Bengals defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery and the nose tackle he developed when they were with the Packers, T.J. Slaton Jr., return to Green Bay Sunday (4:25 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Local 12) hoping to build off last week's effort against another NFC North power that thrives on the run.

It's no coincidence that the Bengals' best outing against the rush this season, last week against the Lions, coincided with the 6-5, 340-pound Slaton's activity in the middle, where he generated eight tackles, one off his career-high.

Slaton doesn't look at tackles to gauge his performance and neither does Montgomery. But it was good.

"To me, he was just doing his job," Montgomery said after Thursday's walkthrough. "The plays that came to him, he made them. We have to continue to work on his pad level and hands. He's being stout in there. He's being disruptive. He's a big man who moves well … He's always worked hard for me."

When Slaton signed with the Bengals back in March, he said the presence of Montgomery, a new signee himself two months before, was a big reason he became a Bengal.

Montgomery, in the Green Bay trenches for nine years before he moved to New England last year, has kept the tutoring going as Slaton has had to find consistency while re-adjusting back to what Montgomery wants.

"They changed systems," Montgomery said of The Pack. "They were more up the field, having to crack. He got away from playing with hands, and good foundation and base, so now he's getting back to those things."

They both say it's just another game even though it's where Slaton was taken in the fifth round in 2021 with Montgomery running the line.

"It was a hard move for our kids at the ages they were at," said Montgomery, whose son plays for Moeller High School. "That happened last year. Living three places in a year. We've been through it, so no emotions. Just winning and making sure my guys play at a high level."

He thinks they are beginning to show that level with the consistency he seeks, although he's still livid about David Montgomery's 19-yard run that had Coach Montgomery fuming about back-side technique and that 3.6 average for 33 rushes that could have been fewer than three.

"I think they're taking steps," Montgomery said. "I think definitely they're taking steps and definitely improving each week.

Certainly, defensive coordinator Al Golden appreciates what Slaton gave them last week and he sees the improvement up front that Montgomery has seen.

"TJ is working hard, and he's getting better. And I love the energy that he brings and he plays," Golden said this week. "I don't know how to say it. He plays quicker than his body, you know? He's just got some natural quickness, and can get off a block, has the strength to get off a block and make some plays.

"That's a bully ball team," Golden said of the Lions. "They, they did it to Chicago. They went into Baltimore and rushed for (224). And our biggest challenge was to the front going into that game, because they could easily just control the control the ball in the run game, and you never see the ball again. We did get some timely stops. There are some things that we got to do better, but I do see progress there,

The Packs likes to pound it, too. Head coach Matt LaFleur demands it because quarterback Jordan Love starts throwing into trouble if he's knocked around. The fewest four-time 1,000-yard rusher Josh Jacobs has run it this season is 16 times. They're not in mid-season form at 3.9 yards per rush, but Montgomery knows what they'll do.

"They use him to set up everything else," Montgomery said of Jacobs. "The first 15 (plays) they put something out there and see how you align in it. They're going to have a gimmick off it. Then they hand the ball off, get you thinking run and then take a shot."

But, like Montgomery said when asked if he and Slaton have an advantage seeing that run game every days. No.

"That's football," Montgomery said. "Teams change things every year."

No. 1 Mania

Bengals All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase isn't the only No. 1 in this game. Try new Packers pass rusher Micah Parsons, a two-time All-Pro sacker with 55 career sacks in 67 games. One of those games he came up empty in was last December in Dallas, when the Bengals beat the Cowboys and only allowed Parsons two hits on Joe Burrow.

As they once sang, One is the loneliest number.

"Make sure One doesn't have one-on-one with tackles or anyone else," said running back Chase Brown. "Whether it's me, tight ends, we have to chip and help."

Slants and Screens

Everyone knows Joe Flacco’s first NFL start came against the Bengals in 2008 for the Ravens. But did you know the first game he didn't start when he was supplanted by Lamar Jackson was a November, 2018 game against the Bengals? Jackson won that first start two months after the Bengals beat Flacco at home …

Flacco is 1-1 against Bengals quarterbacks on staff. In back-to-back weeks in 2006 for Delaware, Flacco beat a William and Mary team led by Bengals assistant general manager Mike Potts and lost to James Madison quarterbacked by Justin Rascati, the passing game coordinator. …