Snap Counts, Stud, Dud and Defining Play From Packers’ Win Over Bengals

The Green Bay Packers held off the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Here is our breakdown of the snap counts, plus one stud, one dud and the defining play of the game.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) runs through Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) and safety Geno Stone (22) to score a touchdown on Sunday,. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers outlasted the Cincinnati Bengals 27-18 on Sunday. They were in control for most of the game but needed a late score to put it away.

Here’s our weekly analysis of the snap counts, along with one stud, one dud and the defining play.

Snap Counts on Offense

The Packers played 61 snaps on offense.

Quarterback: Jordan Love played every snap and, for the fourth time in five games, topped a 100 passer rating.

Running backs: Why is it so important to win games comfortably? Because it can take some of the wear and tear off impact players, such as running back Josh Jacobs. Jacobs played 48 snaps and, as usual, carried the load. He was exceptional with 18 carries for 93 yards and five catches for 57 yards.

Before Sunday, almost all of Josh Jacobs' rushing yards had come after contact.

This touchdown to start the fourth quarter gave the #Packers a 17-3 lead. pic.twitter.com/lXfmtARVt4

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 13, 2025

Emanuel Wilson played 11 snaps and had four touches for 7 yards, and Chris Brooks played five snaps with one carry for 1 yard.

Receivers: Romeo Doubs led the way with 52 snaps, followed by Matthew Golden with 42. Doubs led the team with nine targets and caught five for 55 yards, and Golden showed his explosiveness repeatedly with three catches for 86 yards and two runs for 16 in producing his first 100-yard day.

Dontayvion Wicks was late out of the locker room after halftime. At the start of the fourth quarter, the team announced he was questionable with an ankle injury. Ultimately, he played only 21 snaps. That meant more playing time for Malik Heath – a season-high 28. Savion Williams played only seven.

Tight ends: Tucker Kraft, as usual, was the leading man. Few tight ends play as many snaps as Kraft, who was on the sideline for only five on Sunday. He caught only two passes, but they were high-impact plays with a 24-yarder down the field before halftime and his tackle-breaking touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Luke Musgrave played 21 snaps and should have had a big gain but Jordan Love threw it a mile over his head. John FitzPatrick played 12 and Ben Sims played one.

Offensive line: The Packers’ three injured linemen – right tackle Zach Tom, left tackle Rasheed Walker and left guard Aaron Banks – played and went the distance. So did center Elgton Jenkins.

The Packers opted for a rotation at right guard, with Jordan Morgan starting in place of Sean Rhyan, with Rhyan playing the second series. The rotation went out the window quickly, though. Morgan played 50 snaps and Rhyan played the other 11 – all on his one series.

Tom played through a lot of pain and his status will be something to watch this coming week. Asked about the offense in the second half, he said, “I don't remember much.” Why not? “Because of the pain. I usually remember everything. Not today.”

The offensive line was not penalized.

Snap Counts on Defense

The Packers played 65 snaps on defense.

Defensive ends: What will it look like when Micah Parsons is fully implemented? A lot like Sunday, probably, as he played 58 snaps (89 percent). Rashan Gary played 40. With Lukas Van Ness sitting out the second half because of a foot injury and limited to 22 snaps, Kingsley Enagbare played 16 and Barryn Sorrell played a career-high 13.

Van Ness had the team’s only sack and the only solo tackle among the defensive ends. Van Ness and Gary had two quarterback hits apiece and Sorrell had one. Next Gen Stats credited Parsons with a team-high four pressures.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1), defensive end Lukas Van Ness (90) and defensive end Rashan Gary (52) pressure Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco. | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Defensive tackles: With Devonte Wyatt out with a knee injury, Karl Brooks played a career-high 53 snaps – the first time in the 50s in his career. Colby Wooden started alongside Brooks and played 32.

