The Detroit Lions are heading into their fifth game of the season on Sunday, October 5, and it’s a high-stakes showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals on the road. The Lions are 3-1 for the season, and the Bengals are 2-2, but one thing that’s certainly an advantage for the Lions is that the Bengals are without their franchise quarterback Joe Burrow, who has been sidelined through at least early December. While that will help, it’s not a guarantee, so the Lions will have to be on point to get that 4-1 record after this game.

They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, and it appears that Lions quarterback Jared Goff actually has a long history with the coach of the Bengals. So, their coach might have a leg up on what Goff’s style is like and how to contain him, but it’s nothing to lose sleep over.

Ahead of the Sunday game, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor talked about his relationship with Goff over the years. As it turns out, he knows Goff very well.

Bengals Head Coach Talks Lions Quarterback Jared Goff

Taylor has been talking about the Lions leading up to the teams’ game against each other, and he’s opening up about his time with Goff. Taylor coached Jared Goff in 2018 ,when he was the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams and Goff was with the team.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for the job Dan (Campbell) and his staff do on offense,” Taylor said on Wednesday, October 1. “I coached Jared (Goff) for two years. I’ve got a ton of respect for him.

He added, “It’s a tough task and there’s going to be some above the neck stuff early in the week our guys have to own. So, when we get the physical reps (Thursday) and Friday, we make the most of them because it’ll be less this week than normal. I trust our guys will be able to do that.”

The Bengals‘ backup quarterback Jake Browning has been completing 64 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and five interceptions since Burrow has been out. Of Browning, Taylor said, “I feel extremely confident in Jake Browning” going into the Lions game.

Detroit Lions Making Waves in the NFL

The NFL has released their Week 5 power rankings, out on Tuesday, September 30, and in them, Eric Edholm has the Lions at No. 3.

“Detroit was not prolific offensively against Cleveland, but no one has been this season,” Edholm states in the piece. Still, this is the second time in four games where the Lions have been kept somewhat grounded on offense, even if they’ve taken good care of the football. Committing five offensive penalties was out of character, and Detroit’s still trying to hone the connection between Jared Goff and Jameson Williams.

He adds, “The Lions have enough options and weapons to win a contest such as Sunday’s, and the defense and special teams did enough to step up in a game that was 20-10 entering the fourth quarter. Some tough opponents await prior to the Week 8 bye, and though there’s no panic, Dan Campbell’s group still has a few screws to tighten up.”

We’re confident that Campbell will get those screws tightened up in time for Sunday. Go Detroit.