GREEN BAY – October 12, 2025 – Brendon D. Miller
Cincy fought hard in the second half, but ultimately could not come up with a stop when one was needed and fell to the Packers 27-18 for their fourth straight loss. The Cincinnati Bengals flew into Green Bay after sending a fifth round pick to Cleveland for 40 year old quarterback Joe Flacco, in hopes he could stop the three game skid. The hopes are that Flacco can get a few wins and keep the Bengals playoff hopes alive until until Joe Burrow can return.
Flacco showed some promise by going 29 for 45 for 219 yards and two touchdowns in the second half, but it was not enough. Flacco’s performance after only a half week of practice will now be compounded as the Bengals have a quick turnaround as the Steelers come the Paycor for Thursday Night Football.
First Quarter
The Bengals’ defense was first to take the field on Sunday. Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense, fresh off an early bye week, drove down the field, but a deflected pass by DJ Turner turned into a Geno Stone interception, setting up Flacco and the Bengals’ offense with a nice momentum boost early.
Flacco and the Bengals’ offense did nothing with that momentum. They went three-and-out and were only able to gain a single yard.
After a Ryan Rehkow punt, the Packers’ offense kept the ball, slowly and methodically driving down the field, for the rest of the quarter. The clock ran out on the Packers as they faced a third-and-eight just outside the Red Zone.
Second Quarter
Al Golden’s defense was able to force Love out of the pocket, where he attempted to scramble but was unable to pick up the first down. The Packers sent backup kicker Lucas Havrisik out on the field, and he was able to score the game’s first points, giving Green Bay a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Golden’s defense forced a quick three-and-out, and the Packers and Bengals exchanged punts. Flacco and the offense took the field for only the third time with 12 minutes left in the first half. The offense took the ball and gained five yards on three plays in two minutes and punted the ball right back to Green Bay.
One of the two offenses was bound to eventually wake up, and it was the Packers’ that did so first. On the following drive, Love led the Packers down the field, and Green Bay was able to punch the ball into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown. The Packers took a 10-0 lead with just over four minutes left in the quarter.
Flacco and the offense went backwards in another three-and-out, and punted the ball back to the Packers, but the defense showed up again. After a first down, the Packers were forced to punt the ball back to the Bengals with just over a minute left in the half.
Flacco was able to move the ball and even picked up three first downs. They set Evan McPherson up with a 67-yard field goal, but the try was short, and the Bengals went to the locker room scoreless.
Third Quarter
The Bengals received the ball to start the second half, and they desperately needed to figure something out offensively to get back into the game. After only being able to muster three first downs throughout the first half, Flacco and the offense picked up more than that in their first drive out of the locker room.
Flacco and the Bengals drove down the field like they were a different team to start the second half. They were able to gain yards on the ground, and Flacco connected with both star wide receivers on the drive. Flacco found tight end Tanner Hudson in the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play to put the Bengals on the board, cutting the 10-point lead to three.
The Packers’ offense responded in turn. Golden’s defense was able to keep Love bottled up through much of the first half, but Green Bay responded to the Bengals’ 10-minute touchdown drive by pushing the ball into the red zone by the time the clock ticked to zero in the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Packers scored on the first play of the fourth quarter on a Josh Jacobs run right up the middle for 14 yards. After the extra point, Green Bay took a 17-7 lead with 14:56 left in the game.
Again, the Bengals’ offense, with Flacco under center, looked capable. Flacco drove them down the field again, connecting with both Chase and Higgins, but the offense was held to a 45-yard field goal that McPherson put between the uprights. Down by a single score, the Bengals kicked the ball back to Love and the Packers with just over 10 minutes left in the game and a seven-point lead.
The Packers, possibly sensing the Bengals creeping up on them, didn’t waste their opportunity to extend their lead. After a nice kick return, Love and the Packers’ offense drove 62 yards on 10 plays and scored on a pass to Tucker Kraft in just over three minutes. They kicked the ball back to the Bengals, who were down by two touchdowns and quickly running out of time.
Flacco, leaning heavily on Chase, was able to push the Bengals down the field into the red zone. The game was on the line after the Bengals failed to convert on third-and-five and were forced to go for it on fourth down. Luckily, the best wide receiver in the NFL plays for the Bengals, as he was able to haul in a back-shoulder throw from Flacco in the end zone while he was being mauled by the defensive back. The Bengals then went for the two-point conversion and scored an additional two points when Brown caught a short pass from a well-protected Flacco.
With the Packers’ lead cut to six, the Bengals kicked the ball off with just over four minutes remaining to play. With a more stable offense, the Bengals’ defense flashed at times against the Packers. Thanks to a sack from Stone, the Bengals had Love and the Packers in a third-and-long situation, but Love was able to complete a long pass for a first down that not only put them in field goal range, but seemed to take the wind out of the Bengals’ defensive sails. The two teams went to their respective sidelines for the two-minute warning just as the Packers were set up on third-and-short just outside the red zone.
After an incomplete pass, the Packers sent Lucas Havrisik to attempt a 39-yard field goal to take a two-score lead with less than two minutes left in the game. At this point, down by two scores with less than two minutes left to play, losing teams have to resort to praying to football gods for some sort of miracle. That was not meant to be.
The Bengals were able to get in McPherson’s field-goal range, but McPherson’s 56-yard attempt was wide right, effectively ending the game. The Bengals fell to 2-4 on the season, losing by a score of 27-18.
Final
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 18 |
| GB | 0 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 27 |
Team Stats
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 20 | 24 |
| Passing 1st downs | 12 | 11 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 5 | 12 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 3 | 1 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 6-15 | 5-11 |
| 4th down efficiency | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| Total Plays | 62 | 60 |
| Total Yards | 268 | 409 |
| Total Drives | 9 | 9 |
| Yards per Play | 4.3 | 6.8 |
| Passing | 213 | 256 |
| Comp/Att | 29/45 | 19/26 |
| Yards per pass | 4.6 | 9.5 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 1-6 | 1-3 |
| Rushing | 55 | 153 |
| Rushing Attempts | 16 | 33 |
| Yards per rush | 3.4 | 4.6 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-2 | 3-4 |
| Penalties | 3-17 | 5-40 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 27:16 | 32:44 |
CIN PASSING
| PLAYER | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | RATING |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 29 | 45 | 219 | 64.44 | 4.87 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 90.88 |
| TEAM | 29 | 45 | 219 | 64.44 | 4.87 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 90.88 |
CIN RUSHING
| PLAYER | ATT | YDS | TD | AVG | LONG | FUM | 20+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 9 | 42 | 0 | 4.67 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 2.7 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
 | 1 | -3 | 0 | -3 | -3 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 16 | 55 | 0 | 4.37 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
CIN RECEIVING
| PLAYER | REC | YDS | TD | TGTS | LONG | YAC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 94 | 1 | 12 | 19 | 14 |
 | 5 | 62 | 0 | 8 | 19 | 22 |
 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 16 |
| 2 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 20 |
 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
| 2 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
 | 1 | -2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 2 |
| TEAM | 29 | 219 | 2 | 40 | 79 | 93 |
CIN FUMBLES
| FUM | LOST | REC | FF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
CIN INTERCEPTIONS
| PLAYER | INT | INT YDS | INT TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 1 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
CIN DEFENSE
| PLAYER | TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | INT | QBP | INT TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 56 | 40 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 |