The Jake Browning legend continues as the Bengals beat the Vikings

[Arkansas Bengal]

Charlie Goldsmith

Cincinnati Enquirer

 

 

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning remembers the days where he got four reps every week in practice. He spent four years on practice squads, and he barely even received an opportunity to show the type of quarterback he could be. “When you only get four reps,” Browning said, “they all feel very important.”

 

He knows how to handle pressure because he has spent his entire professional life handling pressure. As an undrafted quarterback, he had to battle for a chance to even get practice reps. He had to work out with the Bengals before they offered him a spot on their practice squad. His only NFL experience before this year was in practice and the preseason.

 

For Browning, those preseason games were like a playoff run. So the situation he finds himself in now doesn’t seem a whole lot different.

 

The Bengals beat the Minnesota Vikings, 27-24, on a 29-yard walk-off field goal in overtime by Evan McPherson on Saturday at Paycor Stadium. The game mirrored the arc of Browning’s entire career as he led the Bengals back from a 14-point deficit. “Jake is just so steady,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “He doesn’t get rattled by a negative play. He doesn’t overreact to it. A guy in his fourth ever career start throws a pick… Then he just came right back and led us to a touchdown. That’s what you want to see from a quarterback.”

 

The Bengals were down 17-3 entering the fourth quarter before Browning led two consecutive touchdown drives. Then after the Bengals’ defense allowed a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Browning led the Bengals into the end zone again. This time, he did it with an injured Ja’Marr Chase in the locker room with a shoulder injury.

 

After picking up pressures from the best blitzing defense in the NFL and leading the Bengals down the field, Browning threw up a prayer for wide receiver Tee Higgins in a tie game with 48 seconds left. Knowing that Higgins is one of the best contested catch playmakers in the NFL, Browning’s aspirational throw was the correct read. Higgins snared the catch and reached the ball across the goal line to tie the score. 

 

In overtime, the Bengals got the ball first and punted. But the Bengals’ defense gave Browning one more shot by stopping quarterback sneaks on third and fourth downs. Playing without injured defensive tackle DJ Reader, one of the best run stoppers in the NFL, the Bengals defense delivered one of their gutsiest stretches of the year.

 

When Browning got one more chance, he made the best throw of his career. He escaped a sack, scrambled toward the left sideline and made a throw across his body to wide receiver Tyler Boyd for a 44-yard pickup. Boyd sprung open on the scramble drill and showed the ability to create separation that has made him a standout slot receiver for years.

 

Boyd’s catch got the Bengals into the red zone, and McPherson did the rest. 

 

Now with an 8-6 record, the Bengals have a half-game lead on a playoff spot with three games left in the season. 

 

“We’ll always believe,” Boyd said. “Everyone knows we don’t have Burrow. Everybody doesn’t think we can get it done. They think we’re a one-hit wonder. They think we had one-or-two good games and will start to tank. But we know what we’re capable of. We know what type of team that we have.”

 

For three quarters on Saturday, Browning looked like a career backup. 

 

On the Bengals’ first play of the game, Browning had Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins wide open down the sideline. The Bengals had a chance to make a statement against one of the best defenses in the NFL. But Browning underthrew Higgins, who had to adjust his route and dropped the ball.

 

In the second quarter, Browning had wide receiver Charlie Jones wide open down the middle of the field on 3rd and 15. If Browning had read the field more quickly, he would have had a 44-yard touchdown. He eventually made the throw, but Jones hesitated on his route and didn’t reel in the pass down the field.

 

Then shortly after halftime, Browning threw a careless pick when he forced a throw into double coverage to tight end Irv Smith Jr.

 

“My first half was pretty bad,” Browning said. “At halftime, it was like, ‘Alright that was a bad first half. Put it back together.’ Then I threw a pick. I told myself, ‘That was a bad decision. Keep rallying.’”

At that point, it looked like the Bengals’ season was over. They trailed by 14 points with a backup quarterback against the hottest defense in football, and the Bengals only had 116 total yards of offense for the entire game. 

 

That adversity was nothing like the adversity that Browning overcame to get a shot with the Bengals.

“The louder it gets,” Browning said, “The quieter it gets in my own head.”

 

The Vikings cut Browning three times between 2019 and 2021. After the third time that Browning got cut, they told him that they may or may not be able to give him a spot on the team’s practice squad. They told him to wait in a nearby hotel.

 

A few hours later, Browning got the call from his agent that he wouldn’t get another chance. He called it the worst way he has ever been cut. 

 

The moment went full circle on Saturday. After Browning threw for 324 yards, he shouted at a camera, “They never should have cut me!"

 

'That's unbelievable':Reactions to pass interference on Tee Higgins' catch attempt

 

It was a window into the confidence that kept Browning going when it looked like his career wasn’t going to work out. Browning didn’t think another call was coming in 2021. He was ready to get into coaching before Taylor offered him a lifeline.

