If the Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff isn’t going to play key young players often, those young players seem intent on changing games and earning more time anyway.

In Sunday’s 20-17 win against the Denver Broncos to keep the season alive, up-and-coming players such as Andrew Billings, Jordan Evans, Alex Erickson and KeiVarae Russell put on a show in limited snaps.

The full snap breakdown is here:

Billings, for instance, only played 52 percent of the possible defensive snaps — but he turned heads for his dominant play and made fans feel better about the team cutting Pat Sims.

Evans only saw 12 percent of the defensive snaps despite an injury to Vincent Rey, yet he played so well over those opportunities that even Vontaze Burfict had nothing but praise for him after the game.

Erickson? A minimal 20 percent of the snaps, yet he caught a touchdown pass and earned a heap of praise from Andy Dalton.

Then there was Russell, who saw nine percent of the defensive snaps with William Jackson III and Adam Jones out. He also played 46 percent of the special-teams snaps and blocked a field goal, which he had happened to predict, winning him a free dinner.

What a change in outlook a win creates, right? The Bengals under Marvin Lewis have consistently shied away from young players in favor of veterans despite the upside younger players can provide.

In Denver, the upside shone through in a big way. If this turns into a trend, Lewis might have a hard time avoiding an uptick in playing time for these guys.