Packers vs. Bengals Matchups: Who Has Advantage?

The Green Bay Packers are 2-1-1 and the Cincinnati Bengals are 2-3. With advantages throughout, it’s little wonder why the Packers are huge favorites.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins catches a two-point conversion against the Green Bay Packers in 2021. | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The Green Bay Packers are back from their bye week, sitting at 2-1-1 and chasing the Detroit Lions for supremacy in the NFC North.

After a 2-0 start, the Packers will have not won a game in just more than a month when they face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

The Bengals’ season is in tatters. They started the year with wins over the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars. The win over Jacksonville came at a cost, though, with quarterback Joe Burrow lost for three months with a toe injury that required surgery. Without him, the Bengals have been crushed in three consecutive games.

With Burrow out and Joe Flacco perhaps set to start in his place, it will be another big opportunity for the Packers to add to the win column. Of course, games against the lowly Browns and defenseless Dallas Cowboys were opportunities to do that, as well, and the Packers wasted those.

Do the Bengals have a chance on Sunday? Las Vegas seems to think the answer is a resounding “no,” with the Packers opening as 14.5-point favorites.

This is a game that should favor Green Bay, but here is what our weekly matchups say.

Bengals Pass Offense vs Packers Pass Defense

Had Joe Burrow been healthy, this would have been Green Bay’s stiffest test to date in terms of individual talent. Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in football, and he’s flanked by what is probably the best receiver tandem in the sport.

Ja’Marr Chase has an argument to be considered the best receiver in football. He won the receiver triple crown last year, pacing the NFL in receptions, yards and touchdowns. Tee Higgins would be the No. 1 target for most teams.

To boot, the Packers are coming off their worst game in the secondary in 2025. Cornerbacks Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine were repeatedly abused by Dak Prescott and George Pickens. Prescott targeted them early and often and, according to Pro Football Focus, both players gave up a passer rating in excess of 100 in the 40-40 tie in Dallas.

The issue, of course, is that Burrow is not going to play on Sunday. Instead, Jake Browning has been handling quarterback duties in his absence.

Browning had some nice moments as Burrow’s backup two seasons ago but has really struggled this season. He threw three interceptions and was sacked for a safety in Sunday’s 37-24 loss at home to Detroit. He’s thrown eight interceptions – one off the dubious league lead – and been sacked nine times.

Zac Taylor would not commit to Browning after the game, and now he’s been benched.

On Tuesday, the Bengals did not have to look far to find a solution at quarterback, acquiring Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns. ESPN reported that their hope is that Flacco will be ready to play on Sunday, which could complicate things a little for Green Bay’s defense due to the unknown.

Flacco started four games for the Browns this season before giving way to rookie Dillon Gabriel for the team’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Flacco is better than Browning and will be able to lean on some experience, but this is a marginal upgrade. Of 32 qualifying quarterbacks, Browning is 30th in passer rating and Flacco is 32nd.

Flacco, of course, has faced the Packers this season, leading the Browns to a 13-10 win in Week 3. Of course, that game was more about what the Packers did not do as opposed to anything Flacco did.

Flacco has thrown two touchdowns to six interceptions and has yet to have a passer rating above 76. His lack of mobility will be an issue behind a line that struggled to keep Browning and Burrow upright.

Perhaps Micah Parsons will relish a second chance to get Flacco on the ground, which he did not do when the two teams met in late September.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) catches a pass as Green Bay Packers cornerback Eric Stokes in 2021. | Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Advantage: Packers

Bengals Rush Offense vs Packers Run Defense

When Joe Burrow is in the lineup, the Bengals don’t show much interest in running the ball. Now that he’s out of the lineup, they show more interest; they’re just not successful.

Chase Brown is the team’s leading rusher with 160 rushing yards. Of 47 qualifying players, he is last in the league with 2.46 yards per carry. The Bengals are 31st with 3.10 yards per carry.

This could be a matchup the Bengals try to lean into despite their issues on the ground. Green Bay’s run defense struggled a bit last week against Dallas after Devonte Wyatt exited with a knee injury. He did not practice when they came back from their bye on Monday.

If Wyatt cannot play, the Packers’ depth at defensive tackle would be perilously thin. Karl Brooks would step into the starting lineup next to Colby Wooden. Behind him, the only player who has played in the regular season is undrafted rookie Nazir Stackhouse, who is coming off a rough showing against the Cowboys. Warren Brinson, the team’s sixth-round pick, has been a healthy scratch all season and likely would make his debut if Wyatt is unable to go.

