GREEN BAY — Zach Tom would have loved to have rehashed every aspect of the Green Bay Packers’ 27-18 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at Lambeau Field on Sunday evening, but there was just one problem with that.

The Packers right tackle couldn’t remember much of it.

Playing through a painful oblique injury that he’d suffered in the Sept. 7 season opener and had plagued him ever since, Tom went the distance on a day when he and the rest of the offense line were vital to winning.

Having exited the team’s Sept. 21 loss at Cleveland after only one snap, Tom was determined to play the whole game, despite being listed as questionable on Friday, along with fellow linemen Rasheed Walker (quadriceps) and left guard Aaron Banks (groin).

All three did indeed make it through the game, but Tom was in undeniable pain afterward. Asked, as one might be asked by a doctor or nurse during a hospital stay, to rate his pain level on a scale of 1 to 10, Tom replied, “I ain’t answering that. No way.

“I just want to go home and go to sleep. Last time hurt way worse. This one hurt bad, but it was manageable.”

Asked what he thought of the offensive performance, Tom replied, “I’ll be honest, I don’t remember much. I know we were scoring, so that’s a good thing.”

Asked if he couldn’t remember because he was in such pain, Tom responded, “Yeah, it’s because of the pain. I usually remember everything. Not today.”

The primary beneficiaries of the line’s cohesion were quarterback Jordan Love, who was sacked only once while throwing for 259 yards and a 101.3 passer rating, and running back Josh Jacobs, who ran 18 times for 92 yards (a 5.2-yard average) and two touchdowns, finishing with 150 total yards from scrimmage.

“The name of the game is trying to stay healthy and get your best players out there. Having those guys out there, I felt very comfortable,” Love said. “I felt good with whoever we had in there, but having those guys, you could feel the difference. That’s going to be a big key going forward.”

The Packers started Walker at left tackle, Banks at left guard, Elgton Jenkins at center, Jordan Morgan at right guard and Tom at right tackle. Sean Rhyan, who had been the starting right tackle, played the second series there but Morgan stayed in the rest of the game.

“Me personally, I was really excited to just get out there and play. I haven’t had a chance to complete a full game,” said Banks, who missed two games and didn’t finish the other two games he did play. “To come out and be able to get through all four quarters and have a chance to get some momentum, I was excited. I was fired up for this game.”

Protection racket | After allowing a blocked kick in each of their previous two games — a potential game-winning field goal at Cleveland and an extra point at Dallas that was returned for a 2-point defensive conversion by the Cowboys — the Packers reconfigured their protection unit in front of fill-in kicker Lucas Havrisik.

And it worked, with no protection gaffes as Havrisik went 2-for-2 on field-goal attempts and 3-for-3 on extra points.

“The guys up front did a great job all day,” Packers long-snapper Matt Orzech said of the group, adding that Packers-turned-Bengals defensive tackle T.J. Slaton “was hungry for a block over there” but was kept at bay. “They did a great job of just locking it up, and I think special teams took a good step forward this week, which was really important.”

Not only did all six top offensive linemen work on the field-goal protection group, it also included backup tackle Darian Kinnard and defensive lineman Karl Brooks, with Brooks and Tom protecting the wings.

Asked if it was important to use all the starting linemen in protection, head coach Matt LaFleur replied, “Yeah. I mean, it’s a point-producing play, so it’s whatever it takes. Especially in those critical moments. I mean, you’ve got to get your best out there.”

Take it on the run | After finishing the game with 26 rushing yards on seven attempts — including a quarterback sneak and a victory-formation kneeldown — Love now had 88 rushing yards through five games.

He had 83 rushing yards all of last year, when he played with left knee and groin injuries. Anticipating a healthier 2025, Love made using his legs more often a priority for this season, and so far, he’s done so — both by extending plays before throwing the ball, and by scrambling and running for positive yardage.

“I think quarterbacks using their legs and trying to extend plays when the routes are covered or things break down in the pocket is huge,” Love said. “It puts that extra layer of pressure on the defense.

“That’s something that I had to focus on coming into the season — trying to use my legs more and extend some of these plays. Obviously, last year, I was dealing with some things so I wasn’t moving around as much, so it’s definitely been a big emphasis for me. And it’s been huge.”

Golden opportunity | Rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden had his most productive game of his young NFL career, catching three passes for 86 yards on five targets.

The first-round draft pick’s receptions went for 20, 35 and 31 yards. The 35-yarder jump-started a drive that ended in Jacobs’ first touchdown; the 31-yarder on third-and-8 from the Green Bay 40-yard line set up Havrisik’s victory-clinching 39-yard field goal with 1 minute, 52 seconds left.

“He made some big-time plays today,” Love said of Golden. “I think he’s a guy that we’re going to keep trying to get going and keep finding ways to get him the ball, because he’s done some really good things.

“It’s always about trying to spread it around, but he’s definitely a very explosive playmaker and just got to keep finding ways to get it to him.”

Golden heads into next week’s road game against the Arizona Cardinals with 14 catches for 212 yards but no touchdowns, and his connectivity with Love seems to be increasing with every game.

“I feel like we’re right where we need to be. I’m excited to play for a guy like that,” Golden said. “Just knowing he can put the ball anywhere, for me, all I’ve got to do is catch it. He definitely made my job a lot easier.”

Health watch | Moments after registering his first full sack of the season on an incredibly explosive move off the snap to blow past Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown, Packers defensive end Lukas Van Ness was on a cart riding to the locker room with a foot injury.

Van Ness was in a walking boot and on crutches after the game, and LaFleur said he would undergo further tests Monday.

“I talked to him real quick. I know he’s going to get an MRI tomorrow. I know he’s sore,” LaFleur said. “I don’t believe there was anything broken or anything like that. so we’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on tomorrow.”

The Packers also lost safety/nickelback Javon Bullard, who left the field during the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a possible concussion. It’s unclear if Bullard did indeed suffer a concussion, but if he did, it would be his second one in three games.

​COPYRIGHT 2025 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.