After rookie Jeremy Hill's impressive performances in two of the previous three weeks, Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said last week he thought the running back "deserved" more chances to prove his worth in the offense.

With starter Giovani Bernard out nursing multiple injuries, the Bengals for three games turned to Hill, who rushed for 361 yards in the brief stretch.

Just before Bernard returned Sunday, making his first appearance in nearly a month against the Houston Texans, one of the biggest questions revolving around the Bengals concerned the division of playing time for the two backs. Would Bernard get back to having snaps and touches that made him appear to be the team's No. 1 back? Or would Hill continue shining in the offense as Bernard got slowly worked back into the rotation?

One look at snap counts reveals the Bengals weren't shy about getting Bernard back in the mix. He was part of more plays than Hill.

One look at touch counts, though, reveals the Bengals were adamant about making them both an exact equal part of the game plan. Hill had 19 touches (18 carries, one catch) and so did Bernard (17 carries, two catches). With Hill appearing on just 31 plays, his use of playing time was more efficient than Bernard's, who was part of 52 snaps Sunday.

From a percentage standpoint, Bernard appeared on 62.7 percent of the snaps; close to a normal load for him. Hill saw action on just 37.3 snaps, a number that was dramatically lower than his combined 70.9 percent snap count in the previous three games.

Along with the intrigue that surrounded the Bengals' running backs, it also was interesting to see that starting right offensive tackle Andre Smith lasted only eight plays before suffering a left arm injury as he tried blocking Texans defensive end J.J. Watt in the first quarter. In his place came Marshall Newhouse, who played 73 of the Bengals' 83 offensive snaps.

Defensively, the Bengals enjoyed one of their healthiest games of the year. Only cornerback Adam Jones missed one play due to injury. Most members of the Bengals secondary played nearly every snap.

Here, with help from our friends at Pro Football Focus and the NFL's Game Statistics and Information System, are this week's complete Bengals play counts:

OFFENSE (83 plays)*

OG Clint Boling (83), OT Andrew Whitworth (83), OG Kevin Zeitler (83), C Russell Bodine (83), QB Andy Dalton (83), WR Mohamed Sanu (81), WR A.J. Green (76), TE Jermaine Gresham (75), OT Marshall Newhouse (73), RB Giovani Bernard (52), WR James Wright (43), H-back Ryan Hewitt (41), RB Jeremy Hill (31), OT Andre Smith (8), TE Kevin Brock (8), WR Brandon Tate (6), OG Mike Pollak (2), RB/DT Domata Peko (2).

DEFENSE (68 plays)*

S George Iloka (68), CB Leon Hall (68), S Reggie Nelson (68), CB Terence Newman (68), LB Vincent Rey (66), LB Emmanuel Lamur (65), DE Carlos Dunlap (58), DE Wallace Gilberry (51), DT Geno Atkins (50), DE Robert Geathers (36), LB Rey Maualuga (34), DT Domata Peko (34), CB Adam Jones (32), DT Brandon Thompson (18), DE Will Clarke (8), DE Devon Still (7), LB Nico Johnson (6), LB Marquis Flowers (1).

SPECIAL TEAMS (29 plays)**

LB Jayson DiManche (21), S Shawn Williams (21), S Taylor Mays (18), Flowers (18), Johnson (18), RB Cedric Peerman (17), CB Darqueze Dennard (15), CB Dre Kirkpatrick (14), Wright (14), Hewitt (13), Brock (9), Jones (9), K Mike Nugent (9), LS Clark Harris (8), P Kevin Huber (8), Nelson (8), Peko (7), Clarke (5), Gilberry (4), Dunlap (4), Lamur (4), Rey (4), Zeitler (4), Boling (4), Whitworth (4), Gresham (4), Newhouse (4), Pollak (4), Hall (3), Thompson (3), Tate (2), Newman (2), Iloka (1), Still (1), Atkins (1).

Note: *Counts come from PFF. **Counts come from NFL's GSIS.