CINCINNATI -- Just five days after making his NFL debut in a 24-play showing during the Cincinnati Bengals' Monday night loss at Tampa Bay, AJ McCarron nearly doubled the amount of time he was on the field in Saturday night's preseason win over the Chicago Bears.
As he played in the second, third and part of the fourth quarters, McCarron was in for 44 plays, all of which came after he entered the game for injured starting quarterback Andy Dalton. The fifth-year starter had tweaked a neck muscle on a 1-yard touchdown sneak during the Bengals' first drive.
As has been mentioned often since Saturday night, McCarron took full advantage of the snaps he played, even if he remains Dalton's understudy. A 12-for-17, 149-yard, one-touchdown showing was impressive for the backup who had to drop everything and come in at least a quarter earlier than expected.
This third preseason game -- the one that generally is thought to be most important for starters -- ended up being big for another young backup. Rookie offensive tackle Jake Fisher was playing for the first time after dealing with a nagging injury that kept him out of the first two preseason games. Fisher was part of 43 snaps that were spread throughout the contest. He entered as early as the Bengals' second offensive play, checking in as an eligible receiver and additional blocker in a heavy offensive line package.
Thanks to the NFL's Game Statistics & Information System, here's a look at the rest of the Bengals' snap-count breakdowns:
OFFENSE
QB AJ McCarron (44 plays), OT Jake Fisher (43), C Russell Bodine (36), OT Andre Smith (36), OG Kevin Zeitler (36), OG Clint Boling (36), OT Andrew Whitworth (35), TE Tyler Eifert (35), OT Dan France (35), WR A.J. Green (26), OT Matt O'Donnell (25), OG T.J. Johnson (25), TE Tyler Kroft (23), H-back Ryan Hewitt (23), WR Mohamed Sanu (22), TE C.J. Uzomah (21), RB Jeremy Hill (21), OT Eric Winston (20), RB Cedric Peerman (18), WR Marvin Jones (18), WR Jake Kumerow (17), WR Mario Alford (17), QB Andy Dalton (17), WR Brandon Tate (16), WR Greg Little (16), RB Giovani Bernard (15), FB Mark Weisman (15), OT Tanner Hawkinson (12), QB Keith Wenning (10), C Jake Smith (10), RB Terrell Watson (10), OG Trey Hopkins (8), WR Denarius Moore (8), RB James Wilder Jr. (7), TE Matt Lengel (6), OG Chris Jasperse (6), RB Rex Burkhead (4), WR Demarcus Lawrence (4), WR Michael Bennett (3), TE John Peters (2).
DEFENSE
DE Will Clarke (29), CB Dre Kirkpatrick (28), S Reggie Nelson (28), CB Adam Jones (28), LB Vincent Rey (28), S George Iloka (28), S Shawn Williams (27), CB Josh Shaw (27), CB Chris Lewis-Harris (27), S Shiloh Keo (26), DE Margus Hunt (25), DE Wallace Gilberry (25), DT Geno Atkins (25), DE Carlos Dunlap (24), DT Devon Still (24), CB Leon Hall (21), CB Troy Hill (20), DT Marcus Hardison (19), S Derron Smith (18), DT Domata Peko (17), LB Chris Carter (16), LB Marquis Flowers (16), LB Rey Maualuga (16), LB A.J. Hawk (13), LB P.J. Dawson (11), LB Trevor Roach (11), LB Nico Johnson (9), LB Jayson DiManche (5), DE Sam Montgomery (5), DT DeShawn Williams (4), DT Kwame Geathers (3), S Floyd Raven Sr. (1), DT Brandon Thompson (1).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Keo (17), DiManche (16), Peerman (14), Dawson (13), Dawson (13), Shawn Williams (12), Shaw (12), Derron Smith (11), Johnson (10), Kroft (10), Burkhead (9), Kirkpatrick (9), Flowers (9), LS Clark Harris (9), P Kevin Huber (9), Lewis-Harris (8), Tate (8), Little (7), Hunt (7), Troy Hill (7), Raven (6), Hall (6), Wilder (6), Kumerow (6), Uzomah (6), Hewitt (6), Nelson (5), K Tom Obarski (5), Bodine (3), Andre Smith (3), Zeitler (3), Whitworth (3), Winston (3), Alford (3), Hardison (3), Peko (3), K Mike Nugent (3), Adam Jones (2), Lengel (2), Bernard (2), Clarke (1), Iloka (1), Rey (1), Gilberry (1), Atkins (1), Dunlap (1), Still (1), Roach.
Bengals who did not play
WR Tevin Reese, CB Darqueze Dennard, CB Brandon Ghee, LB Vontaze Burfict, LB Sean Porter, LB Emmanuel Lamur, OT Cedric Ogbuehi, WR Onterio McCalebb, DE Michael Johnson, DT Pat Sims.