 

The Bengals were interested in Browning because they like quarterbacks who are winners. They like players who have shown that they don’t flinch in the biggest moments, and the Bengals will prioritize that type of player over a quarterback who’s faster or has a stronger arm.

 

Browning doesn’t have any elite tools, but he’s tough. He set records as a high school quarterback and set records at the University of Washington. The Bengals believed in him, and they told potential free agent backup quarterbacks this offseason that they’d have to compete with Browning. 

 

The Bengals had hope, but you can’t really know what you really have until you see a quarterback under the spotlight. Now, the Bengals have seen it. 

 

“Maybe,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said, “(Jake) is just a really pretty good quarterback.”

 

Browning was spectacular when the Bengals won consecutive games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts, but he reached a new level on Saturday. It’s supposed to be impossible to come back from a 14-point deficit against the Vikings defense, but Browning has gotten used to overcoming long odds. 

 

The entire way, Browning looked calm. He navigated the pocket and flicked a first-down throw to tight end Tanner Hudson. He found Hudson again in a tight window. He lofted a fade to Higgins for the Bengals’ first touchdown of the game to make it a 17-10 game. 

 

“Brian Callahan, the first thing he told me when we came in the building on Tuesday was he thought I’d throw for 500 yards,” Browning said. “That set the tone for the week. We’re attacking. They’re an attack blitzing defense. Don’t let that get you in a shell. We were able to keep that mindset.”

 

Following a stop from the Bengals’ defense, Browning somehow looked even more poised on the following drive. On 3rd and 21, he connected over the middle with wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

Browning calmly went through his reads, watched Chase reach a soft spot in the Vikings’ defense and took a shot down the field that set up the game-tying touchdown. 

 

The Vikings’ defense went 13 consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown. Then Browning got three in a row to take the game to overtime. Then in overtime, he showed his clutch gene with his throw down the field to Boyd as Browning set up the walk-off field goal. 

 

It shouldn’t be possible for Browning to deliver a more impressive and more dramatic win than he did two weeks ago against the Jaguars. It also shouldn’t be possible for an undrafted free agent quarterback to be playing like this. 

 

But Browning has made it happen, and the Bengals’ playoff hopes are alive and well. 

 

“It was an emotional game,” Taylor said. “It was a rollercoaster. That’s like the season, a little bit. You have to be able to stay composed and not panic. Just like when you’re down in the season, when you’re down in this game, there’s no fear. It’s ‘who’s going to step up and make the play that keeps us in this thing?’ That came true for us.’”

 

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2023/12/16/the-jake-browning-legend-continues-as-the-bengals-beat-the-vikings/71942833007/

[Duluoz]

In Jake Browning we trust.

[Jamie_B]

I think this was posted in a different thread but can't find it, this Browning thing is sustainable because he isnt playing protect the backup type of stuff

 

 

[Le Tigre]

The latest in seeing “what he has”. A road game…against a desperate/crooked team fighting for its 2023 lives. 
 

I’m not seeing this as too big for him. 

[AmishBengalFan]

 

[Shebengal]

Have any results been posted from his drug test yet?

 

 I don’t know how long they take.

[stryker57]

I believe , he is also a FA at the end of the year, i'd say if he can continue as he is, he will be able to afford his own box in whatever in place he lands..  

in short i hate to see him go but he is setting himself up nicely for a starting job somewhere

and i find it doubtful we'll pay him enough to consider sitting behind Burrow .. . 

[T-Dub]

7 minutes ago, stryker57 said:

I believe , he is also a FA at the end of the year, i'd say if he can continue as he is, he will be able to afford his own box in whatever in place he lands..  

in short i hate to see him go but he is setting himself up nicely for a starting job somewhere

and i find it doubtful we'll pay him enough to consider sitting behind Burrow .. . 

 

He's an ERFA, meaning the Bengals have exclusive rights to him. Need something like 2 accrued seasons (on an active roster) to be a free agent. He would have to be cut or not offered a contract (at league minimum LOL) to enter the market.

 

Think a trade is likely to happen.

[Jamie_B]

4 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

 

He's an ERFA, meaning the Bengals have exclusive rights to him. Need something like 2 accrued seasons (on an active roster) to be a free agent. He would have to be cut or not offered a contract (at league minimum LOL) to enter the market.

 

Think a trade is likely to happen.

 

 

If he keeps balling out we may be able to get a 1st rounder depending on how the draft plays out, but at least should be able to get a 2nd.

 

Personally, the trade I would offer is a team that missed out on a QB but is still in the top 10, I'd offer or 1st and our 2nd for that team's 1st and their 2nd and Browning. Moving us up in both rounds.

[T-Dub]

23 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

 

 

If he keeps balling out we may be able to get a 1st rounder depending on how the draft plays out, but at least should be able to get a 2nd.

 

Personally, the trade I would offer is a team that missed out on a QB but is still in the top 10, I'd offer or 1st and our 2nd for that team's 1st and their 2nd and Browning. Moving us up in both rounds.

