Packers vs. Bengals: Which team has the winning advantage in Week 6?

Which team will have the winning advantage when the Green Bay Packers (2-1-1) host the Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) on in Week 6?

Football is a complicated game, but finding the reasons for winning individual matchups between teams each week is often a straightforward exercise. What wins games? Excellent quarterback play, winning the line of scrimmage, taking care of the football and taking it away, controlling the important situations and overcoming or taking advantage of the injury situation.

Our weekly game preview went deep into the Packers-Bengals matchup to determine who has the advantage at the key factors for winning football games in the NFL:

Quarterback play

Jordan Love ranks in the top five or top 10 in most of the major quarterback statistics, including both traditional and advanced metrics, while the Bengals benched backup Jake Browning in favor of 40-year-old Joe Flacco, who was acquired in a trade on Tuesday. Flacco is experienced, but he was also benched by the Browns after four mostly terrible starts. The difference in passer rating between Love (113.0) and Flacco (60.3) is over 50 points. Edge: Packers

Line of scrimmage

The Packers have dealt with injuries and frustrating inconsistency along the offensive line, and there are big question marks with Rasheed Walker (quad), Aaron Banks (groin) and Zach Tom (oblique) all trying to play through injuries. The front five has to play better for the Packers to reach their potential offensively. Defensively, the Packers have been one of the best pressure teams in football and have mostly contained the run, although the loss of Devonte Wyatt could be significant. The Bengals have struggled mightily in terms of moving people in the run game or protecting the quarterback in obvious passing situations. It's possible the Bengals have the worst offensive line in football through the first five weeks. Defensively, edge rusher Trey Hendrickson is an elite player, but there isn't another player up front who consistently wins 1-on-1s. Edge: Packers

Pass protection composite ratings

Audibly laughed when I saw the bottom 2. Have fun with that, Joe Flacco pic.twitter.com/kdZLaOXKFS

— Computer Cowboy (@benbbaldwin) October 8, 2025

Turnovers

The Packers have only two takeaways, and Jordan Love has two crucial giveaways, so the Packers have been far from perfect in the turnover department. But Green Bay is mostly protecting the football, and there's good reason to believe -- considering the consistency of pressure and talent on defense overall -- that takeaways are coming for Jeff Hafley's unit. The Bengals, meanwhile, have 11 giveaways, including eight interceptions thrown by Jake Browning. But Joe Flacco hasn't protected the ball much better -- he threw six picks and had two fumbles. The Bengals got a strip-sack from Trey Hendrickson, and the defense ranks tied for sixth with five interceptions. Answer this question: Which team is more likely to create a big, game-changing turnover? It's difficult to confident say the Packers after the first four games. Edge: Push

Situational

The Packers have been truly dominant in the game's big situations, with the offense ranking first on third down and seventh in the red zone and the defense ranking fourth on third down and 13th in the red zone. The Bengals are essentially the opposite, ranking 25th on third down on offense and 29th on third down and 28th in the red zone on defense. The Bengals offense, however, has scored touchdowns on 8-of-11 red zone trips and ranks fourth in touchdown percentage. Defensively, Cincinnati has given up a lot of yards and has struggled to get off the field or force field goals. Bad combo. Edge: Packers

Explosive plays

An easy winner here. If defining an explosive play as any play of 15 yards, the Packers rank third in the NFL in explosive play rate on offense through five weeks, while the Bengals rank 31st. On defense, the Packers rank first in explosive play rate allowed and the Bengals rank 22nd. The Bengals don't have a run play of more than 13 yards this season, and the defense has struggled to stop explosive plays in the passing game. The Packers' whole operation is based on hunting big plays on offense and stopping them defensively. Edge: Packers

Offensive and defensive explosive play rates: pic.twitter.com/F7ZkA0i0jp

— Sam Hoppen (@SamHoppen) October 7, 2025

Injury situation

It's clear who is dealing with the biggest injury. The Bengals are without Joe Burrow and have scrambled to replace him at the game's most important position. Cincinnati also hasn't had first-round pick Shemar Stewart because of an ankle injury for the last three games, and starting guard Cordell Volson is on injured reserve. The Packers have receiver Jayden Reed on injured reserve, and Christian Watson won't play in his first week back from ACL surgery. But there are question marks with Rasheed Walker, Aaron Banks, Zach Tom and Devonte Wyatt entering Sunday. Burrow's injury is still far more significant. Edge: Packers

Verdict: Packers have winning advantage

There's a good reason why the Packers are big favorites. While Matt LaFleur's team is going through its own issues, the Bengals will start a quarterback acquired on Tuesday, have arguably the NFL's worst offensive line and little along the defensive front after Trey Hendrickson, and are struggling to protect the football, win on third down and the red zone and create/prevent explosive plays. Oh, and the team's starting quarterback is out for the next few months. The Bengals are in tough shape. "Any given Sunday" applies always, especially for a Packers team that threw away wins in Cleveland and Dallas, but everything important points to the Packers winning comfortably at home.

This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers vs. Bengals: Which team has the winning advantage in Week 6?