After Bengals’ starting quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a severe toe injury in week two, the Bengals became one of the worst teams in the NFL. Backup Jake Browning was an interception machine, and any plan that Cincinnati had to lean on receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins was destined to fail. In an attempt to resuscitate their season, the Bengals traded for Cleveland Browns’ quarterback Joe Flacco, who did lead the Browns to victory over the Packers in week three. Flacco wasn’t bad in his first start for his new team, but Green Bay did a nice job focusing on several other Bengal weaknesses and escaped with a 27-18 victory.
That said, the Packers remain wildly inconsistent on offense, and for much of the game they had issues finishing off promising drives. Their first drive of the game took up more than six minutes, but on third and five from the Bengals’ nineteen, Jordan Love threw a baffling interception. Love enjoyed great protection on the play and had plenty of time to go through his progressions or just throw the ball away, but he instead tried to force it into a well-covered Romeo Doubs. Instead of a short field goal attempt, the Packers came away empty. The Packer defense held and forced a quick three-and-out, but the next Packer drive once again took more than six minutes off the clock while stalling out with a 43-yard field goal from backup kicker Lucas Havrisik, who was in for an injured Brandon McManus.
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The Packers finally got into the end zone with four minutes left in the first half on a Josh Jacobs three-yard touchdown run to go up 10-0, but given that the Packers dominated time of possession, and outgained the Bengals by 157 yards, they should have been up by much more. Joe Flacco and the Bengals made a significant halftime adjustment and came out throwing short, quick passes, while leaning on third down back Samaje Perine instead of starter Chase Brown. Perine is smaller, quicker, and a better receiver and blocker, and he was instrumental in keeping Flacco clean from pressure as the Bengals put together a mammoth eighteen play, ten-minute drive to open the second half, culminating in a two-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to tight end Tanner Hudson, cutting the Packer lead to 10-7.
Multiple Tight Ends
The Packers and Matt LaFleur adjusted back by targeting Cincinnati’s extremely poor run defense. They used a heavier personnel grouping with multiple tight ends, and leaned on Jacobs, who finished with 93 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while also catching all five of his targets for an additional 57 yards through the air. After a 19 yard strike from Love to Tucker Kraft put the Packers up 24-10 late in the fourth quarter, the Bengals once again mounted a lengthy 11-play drive (and two-point conversion) to cut the lead to 24-18, but on the Packers’ next drive, Love made one of his biggest plays of the game, a 31-yard strike to receiver Matthew Golden, to set up the game-clinching field goal.
Golden had the best game of his young career as he caught three passes for 86 yards and chipped in another 16 on jet sweeps. Fellow rookie Savion Williams also had a sneaky good game on special teams, returning three kickoffs for 96 yards and putting the team in excellent field position. Williams hasn’t worked as an offensive gadget player yet, but he’s been extremely valuable on special teams as a returner and gunner.
The Packers’ offense did a nice job adjusting back to the Bengals, and while Cincinnati did stay within striking distance, Green Bay was generally in control. That said, the Bengals exposed a major flaw in the Packer defense. Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary have created consistent pressure, however the quick-strike game completely negates their presence, and Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs, and Carrington Valentine have not been up to the task of taking away early options. Micah Parsons is second in the league in pressure rate to Houston’s Will Anderson, but the pass rush isn’t getting home because opposing quarterbacks have had no issue getting the ball out quickly. A good pass rush can make life much easier for the secondary, but the secondary does have to hold for the bare minimum, and that has been an issue.
The Packers next face Arizona who will likely be missing starting quarterback Kyler Murray, who missed this week’s game with a foot injury. Wide Receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. will also have to clear the concussion protocol to play next week.
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However, Murray’s absence may actually help the Cardinals, as backup Jacoby Brissett is far quicker to get the ball out, while almost no quarterback in football holds the ball as long as Murray. If Murray plays, Micah Parsons will probably have a multi-sack game. If Brissett is forced into action, the Cardinals will probably use a quick passing game similar to what the Bengals did this week. We will see if the Packer secondary can finally adjust.