As soon as Joe Burrow was ruled out for the remainder of the 2023 season, most everyone eliminated the Bengals from contention.
Cincinnati's staff sees it differently.
Jake Browning won the backup job during training camp because of his confidence with the keys to the offense in his possession. He showed some glimpses of this assuredness when he was called into action in the Bengals' Week 11 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, coming out firing with a completion to Trenton Irwin for a gain of 12.
"That's one of the things that you're going to learn about Jake," Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said of Browning, . "As you guys get to know him, (you'll see that) he's not scared. He's going to let the ball go. He's going to put it where it's supposed to be and he's going to do it with confidence. And that gives me a lot of confidence. That gives our offense a lot of confidence."
Browning didn't end up elevating Cincinnati's offense enough to keep pace with a Ravens offense that put two touchdowns on the board before half, but did finish the game with a nice touchdown drive that ended in a scoring toss to Ja'Marr Chase. He'll need to do a lot more of that to keep the Bengals afloat in a tightly packed AFC North race.
Head coach Zac Taylor feels optimistic about the Bengals' chances with Browning, who's apparently confident and prepared enough not to require a simplified offense.
"I thought what was so special about (Browning) was how confident and calm he was," Taylor said. "That allowed me to call everything that was on the menu and not have to dumb it down because a new guy's coming in the game. So that gave me confidence."
Having a full playbook at his disposal is understandably encouraging for Taylor, but the results don't quite match this optimism. After Browning entered the game, Cincinnati punted four times and only pieced together two scoring drives (10 plays, 67 yards and eight plays, 75 yards) for a total of 10 points. It became painfully apparent they weren't going to be able to erase their double-digit deficit in what ended up being a runaway win for the Ravens.
If this is the new ceiling for the Bengals, their chances of returning to the playoffs aren't great, not in a division in which three of the four members currently own winning records. But as the Bengals see it, the reality is still better than being forced to operate with an overmatched quarterback. They'll take the bad with the good, especially because they now have no other option, meaning they won't dial back the aggression just because Burrow is no longer the one throwing to their talented cast of receivers.
"You're going to see Jake not be afraid at all to be aggressive," Callahan said. "He'll try to make plays. I think that's one of his strong suits. For him to make a couple of completions like that, that just shows you where his mindset is."
