While it was not the beat down, get right, "put em away early" game that many were hoping for, the Packers took care of business against the Bengals, and move to 3-1-1 on the season. 

The Bengals were able to keep the game close due to an early interception from Love, and a ten minute drive to start the second half off. Take those two factors out of the equation, and this was a fairly dominant performance by the Packers against an inferior team. They were in control of this game basically from the start, and won by two scores. 

But they were still a late fourth quarter third and long conversion away from handing the ball back to Cincinnati, only up six. 

There's a odd schism in the identity of the 2025 Packers, and it's a major factor in the fans' frustrations with the team. This is a team that feels like it should be a veteran, world-wise unit, capable of disciplined play and able to put away any kind of opponent. We feel this way because, for the most part, the core of this team is at least in its second or third year. We know these faces, and we've seen them grow, from the scrappy 2023 version of themselves that rode house money all the way to the divisional round to now. 

But the reality of the Packers is that they are not a veteran team. In fact, for the third year in a row, they are the youngest team in the entire league. By proxy, that makes them the most inexperienced team in the entire league. These ebbs and flows that we've seen from the team are a feature, not a bug. By design, there's going to be a lot of self improvement for the entire roster to make before January. 

Game Balls 

Matthew Golden / Tucker Kraft

 Every single week, it feels like we are this close to a Matthew Golden breakout game. Thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close. 

We saw a couple of signs to light the way this week. How about Golden's 86 yards on only three receptions? And boy, were those three receptions spectacular. 

Catch 1: 

Matthew Golden finally getting used in a game like he should be!#GoPackGo
pic.twitter.com/9dm03lpj9v

— SleeperPackers (@SleeperPackers) October 12, 2025

Catch 2: 

Offense saw the tweets pic.twitter.com/Ag9xL64OVV

— CheeseheadTV 🧀 (@cheeseheadtv) October 12, 2025

Catch 3:

When the game is on the line think player not play...Jordan Love to Matthew Golden for 31 yards 😤pic.twitter.com/C2dS5hco4x

— Packerfan Total Access- Clayton (@packers_access) October 12, 2025

Meanwhile, Tucker Kraft did Tucker Kraft things, including bullying his way into the endzone for a key fourth quarter score. His other reception was another explosive play, a 24 yard reception in the second quarter. 

One thing this game made abundantly clear was that these two players are deserving of an increased target share. 

Lucas Havrisik

What an incredibly impressive showing for Havrisik, who finished the day 2/2 on field goals, 3/3 on extra points, and also handled kickoff duties for Green Bay. He earns a game ball for incredibly quick turnaround, following his workout with the team on Thursday, to gameday on Sunday. 

Because he's unlikely to stick around on the roster, some quick background on Havrisik: The former Arizona Wildcat is the one time winner of the Pac 12 special teams player of the week, with a 34/53 mark on field goals and 73/78 for extra points over his collegiate career. Havrisik signed with the Colts practice squad in 2022, before spending time with the Browns, the Rams (where he saw some gametime and kicked a game winner against the Seahawks), the Browns again, and the Buffalo Bills, before ending up in the UFL at the end of last season. 

It's likely that McManus will be back in time for the game in Arizona next week, but Havrisik has earned a footnote in the story of the 2025 Packers.  

Josh Jacobs 

While it took a few weeks into the season for Jacobs to get up to speed, the team MVP of 2024 has returned to form. Jacobs took 16 carries for 93 rushing yards, two touchdowns and an impressive 5.2 YPC. He added another 57 yards through the air for 150 total yards. Jacobs is making the most of every single touch he gets on the football field, and even more impressively, he did with the while battling the flu. 

In run blocking, I thought we saw a good bounce back game from Rasheed Walker and Jordan Morgan, but it was the outside blockers that really made the day. The Packers ask a lot from their receivers, especially as blockers on those outside run concepts. I saw a lot of great things from Matthew Golden in particular, but also from the tight ends Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. 

