1. Aaron Rodgers
The Bengals haven’t had to face a real quarterback threat yet, so it’s no wonder their defense ranks in the league’s top ten in multiple categories. Aaron Rodgers could quickly change that in Week 5.
The path of mediocre and middling opposing quarterbacks has led Cincinnati here in Week 5, as if the Bengals had completed different levels of a video game to reach a final climactic battle.
First, they faced a rusty Kirk Cousins then, they came up against the three-headed creature of Andy Dalton, Justin Fields, and Matt Nagy that actually wasn’t threatening since they were bumping heads all the time (They lost that level, but we’re giving them an extra life.) Up next was the ghost of Big Ben in the haunted Heinz castle, and the fourth matchup was against the fledgling Trevor Lawrence who tried to breathe fire but could only produce smoke.
Compared to the others, Rodgers is the enormous, looming Bowser about to stomp on a very small and very defenseless Cincinnati team.
Since Rodgers’ last visit to Paul Brown Stadium in 2013, he ranks third in the NFL in touchdown passes (249) and wins (77) and eighth in passing yards (30,481).
In 2021, Rodgers has looked like his future Hall-of-Famer self with eight touchdowns and two interceptions for Green Bay, but his most valuable asset might be his know-how on leading a team to victory.
Rodgers commands any field he stands upon, and the Bengals should be rightfully shaking in their shoes. This will be one of the toughest quarterback opponents Cincinnati has to face this season, and if Rodgers is in full stride on Sunday, there might not be anything the Bengals can do.
Game over.