Against a team with a better rushing attack, the lack of defensive tackles might be a bigger issue, but this Bengals team is not well-equipped to take advantage.

Advantage: Packers

Bengals Pass Defense vs Packers Passing Offense

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) is sacked by Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Defensive end Trey Hendrickson, the NFL’s reigning sacks king, is back and remains an impact player. After back-to-back seasons of 17.5 sacks, he has four this season, including a strip/sack against Detroit’s Jared Goff last week. He rushes almost exclusively from the defense’s right side, meaning a matchup against left tackle Rasheed Walker.

Joseph Ossai, Kris Jenkins and Myles Murphy also have at least 1.5 sacks. That does not account for first-round pick Shemar Stewart, who has missed the last three games with an ankle injury. He did not practice last week.

Green Bay’s offensive line looks to be getting healthier with left guard Aaron Banks and right tackle Zach returning to practice on Monday. They need health there in the worst way, as every offensive lineman save for Elgton Jenkins allowed at least four pressures against the Cowboys, according to PFF.

Green Bay’s passing game is coming off its best game of the year despite shoddy protection for Jordan Love. Love has had a passer rating greater than 110 in three of his four starts, and thrown multiple touchdown passes in those games, as well.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, ranks 29th in the league with 259 passing yards allowed per game.

If they’re not sacking the quarterback, there’s plenty of room to be found in Cincinnati’s leaky defense. There should be a good opportunity for Love and his passing attack to provide some fireworks for the Lambeau faithful.

Advantage: Packers

Bengals Rush Defense vs Green Bay’s Rush Offense

With early-season trends, this might be the case of a stoppable force meeting a moveable object.

Defensively, Cincinnati is 24th with 132.2 rushing yards allowed per game. It’s allowed at least 118 rushing yards in four consecutive games. Offensively, Green Bay is 27th with 3.79 rushing yards per attempt.

Josh Jacobs did seem to start hitting his stride after halftime at Dallas. He had two touchdowns in the second half, including a 19-yard burst in which he looked more like the 2024 version of himself.

The aforementioned health on Green Bay’s offensive line could help him find more holes to run through on Sunday.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage, it’s a return home for former Packers defensive tackle TJ Slaton. Slaton signed a two-year, $14.1 million contract with Cincinnati in free agency. He has 21 tackles but no tackles for losses through five games.

The advantage here is slight, but with Jacobs finding his stride in the second half and having a week of rest, it does favor Green Bay.

Advantage: Packers

Special Teams

Green Bay’s special teams might be the difference between 4-0 and 2-1-1.

Coach Matt LaFleur said in his last media availability before the bye that his team needed to clean up some of the “catastrophic” mistakes and, if it did that, it’d be in a good spot.

After a blocked extra point turned the game at Dallas, special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia made some personnel changes that seemed to solidify the protection.

They need something to change, because the special teams played a key role the last two games. Against Dallas, it was a blocked extra point, which the Cowboys returned to put their first points on the board of the night. Against Cleveland, it was a blocked field goal that might have won the game.

The mistakes were not just in the kicking game. The return game is a mess, too. Savion Williams has struggled fielding the ball on kickoffs. Matthew Golden has been an adventure while trying to return punts.

The Packers had two open roster spots coming out of the bye week but seemed to dedicate those to bringing back Christian Watson and Jacob Monk from injured lists rather than find a reliable returner.

They have who they have, and right now that is not good enough.

Cincinnati’s kicker is Evan McPherson, and he has a big leg. The Packers have seen him before, as he and Mason Crosby traded missed kicks in what ended in a Packers victory in 2021. McPherson was a rookie back then; now, he’s one of the better kickers in the league. He has yet to miss a kick this season, with a long field goal of 50 yards.

Punter Ryan Rehkow leads the league with a 53.1-yard average, but he’s booted six touchbacks and is a modest 13th with a net average of 42.6.

Their return duties have been split by Charlie Jones and Samaje Perine. Both have a long kickoff return this season of 37 yards. Jones handles the punt-return duties. His 13.0-yard average, which includes a long of 23, is one of the best in the league.

Green Bay’s special teams need to figure things out before getting into the second half of the season. Cincinnati’s special teams are solid if unspectacular.

For now, that’s better than what Green Bay is bringing to the table.

Advantage: Bengals