Acme Packing Company
The Green Bay Packers are back in the win column, and they avoided losing to Joe Flacco for the second time in three games. Facing the Cincinnati Bengals at Lambeau Field, Matt LaFleur’s team struggled to get out to a big lead in the first half, but both teams’ offenses woke up a bit in the second half. Green Bay never went on defense with less than a two-possession lead in the second half, eventually holding on for a 27-18 victory.
The game was a bit of a breakout for Matthew Golden, who led the team with 86 receiving yards on three catches. Golden added 16 yards on the ground for his first game of over 100 yards from scrimmage. Meanwhile, Josh Jacobs had a big day, with 18 carries for 93 yards and two touchdowns and another five receptions for 57 yards.
It was a tale of two halves for Green Bay’s defense, however. They completely shut down the Bengals in the first half, but struggled mightily after halftime, allowing all 18 points after the break. The vaunted Packers pass rush managed just one sack on Flacco all game long, as the new Bengals quarterback picked on Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine throughout the second half.
Ultimately, the kicking game made a difference in this game. Lucas Havrisik, in for Brandon McManus, was perfect for the Packers, hitting two field goal attempts and all three of his extra points. Meanwhile, the Bengals asked a lot of Evan McPherson, who missed attempts of 56 and 67 yards in the contest.
The Packers had a promising drive on the opening series of the game, driving down into the red zone. They got an explosive pass to Romeo Doubs on the first play of the game and then a 4th-down conversion on a Jordan Love quarterback sneak, but Love made a big mistake. While scrambling to avoid pressure, he chose not to throw the ball away and instead tried to force a pass to Doubs along the sideline. The ball was tipped and intercepted by safety Geno Stone, erasing a promising start to the game.
The Packers clearly had a plan to feature rookie Matthew Golden early and often in this game, however. After forcing a quick three-and-out on defense, the Packers got Golden three touches on their next drive, with two 8-yard carries and a 20-yard catch-and-run. The drive stalled out short of the 20, however, bringing on Lucas Havrisik — active in place of a banged-up Brandon McManus — for a 43-yard field goal attempt. Havrisik put it right down the middle, finally giving Green Bay a lead less than a minute into the second quarter.
Finally, on their fourth drive, the Packers found the end zone. Golden hauled in a huge play to get the offense moving, a 35-yarder on a picture-perfect throw from Love up the left sideline, and a big catch-and-run from Jacobs went for another 29 yards and set up the offense inside the Bengals’ 10-yard...
