With the Green Bay Packers able to sit back and somewhat relax following a confusing tie between themselves and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4, they can also get a glimpse at what’s to come on their schedule after their much-needed bye week.
Green Bay has a lot to figure out before they continue on their course towards contention this season, especially as they’re now second in the NFC North behind the 3-1 Detroit Lions. Detroit isn’t going to be doing them any favors this week, either, as they’re set to square off against the currently lowly Cincinnati Bengals for their Week 5 matchup.
There’s a lot to take away from this game for Green Bay despite the fact they’ll be avoiding the field altogether this Sunday. The Bengals, just like the Browns, present some unique challenges that could rear their head against an unprepared Packers defense.
Packers must not take Bengals matchup for granted in Week 6
Two key things that the Packers cannot take for granted against the Bengals in Week 6 are the threat of their receiving corp as well as the work of Trey Hendrickson on the edge. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins haven’t gotten off to the start they would have hoped for this year, having to catch passes from backup Jake Browning rather than star signal caller Joe Burrow.
But, Browning still has the chance to settle in if the Packers’ defensive line can’t make Cincinnati’s offensive line feel the heat. Micah Parsons is obviously a big piece of that strategy, but the Packers need players like Rashan Gary, Colby Wooden, and Edgerrin Cooper to also step up in order to prevent them from heating up.
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Cooper has been struggling, specifically, so a good game from him that leads to stopping this corp from getting going could be a huge confidence booster.
Hendrickson is another beast. While he hasn’t been the most adept pass rusher so far this season – that honor goes to Parsons at the moment – this Packers O-line has been dealing with injury woes that could allow for him to find an opening to Jordan Love. Rasheed Walker has been doing some heavy lifting on that front with Zach Tom still on the outs.
The Packers probably have nothing to really worry about with these Bengals, especially since they just seem primed to punt yet another year due to injuries that could’ve been preventable had they simply invested in their trenches. But, Week 5 should be a good litmus test for them, as they get to see how Cincinnati gets handled by a team that’s just a few steps ahead of Green Bay at the moment.
