Presumably just about everybody on the outside predicted that the season would be lost for the Cincinnati Bengals once QB Joe Burrow went down with an injury. Having already dug themselves a hole to start the season due to his health, a subsequent wrist injury ended his year and gave Jake Browning the keys to the franchise.
The thing is, up until last night, he was driving responsibly. He had his hiccups in his first start, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but played much better the following three games and built a three-game winning streak. He had Cincinnati at 8-6 and right in the mix for the playoffs. Then he had to play the Steelers again.
The visiting Bengals lost the game “In all three phases and that was turnovers on offense and missed opportunities there”, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said after the game, via the team’s website. “This is a humbling league. This is a humbling day. And we’re going to have to quickly be able to make corrections and put them behind us. And we have plenty to play for next week in Kansas City”.
They may not technically be eliminated, but losing twice to the Steelers and sharing an 8-7 record now, they’re not going anywhere that the Steelers aren’t, at least currently. Neither team looks likely to make the postseason this time, Pittsburgh playing spoiler.
The Bengals won the AFC North each of the past two years and advanced to at least the conference finals. They came within minutes of winning the Super Bowl in 2021 with Burrow at quarterback. Browning is not that guy, but that doesn’t mean they can’t win with him.
While he may have looked like the guy the Minnesota Vikings cut years ago last night, he can grow from this. He still has just five NFL starts under his belt. And let’s not forget that they did not have WR Ja’Marr Chase to work with last night.
That said, throwing three interceptions didn’t help. He called his first interception “Stupid”, saying that he was only trying to throw the ball away and didn’t even realize that it had been intercepted by S Patrick Peterson in the end zone.
There was a time earlier this season at which it looked as though the entire AFC North could be moving on to the playoffs. While the Baltimore Ravens are in the driver’s seat for the number one seed, the Cleveland Browns still have some fighting and clawing to do to maintain their Wildcard spot, and the Steelers and Bengals have rather slim chances of moving on.
I think the AFC North prove this year just how much of a role attrition plays in how an NFL season goes. The Ravens have managed to keep QB Lamar Jackson healthy this year, and they’ve largely had clear sailing. The rest have dealt with more significant injuries and are falling off one by one. Only the Browns have really bucked the trend, but are currently getting steady quarterback play from former Super Bowl MVP Ravens QB Joe Burrow.
