CINCINNATI (AP) — While two struggling offenses already have made changes at quarterback, the Cincinnati Bengals are staying committed to Jake Browning.
For now.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said he doesn’t feel the need to add competition at the position while throwing his support behind Browning despite back-to-back poor starts since replacing the injured Joe Burrow.
“I’ve got a ton of confidence in Jake,” Taylor said. “I’m unwavering in that. I’ve seen
the best of Jake. I know that we can do a great job supporting him to where he can go win games for us. So, I feel extremely confident in Jake Browning.”
Browning rallied the Bengals to a 31-27 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 14 after Burrow suffered a second-quarter turf toe injury that required surgery and will keep him sidelined until at least mid-December.
But in his season starting debut at Minnesota, Browning threw for just 140 yards and two interceptions, one of which Isaiah Rodgers returned for a touchdown in a 48-10 loss in Week 3.
On Monday night, Browning didn’t turn the ball over, but he completed just 56 percent of his passes for 125 yards in a 28-3 loss to the Denver Broncos.
“It’s not an evaluation of Jake Browning. It’s evaluation of all of us on offense,” Taylor said. “We all have to do our part to put ourselves in the best position possible to go score points, and that’s me giving Jake everything he needs, giving the linemen everything they need.
“Really, first and foremost as the head coach, it’s not a reflection on one player. It’s on me,” Taylor added. “And so I’ve got to get ourselves in a better position to be able to go.”
One of the big reasons the Bengals exude so much belief in Browning is what he did in 2023 after Burrow suffered the season-ending wrist injury, going 4-3 as the starter despite having never played a meaningful snap since entering the league in 2019.
But in two-plus games this season, Browning is 54 of 84 for 506 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions.
Since slotting into the starting role in Week 3, Browning ranks 33rd out of 35 qualifying quarterbacks in ESPN’s QBR metric.
Nos. 34 and 35 on that list, Cleveland’s Joe Flacco and the New York Giants Russell Wilson, have lost their starting jobs to rookies Dillon Gabriel and Jaxson Dart, respectively.
The Bengals don’t have a rookie draft pick waiting in the wings. Browning’s backup is Brett Rypien, whom the Bengals promoted from the practice squad after Burrow’s injury. And the other quarterbacks on the roster are Mike White and Sean Clifford, whom they signed off the street two weeks ago.
But with just 13 points and 330 yards combined in the past two games, the Bengals cannot continue to start Browning if those numbers don’t improve.
Whether the replacement would be one of the three quarterbacks in the building or come by signing one off another team’s practice squad or via a trade is something director of player personnel Duke Tobin and the Cincinnati front office will have to consider.
“With every position, we’re always assessing,” Taylor said. “That’s Duke’s job. That’s the personnel department. They do a great job of that, presenting us options when Joe went down of other guys we can bring in the room, as well. So we’ll thoroughly exhaust that.”
Despite the ugly losses the past two weeks, the Bengals are 2-2 and one game out of first place in the AFC North and seeded sixth in the AFC.
As bleak as the outlook is since Burrow went down, the season isn’t lost.
“None of us are playing well enough, none of us are coaching well enough,” offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. “It seems like the boring answer, but it is true. We’ve got to do everything around Jake to help him, and then we need Jake’s best. We’ve seen Jake and what he can do when he is playing at his best, and we’ve got to get him there.”
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