Bengals' Defense Knows Key to Beating Packers Starts With One Thing

When Joe Burrow went down in Week 2, he left the Bengals with a 2-0 start, but that didn’t last long. They're hoping to rebound after going 0-3 over the past three weeks.

I like to think of the Bengals' offense as a tailored suit, impeccably well-suited to the franchise quarterback. That suit didn’t fit Jake Browning these last three weeks, so Cincinnati brought in 40-year-old veteran Joe Flacco as they search for stability at the position. 

Flacco has the experience and the arm strength, and he’s the only quarterback to have beaten the Green Bay Packers, but can he do it a second time?

Quite frankly, that could prove to be a tall task if Cincinnati abandons the run like they’ve been doing, a bad habit that is easy to slip into for a lot of teams in a pass-happy league. 

Flacco had three practices to get acclimated to the Bengals’ style and verbiage ahead of Sunday's game. Tee Higgins was the first to tell Ja’Marr Chase of the change at quarterback. 

“I saw it on Twitter and I called him,” Higgins said on Thursday. “Zac (Taylor) called him shortly after.”

There has been much time for Flacco and his new receiving corps to exchange pleasantries with a trip to Lambeau Field looming. Chase and Higgins have both explained that the conversations have been business-heavy as the new signal caller figures out what each weapon prefers and how they see the field. 

“He knows defenses in and out, he’s been doing it for a while,” Higgins said.  “We’ve just got to go out there and execute the game plan at the end of the day.”

While the offense gets situated, Cincinnati’s defense is tasked with stopping an aggressive 26-year-old quarterback in Jordan Love, who has been playing better football than over 80% of the position around the league. 

Last year, he threw an interception in each of his first eight starts, but he seems to have corrected that entering week six with just one interception on the stat line. 

“This week, there has been an emphasis on doing more,” Joseph Ossai said. “Whatever you can, whatever you’re doing well, there’s always a one percent you can get.”

Applying pressure will be one task, stopping the run will be another beast for Al Golden's defense to master on Sunday. The Packers' rushing attack ranks 7th in the league with Josh Jacobs leading the charge.

"If we let them, they'll run the ball the whole game," Ossai said. “Earn the right to rush the passer, that’s what Trey (Hendrickson) says a lot. You do that by winning first and second downs. If we don’t win those first and second downs and get TFLs (Tackles for Loss) it’s all for nothing.”

Trey Hendrickson has a knack for wrecking opposing quarterbacks’ plans. His consistency is a strength, and as of this year, he’s branched out as a vocal leader in an effort to impart knowledge to his fellow teammates. 

“He’s a shy person,” Ossai said. “He would be vocal to me or Cam (Sample), or the D-line, but this year he’s really taken that step to like speak to the defense as a whole, and it goes to show because they voted him captain. He’s been vocal that way, and it’s great.”

His leadership will be especially important in Green Bay. The AFC is wide open for the taking and Cincinnati has a chance to establish a strong footing going into a short week with the Steelers in town on Thursday night. 

“To steal one in Lambeau would be fantastic,” Ossai said.  “It would be great for the team, moving forward to Thursday night, and we’ll be able to build something off that momentum.”