Lame Calls

The Offensive Line

This might be half of a lame call, because the offensive line was generally good in the running game, and was better in passing protection in the second half of the game. Here's the thing though: that's still underperforming the expectations that everyone had of this group entering the 2025 season. 

There's a play in the second half that really sums up the frustrations that I have with the offensive line right now. It's third down and long, and the Bengals end up rushing only three. So the Packers, of course, end up letting the pressure get to Love anyway, who has to escape the pocket and throw an incomplete pass. That just can't happen, and it wasn't just that play. If you were watching this game, you saw lots of collapsed pockets on Love, most of which he escaped, and we even saw him pick up a few first downs with his legs. But he doesn't need to do that if the line can hold up against the lowly Bengals only sending four rushers. 

The Bengals pass rush is not a playoff caliber unit, and if the Packers struggle for the rest of the season like they did today, the truth of the matter is that the offensive line is a unit that the Packers must win in spite of, and not because of. Time is running out for the line to prove that are an asset. 

Lack of Takeaways

We are six weeks into the 2025 season, and your Green Bay Packers defense has only taken the ball away from the offense twice. Both are the result of interceptions by the safeties, and looking back, it probably would have been better if McKinney would have just let that Joe Flacco arm punt fall to the ground in Cleveland. 

Takeaways are a hard thing to come by in the NFL, but with the major emphasis that the team put on punching the ball out in training camp, it's a bit strange that the team hasn't gotten any results out of it. Have we even seen any players attempting one? Please remind me in the comments if you can remember an instance, but I really can't. 

Meanwhile, on the interception front, it's clear that opposing offenses are choosing to throw anywhere and everywhere on the field that doesn't contain Xavier McKinney. He and Evan Williams are keeping the top on offenses, and preventing any explosive plays from getting past them. I thought Quay and Edgerrin Cooper had a much better game today than in Dallas, but their role within the defense really doesn't lend itself to creating opportunities for interceptions. That leaves the corners as the other possibility to create those turnovers, and so far they just... haven't.

Turnovers tend to come in bunches for defenses. Remember how easily they seemed to come to the Packers to start of the 2024 season, and how quickly they dried up. It's possible that the tide could turn once more, but until then we are going to have to keep relying on the pass rush to be the motor of the defense. 

Three and Out

--  Today's phrase of the week is "flip-flopping". As in, the offense and defense flip-flopping over halftime as they decided which unit would be good, and which one wouldn't. Over the first half of the game, the defense had pitched a shutout and dominated every aspect of the Bengals' offense, while the offense's motor was backfiring, held back by turnovers and penalties.

Then came the second half, and the Bengals clawed their way down the field for 18 total points, headlined by a touchdown that only Jamar Chase could have come down with. Tip your cap to Joe Flacco (who we hopefully won't see again this season) for an excellent second half of football. He showed off exactly the veteran savvy that the Bengals were looking for when they made that trade. Unfortunately for the Bengals, the Packers offense also found their next gear in the second half. 

--  Injury Notes:Javon Bullard (concussion), Dontayvion Wicks (ankle) and Lukas Van Ness (foot) all left the game with injuries on Sunday. Matt LaFleur gave indications in the post game press conference that LVN's injury did not seem to be bone related, a positive sign.after he was carted off the field in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile as we look ahead to the Cardinals game, some stories to keep an eye on are Kyler Murrary and Marvin Harrison Jr, who may not be available for next weeks contest in Arizona 

-- No team in the NFL has a bigger explosive play ( 20+ passing or 10+ rushing ) margin than the Green Bay Packers, and this game was a perfect representation. The Packers had 194 yards on explosive passes, versus 94 for the Bengals. The Bengals had zero yards on "Deep" completions, while the Packers had 111. In the turnover section, I mentioned how teams have avoided throwing the ball deep against the safety duo of McKinney & Williams, and these are the kind of advantages that the Packers can create for themselves when that is the case.