Off a 34-23 loss to the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons, the banged-up Green Bay Packers now return home to face a foe they haven’t battled in four seasons. The Cincinnati Bengals make their first appearance at Lambeau Field since 2009, when they outlasted Mike Mccarthy’s team by a 31-24 score.
As for the team’s last regular-season encounter, Aaron Rodgers and company fell in the Queen City, 34-30, in 2013. These days, the Bengals are a very different football team. After reaching the playoffs for five consecutive years from 2011-15, Marvin Lewis’ squad fell to 6-9-1 last season and third place in the AFC North.
And things are off to a very dismal start in ’17.
What went wrong?
Although the Green Bay Packers fell short in Atlanta last Sunday evening, that loss was preceded by a 17-9 triumph over the Seattle Seahawks. For Lewis’ Bengals, the club is not only off to a 0-2 start but the team has yet to score a touchdown. Cincinnati has dropped a pair of home games to the division rival Baltimore Ravens (20-0), as well as a Thursday night setback to the Houston Texans (13-9). Now they hit the road not only looking for a victory but a way to reach the end zone as well. All told, the numbers are dismal indeed.
In eight quarters, there have been just 516 total yards – an average of 258 yards per contest. Cincinnati is averaging only 79.5 yards per game on the ground.
Quarterback Andy Dalton has been under big-time duress, sacked eight times in two contests. The Bengals have committed six turnovers – five by the seventh-year signal-caller. The team is also averaging a disappointing 26:53 in terms of time of possession. Obviously, there’s plenty of blame to go around when it comes to this unit.
Moving forward
As the Bengals prepare for Sunday’s clash with the Green Bay Packers, they are doing it with a new offensive coordinator as quarterbacks’ coach Bill Lazor takes over. Meanwhile, the team’s dismal start cost Ken Zampese his job. On Monday, Lewis addressed his team and then explained his words to the press. “This is not magic,” said the 15-year head coach to reporters (including Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer).
“You have to do the work. Offense, defense and special teams all alike ... I said we got Kenny out of here. Not Kenny. We did. And they gotta understand that. They’re part of that. And the next time, look around, there will be different guys sitting there. And they realize that, too.”
The Green Bay Packers also realize that they can’t worry about the Cincinnati Bengals and their issues. If Rodgers and company take care of their own business on Sunday, they will bounced back from that loss in Atlanta.
