The Green Bay Packers know (or should know) the NFL is a week to week league. The Cleveland Browns were 0-2 and coming off a 41-17 loss before coming back to beat the Packers in Week 3, while the Dallas Cowboys were 1-2 and coming off a 31-14 loss before tying the Packers in a shootout in Week 4. There are no “cupcakes” in the NFL and teams must play well to win every single week.

All that said, Matt LaFleur’s team gets a chance to get right coming out of the bye week when the struggling Cincinnati Bengals visit Lambeau Field on Sunday.

Advertisement

The Bengals lost starting quarterback Joe Burrow in Week 2 and have lost three straight games with backup quarterback Jake Browning, who has thrown eight interceptions in four appearances, including three picks in Sunday’s 37-24 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Over the last three games, the Bengals have lost by 38 points, 25 points and 14 points. And Sunday’s home loss to the Lions included falling behind 28-3 and 35-17 in the second half, and it took 21 fourth quarter points to still lose by 13 points.

What’s gone wrong for the Bengals? Browning has been a turnover machine (nine giveaways), the run game is maybe the worst in football (last in yards, 31st in yards per carry), and the defense is bleeding yards (28th in yards per play, 30th in total yards allowed) and struggling in the game’s biggest situations (30th on third down, 28th in red zone). It’s tough to win with those variables after losing your important player.

The Packers, meanwhile, struggled through a difficult two-week stretch before the bye that included two crucial special teams mistakes and two crucial turnovers. A chance to be 4-0 was recklessly thrown away. The Packers have injuries along the offensive line and needed a week off to get healthy, so the Week 5 bye — the earliest possible bye — actually came at a good time. Rest, recover, reflect. The Packers needed to do all three.

Advertisement

The start of a 13-week gauntlet starts Sunday. The Packers are getting a struggling football team that hasn’t found its footing with a backup quarterback and was manhandled the last three weeks. And Sunday will be the Packers’ first home game since Sept. 11 and the last home game until Nov. 2 — LaFleur’s team is on the road in Arizona in Week 7 and Pittsburgh in Week 8. So this is a game the Packers must have.

Did the Browns and Cowboys teach the Packers a valuable lesson going into the bye? Nothing can be taken for granted. No team on the schedule — especially one with players like Ja’Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson — is an automatic “W.” The Packers have a golden opportunity to get back on track but must take advantage. No big mistakes. Finish the game. Hard lessons learned to start the 2025 season must apply to the performance on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers to face struggling Bengals coming out of bye week