 

That may be realistic but it's crazy to think teams would rather draft a rookie than give up a draft pick.  Granted he's 27 and there's also the financial incentive with the structured rookie contract, but he's still a proven commodity vs NCAA magic beans.

[Mikeslumina]

 

[|SF2|]

I dunno.  The history of guys with short term success amounting to much after a trade is thin.  Garoppolo is maybe the best example.  He could at least get a nice contract as a back up. 

[PatternMaster]

1 hour ago, SF2 said:

I dunno.  The history of guys with short term success amounting to much after a trade is thin.  Garoppolo is maybe the best example.  He could at least get a nice contract as a back up. 

 

The rest of the NFL might not value him like the Bengals do, if they offer him a modest contract like 5 mil per year I think he takes it.

[Jamie_B]

1 hour ago, SF2 said:

I dunno.  The history of guys with short term success amounting to much after a trade is thin.  Garoppolo is maybe the best example.  He could at least get a nice contract as a back up. 

 

That's why we need to get into and win at least one game in the playoffs. That changes the conversation imho

[saphead]

I say keep him around. Who's to say #9 isn't going to blow something out on some random training camp day in July? 

 

 

[Sea Ray]

I doubt another team gives us much for him. There are lots of backup QBs doing well this year. My guess is: we've found that backup QB we've been looking for since Burrow came here. Be satisfied with that. It does fill a hole we needed to fill

[gupps]

2 hours ago, Sea Ray said:

I doubt another team gives us much for him. There are lots of backup QBs doing well this year. My guess is: we've found that backup QB we've been looking for since Burrow came here. Be satisfied with that. It does fill a hole we needed to fill

 

This unless he leads us deep in the playoffs (not with our d ). Getting to the AFC championship game would garner a lot of interest i bet.

[Shebengal]

13 hours ago, Jamie_B said:

 

 

If he keeps balling out we may be able to get a 1st rounder depending on how the draft plays out, but at least should be able to get a 2nd.

 

Personally, the trade I would offer is a team that missed out on a QB but is still in the top 10, I'd offer or 1st and our 2nd for that team's 1st and their 2nd and Browning. Moving us up in both rounds.

As long as it's to an NFC team. I'd hate for him to play us and scream after the game,"You should'nt have *&^%)& traded me!'

[CincyInDC]

Getting traded for valuable picks (unlike what the Bengals did to Chad for example) is not insulting.

[Jamie_B]

2 hours ago, Shebengal said:

As long as it's to an NFC team. I'd hate for him to play us and scream after the game,"You should'nt have *&^%)& traded me!'

 

 

'meh as long as it's not in the division, which they would never do

 

Joe is the future of this team Jake playing well allows us some options if we can get a playoff win with him imho

[claptonrocks]

7 hours ago, saphead said:

I say keep him around. Who's to say #9 isn't going to blow something out on some random training camp day in July? 

 

 

They should receive at least a low 2nd for Jake.

Yes other backup QBs are showing out but not like this.

 

Tag and trade Tee too.

That's a 2nd rounder and another 1st in the draft if they want to grab some good young talent.

Chase contract will nullify signing Tee long-term so get a big-time receiver to take his place..(Rome Odunze)

 

Take the 2nd rounder and grab a bully NT to replace Reader..

 

With our own 1st grab an OT..

 

 

 

 

[dex]

24 minutes ago, claptonrocks said:

They should receive at least a low 3nd for Jake.

Yes other backup QBs are showing out but not like this.

 

Tag and trade Tee too.

That's a 2nd rounder and another 1st in the draft if they want to grab some good young talent.

Chase contract will nullify signing Tee long-term so get a big-time receiver to take his place..(Rome Odunze)

 

Take the 2nd rounder and grab a bully NT to replace Reader..

 

With our own 1st grab an OT..

 

 

 

 

Baltimore used extra picks to murder the 2022 draft. Along with upgrading both coordinators, that draft class really set them up to have the best record in the AFC. Cincinnati needs to convert Higgins and Browning into high draft picks, and then murder the 2024 draft. I'm not going to specify certain positions in each draft because that never works out. But even if they go BPA as we know they will, the Bengals could use upgrades at a lot of different positions. Get Burrow back next season, get an influx of young talent, then start battling on equal footing with Baltimore again.

[spicoli]

 

[T-Dub]

5 hours ago, dex said:

Baltimore used extra picks to murder the 2022 draft. Along with upgrading both coordinators, that draft class really set them up to have the best record in the AFC. Cincinnati needs to convert Higgins and Browning into high draft picks, and then murder the 2024 draft. I'm not going to specify certain positions in each draft because that never works out. But even if they go BPA as we know they will, the Bengals could use upgrades at a lot of different positions. Get Burrow back next season, get an influx of young talent, then start battling on equal footing with Baltimore again.

 

Suspect Higgins plays under a franchise tag & Browning stays the backup for another year at least but I agree FWIW.