CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Here are five storylines of note in Sunday’s Bengals game against the Detroit Lions, which will kick off at 4:25 p.m. at Paycor Stadium:

5. Rookie getting second straight start at right guard

The Skinny: While rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild was installed as a starter from the first day of the Bengals offseason program, rookie Jalen Rivers will be making his second straight start at right guard. That comes after opening game starter Lucas Patrick suffered an injury and veteran Dalton Risner fizzled as a starter in the next three games.

“I felt like he did some good things for us against a really, really difficult front,” said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor of Rivers’ performance in his first start at Denver this past Monday night. “I mean, he’s got some All-Pro players up there that he had to do battle with. I’m not going to say that anybody played at a Pro Bowl level for us, but to say in his first start on the road to Denver against that front, I was pleased with what Jalen did and I think he continued to build off of that. I really liked his demeanor throughout the game. I spent time over there with those linemen and was really pleased with the demeanor that he had and we just got to continue to build off of that.”

Taylor said Rivers’ professionalism has stood out.

“There’s a maturity to him, certainly, when you meet him, when you just watch him go about his business,” said Taylor. “Obviously, it’s his first year in the league, but there’s certainly a maturity to Jalen that you appreciate, that you feel like when you give him a coaching point or instruction, he’s ‘OK, I got it,’ and not something you’re going to have to remind him about, ability to self-correct when something doesn’t go right. I think instead of giving him, ‘Hey, this is what it should have been differently,’ he can speak it very quickly on what he can do to better himself. He’s a guy that’s over his time here already has played a lot of different spots for us. We’re trying to let him settle in at guard and I’m pleased with the progress that he’s making and the direction that he’s in right now.”

4. Ties between Zac Taylor and Dan Campbell

The Skinny: Taylor and Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell coached together with the Miami Dolphins from 2012-15 and Taylor has openly praised Campbell several times since Campbell took over as Lions head coach in 2021.

That praise came even in Campbell’s first season when the Lions went 3-13-1 and were 0-5 when the Bengals beat them 34-11 on Oct. 17, 2021.

“I have tremendous memories with Dan,” said Taylor. “Dan and I go back further than anybody would ever realize. I’ve got a of respect for him. He’s done an unbelievable job. I do reflect back on 2021 and his first year there. I don’t think they had won a game. Knowing what they were building you could tell – they played with a lot of undrafted free agents on defense – but you could just tell they had the identity of their coaching staff, the head coach, the way that they played. We got the best of them that day, but you could see something that was building in the future, whether people believed it at the time or not it was very clear. So now you’re here in 2025 and the success they’ve had over the years, and the success they’ve had this year winning three in a row, it’s a really good football team.”

The Lions went 9-8 in Campbell’s second season, then 12-5 in 2023 when they advanced to the NFC Championship Game, 15-2 last season and are 3-1 this season.

3. Injuries abound in Lions secondary

The Skinny: The Lions enter this game with several key injuries in the secondary. Cornerback D.J. Reed, who started each of the first four games, was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday due to a hamstring issue, while starting cornerback Kahlil Dorsey is listed as out for this game due to a concussion and a wrist injury and starting safety Kerby Joseph is questionable due to a knee injury.

The team’s 2024 first-round pick cornerback Terrion Arnold was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday due to a shoulder injury and hasn’t played well as reflected by his ProFootballFocus grade of 48.1 (out of 100), which ranks 135th out of 165 cornerbacks in the NFL.

“They got a lot of guys on IR right now,” said Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. “I think they’re gonna come out and play zone a lot. They’re mostly a man team, disguise a couple zones. The majority of the time they play man but against us I think they’ll play zone.”

The Lions haven’t recorded an interception this season.

“The front seven’s really good,” said Bengals quarterback Jake Browning. “The DBs are scrappy as hell. I think 21 (Amik Robertson, who hasn’t started a game this season, but will likely start in this one) does a really good job. He’s aggressive. He’s not afraid to come up and press anybody in the NFL. He doesn’t care. I think the safeties do a really good job being ball hawks.”

While Detroit doesn’t have an interception it has recorded 14 quarterback sacks and recorded 22 quarterback hits in the first four games.

