The Green Bay Packers don’t need another "good win." They need the kind of win that shuts people up. The type of win that forces everyone to stop talking about this team's inconsistency and ability to play to their potential. Coming off the early bye week to face a Cincinnati team that is in complete quarterback chaos is the perfect scenario for this team.
The Bengals' QB situation is, frankly, a mess with Joe Burrow out for the season. Jake Browning's last game was pretty rough, with three interceptions and just no real rhythm.
Joe Flacco, who was just signed, will need to get caught up to speed to learn a new playbook. Because of all this, the offense is struggling and basically just trying to get by with screens and checkdowns to hide their protection issues and avoid giving the ball away.
Jeff Hafley dreams about going up against an offense struggling like this. Since taking over, we have seen Hafley's defense be aggressive and disguise coverages to be able to get after the opposing quarterbacks. While they were able to get after Flacco a few weeks back against the Browns, the defense should be all the more aggressive this week.
Micah Parsons' 'be phenomenal or be forgotten' quote is a message the Packers need to hear
This is exactly the kind of opponent that lets Hafley's vision come to life. Expect pressure early and often from Micah Parsons, Rashan Gary, and Lukas Van Ness crashing edges, Quay Walker spying the middle, and corners sitting on routes that never had a chance. The defense needs to come out with anger over the last time they were on the field, and Parsons voiced just that when he was asked about it:
"We should punish these guys. We want to leave a statement. It should be a statement win. It should be a statement on defense," Parsons said. "Running to the ball. That's contagious. How we showed them statements those first couple weeks — I told the guys: be phenomenal or be forgotten."
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The leader of the Pack couldn't be more right. Green Bay's defense doesn't just need to hold; it needs to dominate. No late collapses, no third-and-long breakdowns. Just clean execution and control from start to finish. Jordan Love and the offense will get their headlines eventually, but this week, it's about the other side of the ball proving it's no longer the team's liability; it's the backbone.
If the defense can do its part, look for the Packers offense to score early and often against a Bengals defense that, outside of Trey Hendrickson, provides no pass rush. The one thing this Packers team has failed to do is put teams away. Even in the two wins to start the year off, they never really put Detroit or Washington away, and then it came back to bite them in Weeks 3 and 4.
The Packers have had flashes of dominance, but flashes don't win divisions or playoff games. This is a chance to send everyone a message. Beat a team you should beat, and do it convincingly. Don't let Joe Flacco hang around. Don't let bad habits creep back in. Handle business.