Jake Browning’s “should’ve never f*cking cut me!!” from last week when he led the Cincinnati Bengals to a thrilling comeback against the Minnesota Vikings, who’d cut him multiple times prior, was instantly iconic.
Almost just as quickly, the clock struck midnight on Browning’s improbable, historically-great Cinderella run as the Bengals’ spot starting quarterback. The Pittsburgh Steelers flustered Browning with exotic zone coverages, pressure from TJ Watt, and forced him into three interceptions on Saturday in Cincinnati’s embarrassing 34-11 loss.
To be fair to Browning, he’s not the most hyper-talented guy. In terms of NFL game experience, he was only making his fifth start. The Bengals couldn’t get a running game going at all against Pittsburgh’s front. Their o-line was getting straight-up bullied. Then, of course, his WR1 Ja’Marr Chase was out. Tough when Cincinnati’s banged-up defense is getting carved up by Steelers third-string QB Mason Rudolph, too.
Good on Browning for facing the music at least…?
Even Bengals fans can admit, that seemingly immortalized Browning phrase already lost a good bit of its luster. All the mitigating factors aside from the paragraph above, you can hardly blame outsiders and Who Dey Nation alike for piling on when Browning talked a big game with that profane outburst last week and flopped so hard.
So yeah…pretty sure Joe Burrow isn’t a system QB. The Bengals are gonna go ahead and start him. Browning can hopefully bounce back and play OK for the final two games. The playoffs went from very achievable to serious long shot in the span of a few hours in Pittsburgh.
More dismaying than anything else is how atrocious Cincinnati’s defense is. Coordinator Lou Anarumo isn’t going to get head coaching interviews this offseason. That’s how bad they’re playing. Losing safeties Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell in free agency, turns out, was a big deal. DJ Reader’s injury from last Saturday rendered the Bengals useless in the trenches against the Steelers. Not having second-year corner Cam Taylor-Britt in the lineup to help out on George Pickens doesn’t help either.
Although the Bengals’ dreams for this season are all but dead thanks in part to Browning’s sudden flurry of turnovers, haters better get their shots in now. If Burrow can stay healthy in 2024, it’s bound to be a Vengeance Tour for the ages.
