GREEN BAY (3-1) at CINCINNATI (3-1)
Sunday, 1 p.m., EDT, Fox
OPENING LINE: Packers by 3, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Packers 3-1; Bengals 2-2.
SERIES RECORD: Bengals lead 7-6.
LAST MEETING: Packers beat Bengals 27-24 in OT, Sept. 24, 2017 in Green Bay.
LAST WEEK: Packers beat Steelers 27-17 ; Bengals beat Jaguars 24-21.
PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (25), RUSH (24), PASS (24), SCORING (T-14)
BENGALS OFFENSE: OVERALL (22), RUSH (22), PASS (23), SCORING (20)
PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (12), PASS (8), SCORING (T-19)
BENGALS DEFENSE: OVERALL (7), RUSH (9), PASS (T-13), SCORING (8)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Packers plus-2, Bengals minus-1.
PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Aaron Rodgers. The reigning MVP threw two touchdowns and ran for another as Green Bay dominated the Steelers last Sunday for a third straight win. He was 20 of 36 for 248 yards. He’s completing 64.5% of his passes and has thrown for eight touchdowns.
BENGALS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Joe Burrow. The top overall draft pick in 2020 hasn’t shown any indications he is playing on a surgically repaired left knee. He has completed 72.9% of his passes and thrown for nine touchdowns. Last week against the Jaguars he engineered scoring drives on all four of Cincinnati’s second-half possessions. The last one set up Evan McPherson for a winning field goal as time ran out.
KEY MATCHUP:
Bengals passing game vs. Packers secondary. Burrow has show adeptness at getting the ball out quickly, finding receivers all over the field and exploiting coverages. He has developed chemistry with receiver and former LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase, and receiver Tee Higgins is expected to return from an injury. The Packers likely will be without cornerback Jaire Alexander, and linebacker Za’Darius Smith will miss a fourth straight game.
KEY INJURIES: Alexander is unlikely to play Sunday as the Packers continue consulting with specialists about his injured shoulder. Smith (back) is out with a back issue that leaves his status for the rest of the season in doubt. David Bakhtiari (knee), an All-Pro left tackle in 2020, hasn’t played yet this season. WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (hamstring) will miss a second straight game. … Bengals RB Joe Mixon is day to day with an ankle sprain. G Xavier Su’a-Filo is still sidelined with a knee injury. S Jessie Bates (neck), CB Chidobe Awuzie (groin), Higgins (shoulder) and DT Larry Ogunjobi (knee) are practicing this week but their availability is uncertain.
SERIES NOTES: After dropping three straight in the series dating back to 1992, the Bengals have won three of the last four. In the last meeting in 2017, Rodgers’ fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson tied the game for Green Bay, and a 27-yard field goal by Mason Crosby won it in overtime.
STATS AND STUFF: Packers coach Matt LaFleur and Bengals coach Zac Taylor worked together on the Los Angeles Rams’ staff in 2017. … This is the first time the Packers have played in Cincinnati since 2013. They haven’t won in Cincinnati since 1998 (that stretch includes road losses to the Bengals in 2005 and 2013). … LaFleur is in his third season as Packers coach. In his first two seasons, he led the team to 26 regular-season wins, the second most in NFL history by a coach in his first two years. … The Packers are 22-0 under LaFleur when they have fewer turnovers than their opponent. They’re 4-1 when the turnover margin is even and 3-6 when they have more turnovers than their opponent. … The Packers have won three straight since opening the season with an embarrassing 38-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Jacksonville, Florida. … Rodgers has thrown eight touchdown passes with no interceptions during this three-game win streak. … Rodgers has 420 career touchdown passes, one shy of Philip Rivers for fifth place on the NFL’s all-time list. … This trip to Cincinnati starts a stretch in which the Packers go on the road for four of five games. … Packers WR Davante Adams has an NFL-leading 31 receptions. … Packers WR Randall Cobb is coming off a two-touchdown game against Pittsburgh. That marked Cobb’s first game with multiple touchdown receptions since 2015. … On Sept. 20, 2009 at Lambeau Field, Cincinnati DE Antwan Odom sacked Rodgers five times, tying the Bengals record. … Bengals RB Joe Mixon had 18 carries for 62 yards and three receptions for 39 yards in the last meeting with Green Bay in 2017. … Taylor is one win away from matching his win total last season. In his first season in 2019, Cincinnati was 2-14.
FANTASY TIP: Bengals TE C.J. Uzomah is increasingly becoming a favorite target for Burrow. He caught five passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns last week.
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