Week 5 Staff Predictions – Lions at Bengals

As Week 5 dawns, this Lions and Bengals matchup was likely seen as marquee game at the start of the season being an AFC contender vs an NFC contender. However, with the loss of Joe Burrow to a toe injury and placed on IR, and the Bengals struggling mightily on offense, the game suddenly looks more like David vs Goliath.

The teams haven't met since 2021 in Dan Campbells inaugural season, ending in a 34-11 Bengals win pushing the Lions to 0-6. Things are a bit different now, with the Lions a well-balanced team and NFC Contender, and the Bengals a top-heavy team that lost its highest paid and best player to IR, crippling their offense the last two weeks.

Brent still has the prediction lead over Dan on a tiebreaker after four weeks (with both sitting on 3-1 records) due to being off by four total points on the Lions cumulative scores for the season. Dan is still nipping at his heels, having nailed the Lions point total against the Browns. Mike and Chirs are sitting in 3rd and 4th in essentially a statistical tie, with each at 2-2 and being off the points by 30 and 31 respectively. Not sure how much movement in the standing we will see this week, as everyone picked the Lions and only a 10-point spread between everyone on their guesses for the Lions final scored points.

sitting at 2-2, after four weeks, with a Week 3 is done, and we have a clear leader in Brent. Not only is he 2-1 in his picks, but over Dan his point total predictions for the Lions through three games was spot on at 103. Dan is second at 2-1 and a 17 pt diff, Chris is 3rd at 1-2 with a 21 pt diff and Mike is looking to move up this week but is currently sitting in last at 1-2 with a 21 pt difference.

Mike

The Lions are coming into Week 5 after beating the Cleveland Browns and their No. 1 Defense. They travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals and their... not No. 1 Defense or their not No. 1 offense. The Bengals are a shell of what they should be with 2 of the best WR's in the NFL, but their star QB is down, and they have not fortified that position. Chase and Higgins will be a chore, but they cannot carry a team from the WR position with a below average QB. The Running Game has been absent the last few games, and I don't see it coming back this week either.

On the defensive side the Bengals give up an average of 397.8 yards per game, ranking them 30th in the NFL, and they have allowed 119 points on the season for an average of 29.7 pts per game. We all know that the Lions are one of the Top 5 (I believe Top 3) team in the NFL. This doesn't change this week. While I do believe in the premise of "Any Given Sunday" I don't see it happening here. Lions will win big !!

Lions 41, Bengals 17

Brent

The Detroit Lions are on another winning streak. Last season, the motor city kitties won 11 in a row before succumbing to the Buffalo Bills late in the season. I am beginning to think the Lions can win many in a row again this season after their performance over the past three weeks.

Offensively, the Lions offense is humming along. Most importantly, the Lions offensive line has not allowed a sack of QB Jared Goff since game one, are running the ball at will, and Amon Ra St Brown is making a case as the best receiver in the NFL. The Lions are averaging 34.3 points per game and may break the scoreboard in Cincinnati this Sunday.

The Bengals offense is a work in today’s NFL given the Bengals spend $94M on their top three players. Of significance, the architect of the offense Joe Burrow is out for three months after having toe surgery. As a result, the Bengals lack the firepower to keep up with the powerful Lions.

Expect a high scoring Lions offense to put up large offensive numbers and the Bengals to struggle to keep up.

Lions 48, Bengals 9

Chris

Getting my score prediction in now because my week is insane with new client onboarding: "The Bungles offense without Burrow isn't just struggling - it's fundamentally broken. Jake Browning's Monday night meltdown shows you what happens when you combine poor pocket presence with an offensive line that can't block anyone wearing a different colored jersey.

Cincinnati is averaging 2.1 seconds of protection before pressure arrives. Against Denver, Browning completed just 18 of 32 passes because he's seeing ghosts that aren't even there yet. When your quarterback is already scrambling before the rush gets home, you're not running an NFL offense - you're running a scrimmage drill. Hellooooo Aidan Hutchinson.

Detroit's pass rush doesn't need exotic packages here. Hutchinson and company can win with basic four-man pressure while the secondary brackets Chase and Higgins. Cincinnati's running game averages 3.2 yards per carry, so they can't establish anything on the ground to help their struggling quarterback.

The real tell? Eleven penalties for 65 yards last game. That's not bad luck - that's a team operating without rhythm or confidence. When your offense can't stay on schedule because of mental errors, you're gifting short fields to a Lions offense that just hung 34 on Cleveland's top-ranked defense.

Browning will throw two picks trying to force balls to Chase. The Lions will control time of possession and turn this into a blowout by the third quarter. Cincinnati's secondary can't cover Detroit's receiver depth, and this becomes a showcase for Goff's precision against a defense that will be on the field too long.

The Bengals aren't competitive without their franchise quarterback. This won't be close.

Lions 38, Bengals 10

Dan

If Joe Burrow was around, this might have been a shootout and the highest scoring game of the year in the NFL, but alas he is not. Jake Browning has not been great, and the Bengals offense has slipped to dead last in the NFL in yards per game at 205.3 and 30th in pts per game at 15.3. Neither bodes well against a Lions defense that has been getting better each week (aside from opening drives) and is now hovering outside the top ten in most major categories since that Week 1 debacle. Only concern is that Higgins and Chase get loose against a beat-up Lions CB room could lead to some exciting long TDs, if Browning can get some protection against the Lions no 2 ranked pass rush. I believe that the Lions will absolutely stifle the Bengals pathetic running game (dead last at 50 yards per game) and have jail break pass rush against browning.

Likewise, outside of Trey Hendrickson, I don't see much opposition on the Bengals defense to stopping the Lions offense. The rush defense is ranked 26th giving up 135.8 yards a game (right below the Ravens, and you know how that worked out) and nowhere as good as the top ranked Browns, who the Lions humbled last week. Their pass defense is worse, ranked 30th giving up 262 yards per game, so if the

Lions can keep Goff clean, and there isn't any reason to believe they can't, the Lions should have guys running free all over the place at every level. The Bengals also give up 29.8 pts per game, which is 27th worst and hovering around the Ravens, Browns and Bears, who the Lions put up 38, 34 and 52 against in the last three weeks.

Bottom line, the Lions will get at least one, maybe two scores from their Defense or Special Teams in addition to marching up and down the field on offense. While the Bengals may get a few deep shots on the Lions secondary for scores, I don't see any way they keep Goff and his weapons under control outside of help from penalties or the Lions shooting themselves in the foot. This has all the earmarks of a blowout loss and it's not the week the Bengals right the ship.

Lions 45, Bengals 13