The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be facing backup quarterbacks, or players who perhaps should be backup quarterbacks, for most of the remainder of the season. That stretch began this past Sunday in deflating fashion with a loss to the Cleveland Browns’ rookie third-stringer Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Up next is Jake Browning, the Cincinnati Bengals’ No. 2 after losing Joe Burrow for the year. He will be making his first career start against the Steelers on Sunday, but he is no newbie—unlike the Minnesota Vikings’ Joshua Dobbs, he won’t be introducing himself to his teammates in the huddle.
“I’ve been in this offense for a while. It’s not a Josh Dobbs situation where I’m showing up on a Tuesday, get thrown in on Sunday”, he told Geoff Hobson for the team’s website. “I know the offense”.
Browning has been with the Bengals since the start of the 2021 season. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings, the Washington product won the backup job this summer over veteran Trevor Simian. He made his debut in the season opener, playing four snaps at the end of the game to clean up a blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens. His first significant playing time came in the Bengals’ last game, a loss on Thursday night to the Ravens after Burrow left the game due to injury.
Playing the second half in that game, Browning went 8-for-14 passing for 68 yards with one touchdown, a two-yard throw to WR Ja’Marr Chase with just over a minute to play in what turned out to be a 34-20 loss.
Prior to that, the Bengals went three-and-out on three consecutive drives, but they did open the second half with a 67-yard field goal drive. A 34-yard defensive pass interference penalty provided key assistance on 3rd and 10. In all, Browning completed one of three pass attempts on the drive for 14 yards, scrambling twice for eight. But he feels prepared for his first start.
“That’s kind of been my thing to the coaches. ‘Hey, let’s call whatever plays are going to help us beat the Steelers’, and not be as worried as much about whether they’re protecting me with certain play calls or trying to run the ball just to give me plays off or something like that”, he told the team’s website. “Let’s call plays to go win the game”.
The Bengals have only won five of 10 games so far this season, threatening to dip back below .500. They are squarely in last place in the AFC North, a game behind the third-place Steelers, after winning the division in back-to-back seasons and also enjoying considerable postseason success.
They will presumably get a long look at Browning over the course of the next six weeks to evaluate him as a potential long-term backup to Burrow. Knocking off a division rival and seriously damaging its playoff hopes would look good on his resume.