What was interesting is Nazir Stackhouse played in the first four games while fellow rookie Warren Brinson was a healthy inactive. Against the Bengals, Brinson played 21 snaps and Stackhouse just five.

While they limited the Bengals’ feeble run the game, the production was almost nonexistent. Combined, they had one solo tackle (by Wooden) and two assisted tackles (one each by Wooden and Stackhouse). Brooks had three pressures and Brinson had two.

Linebackers: Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper played every snap. In the fourth quarter, Walker was visibly shaken up on a third-and-goal tackle but stayed on the field and gave up the touchdown on fourth down. Isaiah McDuffie played six snaps; he averaged 41 last season.

Cooper had 11 tackles, including one tackle for loss, and Walker had eight. The tackling was much better.

Cornerbacks: Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs went the distance. When Javon Bullard left the field to be evaluated for a concussion – he suffered one at Cleveland, as well – the adjustment was moving Hobbs into the slot and inserting Carrington Valentine at corner for the final 19 snaps.

For the first time this season, a quarterback went after Nixon. He was generally good, but Joe Flacco and Ja’Marr Chase beat him on a couple elite-level passes, including on the fourth-and-5 touchdown. The defense broke up three passes - Nixon had two and Valentine had the other.

Safeties: Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams played every snap. Bullard played 40 in the slot before the injury. Williams had six tackles, including one for a loss, and McKinney had five. The Packers weren’t close to producing a takeaway but they didn’t give up a single completion of 20-plus yards.

Stud: Josh Jacobs Stars While Sick

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) scores a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Five times during his All-Pro season of 2022, Josh Jacobs reached 150 yards from scrimmage. He had zero such games in 2023 and one in 2024.

Now, he’s done it in back-to-back games. With a bit of exaggeration, Jacobs on Sunday was at his best while feeling his worst.

“Yeah, I didn’t feel too good today,” he said. “You can kind of tell right now, I don’t feel the best. Throwing up during the game, after, before the game. I really don’t know where it came from. I just kind of woke up this morning just not feeling my best. But I told them, the last time that I felt that way, I had 130 (yards) and two touchdowns. So, it is what it is.”

Jacobs didn’t do it alone. For the first time this season, there was room to get up to speed. According to Next Gen Stats, Jacobs in his first four games had 8 rushing yards before contact. That’s right. Eight. Against the Bengals, 41 of his 93 came before contact. It’s a different game for a back when he’s not sidestepping defenders in the backfield.

Dud: Jeff Hafley

Last year, Jeff Hafley cobbled together one of the better defenses in the NFL without a consistent pass rush or a stopper at cornerback. Gifted Micah Parsons at the end of training camp, his defense dominated Week 1 against Detroit, Week 2 against Washington and most of Week 3 against Cleveland.

Against Cleveland, the Browns finished field goal, touchdown and field goal to win. Against Dallas, the Cowboys in the second half and overtime went punt, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown, field goal to tie. Against Cincinnati, the Bengals in the second half went touchdown, field goal, touchdown, missed field goal to stay alive.

The Packers are constructed to take a lead and then feast with their pass rush. Instead, his defense has been devoured.

Defining Play: Jordan Love’s Scramble

The biggest play of the game was Jordan Love’s critical third-and-8 completion to Matthew Golden, a 31-yard gain that set up the clinching field goal.

The biggest 3 yards of the game. pic.twitter.com/E0GkBB089e

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 13, 2025

But Love’s 3-yard scramble on third-and-1 was the pivotal play on the previous drive, which was punctuated by his touchdown pass to Tucker Kraft that gave the Packers a 24-10 lead with 7:33 to play.

This is what Love brings to the table – but hadn’t during his first two seasons as the starter. The Bengals were ready for the quarterback sneak. Instead, Love booted out to his right. The play was dead, but he eluded a couple defenders to move the chains.

“It’s definitely been a big emphasis for me and it’s been huge to be able to extend some of these plays, especially on third-and-short,” Love said.