GREEN BAY vs CINCINNATI

PACKERS WIN 27 – 18

• Story of the Game – Despite up and down play the Packers pull out a two score win in Lambeau 

While this may have not been the prettiest game or the way in which Packers fans wanted to see their team win against a struggling Bengals team who was starting a QB they acquired within the same week they played this game a two win is win and hopefully this gets the Packers rolling again after a couple rough weeks in Cleveland and Dallas. All in all it was up and down performance for Green Bay and while it may be disappointing to not blow out a team like Cincinnati and dominate the game it’s hard to put together wins in this league and just because you have more talent on paper doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a win let alone one in dominate fashion. There’s a lot to work for Green Bay but the fact they’ve been playing far from their best football and still putting together wins is very impressive and certainly isn’t deserving of the overreactions I’ve seen online from Packers fans especially. From Cincinnati’s perspective I really don’t know what you moving forward as this team was built around Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins being able to take over games and without Burrow in the lineup I don’t see a consistent path to being able to put together wins this year.

• Key Notes for Green Bay 

The Packers offense once again showed a level of play that made the end result feel frustrating as they were able to move the ball up and down the field nearly every time they touched ball with the only thing stopping them being their own mistakes and inconsistency. Jordan Love overall played a good game where he made a number of really special throws including two to Matthew Golden that extended drives and flipped fields but he also had a bone headed INT on their first drive trying to make magic happen after a play broke down and he was forced to scramble. Speaking of Matthew Golden he was absolutely incredible this game and despite only having 3 catches and 2 carries he made huge plays and his connection with Love and his role in this offense should continue to grow as he impacts the game every time he touches the ball. 

The OL was much improved this game as they finally opened up some quality lanes for Josh Jacobs, who had an incredible day, to run through which has been few and far between this year. Along with the run blocking being much improved this week the pas protection was worlds better than what Love had in Cleveland and Dallas the previous two games as this Packers finally got their Week 1 starters back on the field. While the pass protection against four man pass rushes was better they did at times struggle up front sorting out blitzes and Cincinnati took advantage of this late as they had to make up for Trey Hendrickson being sidelined with an injury. 

The defense started off very strong but once again while their pass rush continues to win quickly off the edge the inability to win and/or collapse pockets regularly along the interior of their DL allowed Joe Flacco to step up into the pocket and avoid the quick wins off the edge which was a glaring issue in the Cowboys game as well. This team desperately needs Devonte Wyatt to get healthy and back on the field and/or to make some sort of move to get a quality player at IDL to add to this room. They have talent in the room but they don’t have the skillsets to complement Micah Parsons and the rest of their talented edge rushers on a consistent basis and it’s exposing weaknesses on the second and third levels of their defense that weren’t able to be exploited as often when Wyatt was on the field for this team. It’s not the end of the world as the play they’ve gotten hasn’t been abysmal but in my opinion for this defense to reach their potential this year they’re going to need to round out this room in some way shape or form.

• 2nd year players Evan Williams and Javon Bullard were great in this game and stopped multiple drives by coming up with key plays on 3rd downs multiple times.

The special teams units for Green Bay have been poor for quite awhile including some bad performances in recent weeks but this was an encouraging game as they largely went mistake free and despite their kicker (Brandon McManus) being a late scratch for this game their recently signed kicker Lucas Havrisik stepped up and went 2/2 on FGs including a 43yd kick and 3/3 on XPs. Not any game changing plays on their units this game but being complimentary on special teams is all they need and that’s what they got from a group that’s been up and down to say the least this year.

• Key Notes for the Bengals 

The Bengals OL got away from with a number of uncalled holding penalties but aside from the quick losses off the edge and having to overreach they played better than they had in a number of games this season. While that’s not saying much as they’ve been one of the worst groups up front this season it was at least refreshing to see a handful of snaps, especially in the second half, where they actually allowed Flacco to hit the back of his drop and get the ball out on time and in rhythm. 

The offense as a whole was brutal early on but as the game progressed and they started to settle in with their quick passing game and using more under center runs and play action they started to find success. More than anything Ja’Marr Chase started to get going and take over on the outside which really bailed out the Bengals at times when their offense was stalling late. It was a better showing than most expected but it’s still very clear how limited they are without Burrow behind center and I don’t imagine anything will be improved moving forward, as disappointing that is.

The Bengals defense once again this week struggled to create any pass rush with four and once Trey Hendrickson went out with an injury it became even more clear how much he means to this defense as they were forced to blitz time after time and Love took advantage of that many of times by exploiting one on ones on the outside. Speaking of one on ones on the outside DJ Turner II had an incredible game as broke up pass after pass to Doubs. This team needs to find a way to create pressure without blitzing but I think it’s clear at this point that they don’t have the players on roster to make that happen this year and the now that Trey Hendrickson is banged up there’s an even worse outlook for this front. 

• Standout Performers 

GB

Jordan Love – 19/26  259  1/1 – 7/26 rush

Matthew Golden – 3/86 – 2/16 rush 

Josh Jacobs – 18/93 2 TDs – 5/57 rec

Evan Williams – 6 Tackles (2 Solo)  1 TFL 

Javon Bullard – 6 Tackles (4 Solo)  1 TFL

Lucas Havrisik – 2/2 FGs (43 Long)  3/3 XPs

CIN

Ja’Marr Chase – 10/94  1 TD

DJ Turner II – 4 Tackles (3 Solo)  1 TFL  5 PBUs

Geno Stone – 3 Tackles  1 Sack  1 TFL  1 TFL  1 PBU

Demetrius Knight Jr – 7 Tackles (4 Solo)