Much goes into a single play in the NFL, but perhaps nothing is more chaotic than the initial call and then the beginning of the chess match between quarterback and linebacker.

It happens every play, and generally becomes white noise in the run up to the snap -- unless it all goes haywire from there. A missed block. A receiver that runs the wrong route. A bad snap. Or having to call timeout. Much can go wrong in those few seconds, so a lot has to go right.

Our photographer Sam Greene took a sequence of pictures at M&T Bank Stadium of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton running the show in a hostile environment, and we went to the key players involved to find out what exactly was happening in a crucial moment of the game.

The play: Third-and-22 from the Baltimore 30-yard line with the Bengals trailing the Ravens 19-9 and trying to climb back into the game. The Bengals split out three wide receivers and tight end Tyler Eifert, with running back Rex Burkhead on Dalton's right hip. The Ravens had three linemen with their hand on the ground and another two standing up.

Almost immediately, Dalton begins communicating to the line:

Dalton: "The communication on the protection is all it really is, who's going to be blocking which guy."

Burkhead: "You're just listening for the audible if he's checking a play or a protection call, whatever it may be. You're just listening to him. He's the leader. He's the coordinator of our offense. He runs the show, so whatever he sees we're going to go off of and he does his best to get us in the right place."

Bodine: "We're picking out the five guys that we're going to. That's really all it is. You have your three or your four guys with their hand on the ground we're basically talking who the rest of them are."

This is how that pre-play communication works inside the helmets of those involved:

Dalton: "It just depends. Sometimes it's a front look that changes things. It could be a secondary look that changes things."

Burkhead: "Once I know the play, I'm just going through my mind all the notes we had for the week on that certain play. Just like little details in a play. It could just be going through a certain hole, getting out (in a route), or a certain check down that we have. Just finding the best course and route to get there."

Bodine: "Especially like Baltimore, who does a lot of walk around stuff, we're going to establish one of them as a down guy, a down linemen, even if he may be standing up. We're going to establish one of them as a down lineman and go to one of the linebackers."

Boling: "We spend a good amount of time studying the defense and we're able to recognize those looks. I have to look back and forth to try and figure out -- because guys are obviously moving around. You help the back out, let the quarterback know where you are, make sure everybody's on the same page."

There is a point when Dalton has to make his final move to get the play off in time:

Dalton: "At that point, you know which guys are going to be blocked and which guys aren't going to be blocked. Once you feel like you've got everything communicated that you need to, that's when you can expect the ball."

Burkhead: "It's loud. It's really loud when you're playing away. Just making sure I got the right call because you don't want to get the wrong call because that's when bad stuff happens."

Bodine: "That's why you see us all pointing. Especially you get those big third downs when the fans get going, it's pretty hard to hear. We're all pointing and screaming and me screaming at Clint and Clint screaming at Whit."

Boling: "You get a feel for where your guy is in the defense based off the look. It's just quick peeks back and forth but at the same time I'm looking at Andy and at the same time I'm looking where my guy is that I'm going to. You've got to make sure you get set and take it all in."

From the time Dalton began his checks to the time the ball was snapped, was 8.65 seconds (hand-timed). But that snap count has to be right.

Bodine: "That part, (Boling) looking for the snap count there. Obviously, I'm yelling so-and-so is that fourth lineman or whatever that happens to be and who we're going to. I think it's pretty standard stuff. We're not the only ones doing it. It happens pretty quick."

Boling: "I wish I could explain it. It's just one of those things where I have to communicate down the line to Whit because Whit can't hear anything Andy is saying or Russell is saying. There's a lot of different variables that go into it. Hopefully, it's something we talked about during the week and we have a pretty good feel for what they're doing or what we're expecting."

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