Anthony Cosenza of Cincy Jungle, our sister site covering the Cincinnati Bengals, stopped by this week to answer a couple of questions about his team before the Green Bay Packers face off against them in Week 6. If you want to read the companion article to this one, where Cosenza asks questions about the Packers, you can find that HERE.
Obviously, both offensive lines are banged up
, but I wanted to start this conversation about Cincinnati’s new quarterback.#1: So, you traded for a quarterback this
week in Joe Flacco, who managed to beat the Packers in Week 3. What are the fan expectations for Flacco in his debut?
It’s really hard to say. Most fans want to believe that he’ll be markedly better than Jake Browning has been the past three weeks. However, Browning is working with a 6:8 touchdown to interception ratio, while Flacco has a 2:6 ratio this year.
Still, it’s more about taking more care of the football and having a quarterback who can not only make the right reads, but has an ample arm to push more big plays downfield. One could also make the argument that these are some of the best skill position weapons Flacco has ever had at his disposal, but he has to walk the walk, starting Sunday.
I will say that some of the Bengals’ big-name players, namely Ja’Marr Chase and Chase Brown, seemed to be in better spirits after the trade, with Chase applauding the team for not sitting on their hands and Chase complimenting Flacco on his play memorization and play-calling tempo in the huddle.
In summation, my personal expectation is for Flacco to be competent, not dominant. And, for now, that is what they need, for both Flacco to play catch-up, and to get off of this three-game skid wherein the Bengals have a minus-76 point differential in the losses.
#2: The offensive line is obviously a big talking point right now, not just in terms of the Bengals’ pass protection stats but also because of how little Cincinnati has produced on the ground. How much of that is the line’s blame, and how much do the injuries to guards Dylan Fairchild and Lucas Patrick have to do with that?
The Bengals’ offensive line has long-been a problem, and it predates Zac Taylor into Marvin Lewis’ final couple of years as head coach. The team is on its third offensive line coach in seven years, while a myriad of high draft picks and notable free agent acquisitions haven’t wholly fixed the longstanding problems.
There is a combination of factors at play, I believe. Cincinnati’s shotgun/empty-heavy system puts a lot of individual pressure on Cincinnati’s linemen, which is a system issue. Their longtime stance of devaluing guards,be it via free agency or the draft hasn’t helped and then you have the coaching development question as well. But, it’s also hard to imagine that steady players like Orlando Brown, Jr. and Dalton Risner suddenly decline in play right when he lands in Cincinnati, as well as the team simply not hitting on so many other draft picks, so system, coaching, as well as team valuation of traits and positions (or lack thereof).
That being said, 2025 third-round pick, Dylan Fairchild, looks like the real deal at left guard and 2025 fifth-round pick, Jalen Rivers, has shown promise, too. Fairchild got injured in the middle of the game last week and his play suffered because of it, while Patrick hasn’t been seen since the second quarter of Week 1. Fairchild may not play this week, so I expect veteran Dalton Risner to line up at left guard this week, with a coin-flip of Patrick (he practiced all week) or Rivers at right guard.
#3: Cincinnati’s defensive line coach is Jerry Montgomery, who wasn’t too well-liked in Green Bay for the lack of development of the interior defensive linemen that he produced over nearly a decade. How is his unit doing with the Bengals?
Montgomery’s unit is doing so-so. They are bottom-third in the league in quarterback sacks and rsh defense, but he’s gotten a little bit more out of some younger players that needed to step up this year. Kris Jenkins, Jr., a 2024 second-round pick, has seemingly taken a step forward, while EDGE Joseph Ossai has two sacks as a complement to the great Trey Hendrickson (four sacks).
It’s a little bit of an incomplete grade for Montgomery, as he hasn’t had 2025 first-round pick, Shemar Stewart, since the middle of Week 2. He has looked promising early and should be returning soon, but remains doubtful this week. Additionally, the rush yards given up seem to be more of an indication of the team falling so far behind these past few weeks and opposing offenses leaning heavily on the run while holding onto big leads.
While it hasn’t been great under Montgomery’s watch, he is far from the biggest culprit in the team’s struggles–particularly of late.
#4: What does a Cincinnati win look like to you? Obviously, you guys have a great receiver duo, a top pass-rusher in Trey Hendrickson and both Jordan Battle and Dax Hill can get their hands on the ball. Is it just as simple as a couple of those players going off?
To me, it comes down to winning the turnover battle, not falling behind (or by too much) early on, continuing to capitalize on the banged-up Green Bay line and maybe get a little special teams luck, especially if Brandon McManus can’t go on Sunday. They don’t need to be absolutely perfect, but competency across the board is the name of the game.
Not falling behind early comes down to Flacco taking care of the ball and letting his weapons do their respective things. Cincinnati has fallen into way too many third-and-long situations (the running game has been a struggle), so avoiding those and Flacco taking care of the ball could keep things manageable. On defense, they need to regain their opportunistic nature via turnovers that headlined the team’s 2-0 start.
There is a lot they need to clean up in a short period of time, so keeping it close and/or grabbing a win won’t be easy for the Bengals.
#5: The spread in this game is 14.5 points, which hasn’t budged since Flacco was traded to this team. Does that surprise you, and do you think the Bengals can cover?
It surprises me a little bit that the line didn’t move even a little bit, but the Bengals need to prove they can get back to being competitive before lines like that move. Given how they’ve “played” the last three weeks, they deserve Las Vegas’ disrespect.
I do think the Bengals cover, but probably not by much. I can see a 10-point Green Bay win in this one, with Flacco showing improvement over Browning, but Green Bay’s strong roster exploiting weak/injured spots of the Bengals.
