAL TEAMS (36 plays)**
Flowers (29), Johnson (29), Mays (24), LB Chris Carter (24), RB Cedric Peerman (23), Kirkpatrick (20), Burkhead (20), Hewitt (17), Hunt (16), K Mike Nugent (15), LS Clark Harris (12), P Kevin Huber (12), Peko (12), Nelson (12), Jones (8), OG Mike Pollak (7), Newhouse (7), Whitworth (7), Boling (7), Zeitler (7), Gresham (7), Tate (5), Brock (5), Hall (5), Dunlap (5), Rey (5), Newman (4), DE Will Clarke (3), Gilberry (2).
Note: *Counts come from PFF. **Counts come from NFL's GSIS.
