The Green Bay Packers were viewed as Super Bowl favorites by some heading into the 2025 NFL season, and beating the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders in the first two weeks helped solidify those predictions.
While those wins were fantastic and somewhat unexpected, the Packers went on to lose to the Cleveland Browns and tie the Dallas Cowboys.
Two head-scratching results, for sure, but a lot of their frustrations in those two games were the product of being decimated by injuries on both sides of the ball.
They must get back on track coming out of the bye, and thankfully, they’ll face off against a struggling Cincinnati Bengals squad.
Reporter Ryan Wood noted the Bengals’ hardships during their Week 5 matchup with the Detroit Lions, and that the Packers’ defense might have their way with Jake Browning, Joe Burrow’s backup.
The Bengals can’t GPS their way to the end zone with Jake Browning. #Packers defense couldn’t have a better opponent to bounce back out of the bye after Dallas.
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) October 5, 2025
The Bengals do still have some fantastic players on offense, including Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, but if they don’t have the right quarterback getting them the ball, they can only do so much.
Chase had two touchdowns in their loss to the Lions, and Higgins had one, but it still wasn’t enough for the Bengals to be close or competitive in this game, at least in the box score.
The Packers could certainly use an “easy” win on the schedule coming out of the bye, building up their confidence and improving their record to 3-1-1.
It will be interesting to see if that tie comes back to bite them when it comes to playoff positioning, but for now, they have to keep forging ahead and take care of business against any opponent on the schedule.