“They are good up front,” said Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. “(End Aidan) Hutchinson is a premier edge player in this league. We know (tackler) DJ (Reader) well. Ton of respect for DJ and his game. Good linebackers with a challenging play style. They want to challenge you in the secondary. They are going to grab you. They are going to confront you at the line of scrimmage. They are going to make you do it the hard way and win the physical battles down in and down out. That’s the way the head coach has wanted to build their team. They have done a good job of that. We’ll have to have a plan that accounts for that. It will be a good opportunity for our players to respond.”

2. Local prep product part of lethal Lions 1-2 punch in running game

The Skinny: The Lions rank sixth in the NFL in rushing at 139.0 yards per game behind the combination of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who is a graduate of Mt. Healthy High School. Gibbs has rushed for271 yards and four touchdowns and is averaging 4.7 yards per carry, while Montgomery has rushed for 245 yards and three touchdowns and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

“They’re a big, strong power run game,” said Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden. “They have a very good offensive line, two dynamic backs, tight ends that can block at the point, and unselfish wide receivers that will block. So from there, everything runs revolves around that. From there they have the play-action game, which they’re very good at, and then they have the guys that could take the top off the defense and Jameson (Williams) and guys that can make you pay with (Amon-Ra) St. Brown and some of the other guys, (Sam) LaPorta and those guys underneath. I think they’re a challenge at all three levels, and the quarterback’s playing well for them.”

The Bengals rank 26th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed at 135.8, and over the last three games they allowed an average of 167.4 yards per game.

“Not where it needs to be,” Golden said of the run defense. “Just defend your gap, keep the ball on your inside pad. Play with leverage. Guys are hustling, guys are trying to generate a play, and the ball comes out the backside for a 20-yard gain. There’s some of that. I’ve got to put the guys in better position on some plays, and overall, the last two games, it needs to be better.”

This will be the first time in the 5-foot-11, 230-pound Montgomery’s seven-year NFL career (the first four with the Chicago Bears) that he has played a game in Cincinnati. The 2016 Mt. Healthy graduate was a quarterback in high school and rushed for 2,707 yards and 41 touchdowns as a senior.

1. Will return home be the cure for Bengals woes?

The Skinny: This will be just the second home game the Bengals have played this season and they are 1-0 with the win coming over Jacksonville 31-27.

Perhaps the return home will help shake off the sting of the back-to-back ugly losses on the road at the Minnesota Vikings (48-10, which was the biggest margin of defeat in franchise history) and 28-3 at the Denver Broncos.

“I think it’s going to be nice playing at home,” said Taylor. “Being able to use our verbal cadence will allow us to do some things that maybe is a little more difficult to utilize on the road. Knowing you’re going to be late with the play call and all that kind of stuff, getting to the line of scrimmage. I’m optimistic right now that we’ve put together a really good plan. We’re all accountable that three points isn’t good enough; 10 points isn’t good enough. Our expectation is that we have to score a lot to take pressure off our defense, put pressure on the opponent. We have not done that the last two weeks in particular, and it really starts with me on offense, getting those guys in a rhythm, create some momentum so our defense isn’t out there all day.”

Pitcher said the team has had success with Browning in the past and believes that the offense can have success again.

“We have players that are here who have made a lot of really big plays and been the focal point of good offensive football who know what it looks like and know what it feels like and know what it takes,” said Pitcher. “That’s where the relevance occurs. You know the experience is here. It’s not as if we are walking around with a group of people that don’t know what they don’t know or don’t know what it takes. That’s where it is relevant. Outside of that, you don’t get credit for what last year’s team did or what last week’s team did. Every week you are judged in this league. You trust the fact there are guys that know what it looks like and what it is going to take so now we are going to go do it.”

Both Chase and Browning said handling the current adversity will make the offense stronger.

“That’s the biggest thing about adversity, you’ve gotta face it, look at it eye-to-eye and attack it,” said Chase. “It’s just like us on the field. We make mistakes. We gotta look at it on the film, correct it and move on to the next play.”

Said Browning: “When there’s adversity hitting or things aren’t going the way you want, are you dedicating more of yourself to it to try and figure out the solution and be part of the solution? Or are you dedicating less so that the losses hurt less? The main focus for us is just more, dedicate more of yourself to it, put more time into it, and I am going to do everything I can to make sure that I’m leaving no stone unturned and showing up Sunday with giving our team the best chance to win.”

PREDICTION: Lions 30, Bengals 23

The Skinny: As much as the focal point of the last two weeks has been on the struggles of the Bengals offense, the defense has played poorly as well and now it is facing the top-scoring offense in the NFL. Being back home should help some, but probably not enough to pull off the upset.