In case you need a reminder of how important the quarterback position is, the Cincinnati Bengals are currently 5-5 after making deep postseason runs as divisional champions in each of the previous two seasons.
Not that they didn’t have their starting quarterback along for the ride up until now, but QB Joe Burrow was never at 100 percent. His play very clearly suffered during the early portions of the season due to a calf injury, and that resulted in them starting out 1-3 before going on a four-game win streak.
A dropped touchdown against the Houston Texans quite possibly cost them a fifth win in a row in Week 10, and then they dropped a game, 34-20, to the Baltimore Ravens during which Burrow suffered a season-ending injury. Outside the building, except in Pittsburgh, there is little optimism about their ability to remain competitive without him.
Don’t tell Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin that. “Certainly it’s significant, and I don’t think that they would even underscore that”, he said of Burrow’s injury during yesterday’s episode of The Mike Tomlin Show. “But it doesn’t mean that they don’t have quality players”.
He proceeded to rattle off a list of players and coaches the Bengals possess that he believes will keep them competitive, but he also acknowledged backup QB Jake Browning, set to make his first career start today. “Browning doesn’t have a lot of NFL experience, but he has a lot of Cincinnati Bengals experience”, he said.”
I imagine schematically they won’t be reduced in any way. I imagine he’s a smart guy. You get in those roles because of your ability to learn and retain offense, sometimes without taking physical repetition”, Tomlin added of Browning, who bested Trevor Simian for the backup job this offseason.
A former college free agent, he’s been around since 2019, originally with the Minnesota Vikings but in Cincinnati for a third straight season. He never played an NFL snap before this season, and never one in a competitive game prior to Burrow’s injury last week. But Tomlin believes he’s equipped to keep it going.
“I would imagine he’s a guy that’s made himself available to all their eligibles in terms of extra throwing and things of that nature”, he said. “That’s what young, developing quarterbacks do. I’m sure if Chase wants to throw, he’s all ears”.
He also said of the Bengals generally that they “won’t change their personality” in light of losing Burrow, even if acknowledged that there will inevitably be things they can’t do without him. Time will tell if one of those things is winning football games.
At 5-5, the Bengals are on the borderline of relevance for a postseason run, but it’s hard to buy into their future without Burrow for the rest of the way. Their remaining schedule is not an easy one, including three more divisional games—two against the Steelers—as well as the Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, and Indianapolis Colts.
