The Green Bay Packers will take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6 to kick off a stretch of winnable games that could help their quest toward competing in the NFC. While the Packers come in almost three weeks removed from their last victory, the Bengals are in a more desperate state, trying to break a three-game losing streak caused by a severe turf toe injury to starting quarterback Joe Burrow.
The Bengals are pulling all the levers ahead of their trip to Lambeau Field, trading for recent Packer adversary Joe Flacco on Tuesday. But as the game draws closer, it could be former Packers lineman Lucas Patrick who gives them a boost after Cincinnati announced that he was activated from injured reserve on Wednesday morning.
Ex-Packer Lucas Patrick’s Return Can’t Plug the Holes in Bengals’ Offensive Line
Patrick broke in with the Packers in 2017 and cracked the starting lineup at right guard during the 2020 season. He’s since parlayed it into a solid career, joining the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints after departing following the 2021 season, and had another opportunity to start with the Cincinnati Bengals this season.
That opportunity lasted one game after Patrick suffered a right calf injury during the Bengals’ season-opening victory over the Cleveland Browns. While Dalton Risner took over, he was out of the lineup with a calf injury of his own, suffered in a Week 3 game against the Minnesota Vikings. Even when on the field, Risner hasn’t performed well enough to keep his job, posting a career-low 46.6 overall grade and allowing five pressures and a sack on 90 pass-blocking snaps this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
This is just one of the problems facing Cincinnati’s offensive line. The Bengals ranked dead last in PFF’s latest offensive line rankings ahead of Week 6 and had been starting two rookies at the guard spots in Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers. Cincinnati also gave up 20 pressures and two sacks on 45 dropbacks in its loss to the Detroit Lions last week, and now have the statuesque Flacco at quarterback.
Patrick’s return might help, but it's more like putting a piece of bubble gum into a leaky dam more than solving an actual problem. The Packers rank sixth in pressure rate (24.7%) entering Week 6 and should be able to get to Flacco even as defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt recovers from a knee injury.
It means that while Patrick will be excited to be back on the field, he’ll have a tough task, and the Packers should take advantage of the situation.