Strange things have occurred in the Queen City when the Green Bay Packers have shown up over the years.
My first trip was when the Cincinnati Bengals were still playing in Riverfront Stadium and one of my favorite players of the day had his career end when defensive back Mike McCoy tried tackling 280 pound fullback Pete Johnson in the open field with a head of steam. It wasn’t pretty.
In 2005, the Packers were trailing 21-14 late but Brett Favre and the offense was driving. They reached the Bengal 28 with about a half minute left. Just after they broke the huddle, out of the corner of my eye from the press box, I saw a fan jump on to the field at the far end zone and began his journey that would end in a Cincinnati jail cell. He covered the full 70 yards unabated and reached the gunslinger just as he caught the snap in shotgun formation. The fan reached around Favre’s arm and pulled the ball right out of his hands. Hi retreat back across the field included a nice stiff arm of one security guard but a couple more closed in for the tackle. The befuddled Packers didn’t recover.
Eight years ago, rookie running back Jonathan Franklin was having the game of his life. He topped 100 yards rushing and the Packers were poised for victory, alas, he fumbled late running into his own lineman and it was another frustrating trip home.
It’s been a frustrating existence for the Bengals too. After 14 years under Head Coach Marvin Lewis, Cincinnati was often competitive, making it into the post-season field mostly as a wild card team almost every other year, but every year, they were one and done. The 0-7 playoff record finally convinced the Brown family to make a change.
Enter Zac Taylor, the young son in law of former Packers Head Coach Mike Sherman. He married Mike’s daughter Sarah who worked for a time, pleasantly so I might add, in the Packers’ public relations department for a couple of seasons.
A one win rookie year allowed Taylor to draft his quarterback of the future in Joe Burrow, the number one overall pick in 2020 out of LSU. The Bengals won four games a year ago when Burrow missed a chunk of the season with injury. Taylor added more firepower to the offense in the last two drafts with wide receivers Tee Higgins a year ago and Burrow’s LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase this year. The playmaking talent has infused the franchise with new hope as they welcome the Packers Sunday with a 3-1 record, their best start in years.
Before matching up the squads, some Saturday business first.
The Packers placed Jaire Alexander on injured reserve before boarding their charter. Not a surprising move after Alexander damaged the AC Joint in his shoulder last Sunday against the Steelers. By the end of the week, the Packers determined surgery won’t be needed, they’ll give it time to heal. Alexander now has at least three weeks to rest on IR before the Packers can check on his progress. They desperately want him back for the second half of the season. Under new CBA rules enacted last year during COVID, the Packers have an unlimited number of free moves off the IR list during the regular season.
Speaking of COVID, defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster has been activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list and will be back in the defensive line rotation on Sunday.
Also, the Packers have elevated guard Ben Braden and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown from the practice squad to the 53 man game day roster.
Now to the ballgame.
When the Packers have the ball.
While this is an uncommon opponent for the Pack, they have some familiar faces on the defensive side of the ball. The Bengals have gone the free agent route here, adding defensive linemen Trey Hendrickson from New Orleans and D.J. Reader from Houston. The Packers played both teams last year. On the corner is Trae Waynes the Kenosha native and former Minnesota Viking. Ex-Cowboy Chidobe Awuzie is on the other side.
This is a fly around unit, ranking 7th in yards allowed per game at 323.0. They’re stingy against the run at 93.5 yards a game. They have 11 sacks, with Hendrickson and fellow edge rusher Sam Hubbard doing most of the damage.
The musical chairs offensive line will have a new center on Sunday with Josh Myers out with a finger injury. The Packers have to have their communication on point as Cincinnati will challenge the front with unusual pressure packages from it’s normal 4-2-5 full time nickel alignment.
Picking up where Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon left off against Pittsburgh will help. They combined for 129 yards on the ground (Dillon had 81 on 15 carries). Preventing the Bengals front from teeing off will benefit Rodgers and the passing game.
With Marquez Valdes-Scantling still on IR with a hamstring injury, the down to down field stretching dynamic is missing. While the passing game did strike for a couple of 40 yard gains in San Francisco, they couldn’t muster a repeat against the Steelers.
Rodgers still counted up 9 explosive plays last week (passes of 16+, rushes of 12+). In the passing game, facing a steady diet of two high safeties, without MVS, the Bengals will want to keep everything in front of them. Rodgers said the key to making explosive plays will be to create space sideline to sideline and connect with receivers who can pile up yards after the catch. That sounds like the plan to me.
Since the New Orleans 3 point affair, the Packers are averaging 32 points a game and have found stretches in three straight wins where they convert on 3, 4 or 5 consecutive possessions. Early run success and continued marksmanship from the quarterback (8 TD’s, 0 INT’s the last three games), should allow the offense to put up points again in the Bengals’ jungle.
When the Bengals have the ball.
The Alexander injury is concerning considering how much Cincinnati runs empty backfields and Burrow throws it around the yard. He has a completion rate of 72.9% and his passer rating of 113.8 trails only Patrick Mahomes in the AFC. Higgins should return after missing two games with a shoulder injury to team with Chase and leading receiver Tyler Boyd (23/259) to give the Packer secondary a formidable challenge. Kevin King’s return will help, only if he regains form that has been more miss than hit during his career. Eric Stokes’ confidence got a jolt with his first career pick last week and he’ll be thrown at plenty on Sunday. If Issac Yiadom and newcomer Rasul Douglas are on the boundaries, it could be a long day.
An ankle injury to Joe Mixon could slow the power back down some. His backup, Samaje Perine, has only 9 carries in four games. Cincinnati may be one dimensional by choice so the pressure package put together by defensive coordinator Joe Barry will have to be a good one. The pass rush appears to be improving each week but someone other than Rashan Gary or Kingsley Keke from the inside will have to provide it. This could be a big game for Preston Smith, attacking former Viking right tackle Riley Reiff.
Burrow has been sacked 11 times and he’s thrown four picks. He’s talented, but still young and if the Packers can hasten his decision making process, they might make some plays.
The bottom line.
I have a feeling points will be plentiful at Paul Brown Stadium on what’s expected to be a warm, mid-80’s afternoon. So which defense will do a better job and coming up with stops? I think it’s the Packers, by a slight margin, but one or two could make the difference in a shootout. Unless something out of the ordinary happens again.
I like the Packers 28-25.
