The Jacksonville Jaguars were as much of a sure bet as you get in the NFL these days entering Monday night’s 34-31 shocking overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was in a zone, delivering passes with a sniper’s precision, leading his team to wins in eight of its last nine games, with an opportunity to move into the top seed in the AFC and take a two-game lead over the 7-5 Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South.
With Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow on the sidelines nursing an injury, backup Jake Browning got the opportunity of a lifetime. This would be his second start for the Bengals, whose Super Bowl hopes went from possible to impossible with the season-ending injury to their star QB.
Jake Browning Seizes The Moment
When you’re an unheralded backup quarterback like Browning, who was an undrafted free agent out of Washington in 2019, you have to take advantage of your chances when you get them.
The Jaguars were expected to put a nice whupping on the undermanned Bengals. Browning, the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2016, had other plans, delivering one of the great performances by a backup quarterback pressed into duty against a league powerhouse, lifting the heavy underdog Bengals to their first “MNF” win since 1990 at Cleveland.
Browning was 32 of 37 for 354 yards, and his 86.5 completion percentage is the highest all time in a quarterback’s first or second career start. He remained calm and efficient in a hotly contested back-and -forth game. Burrow himself couldn’t have done a better job of running the offense, keeping his composure and rallying the team to victory.
“We were able to run the ball really well and that’s a credit to [running back] Joe Mixon,” said Browning, who threw for 227 yards in his first career start in a Week 11 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Just having a week under my belt was huge. It’s not a fancy answer, but I think that’s what it was.”
Jake Browning Learned His Cool From Watching Joe Burrow
There’s nothing fancy about Browning’s game, but he was remarkably efficient, and he never broke a sweat, even in the most crucial moments late in the game. When Jags QB Trevor Lawrence went down with an injury after his ankle was inadvertently stepped on by offensive lineman Walker Little, Browning seized the moment and the spotlight.
Where did that calm come from?
“I’ve had a long time to really study myself,” Browning told ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters after the game. “And how I play best, and that’s when I’m calm. I just focus on what I can control. It comes from watching Joe and other guys.”
In any event, we all love an underdog story, and Browning just gave NFL fans a new quarterback to root for. Apparently, he’s beloved in the locker room already. Reportedly, Browning’s the kind of guy that sits in defensive back meetings on Tuesday, his day off, just to go through plays with defensive backs, learn and bond with his teammates.
Cincinnati Bengals Have Shot At NFL Playoffs?
All of a sudden Cincy is back to .500 at 6-6 and still in the hunt for the AFC wild card, and that’s really all Bengals fans can ask for under the circumstances.
The Bengals have a multitude of weapons on offense — elite players such as Mixon and Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. If Browning can continue to keep his composure and make the clutch throws, the Bengals might be one of the surprise stories to emerge this NFL season.
