When Joe Burrow went down with a season-ending wrist injury in Week 11, the Cincinnati Bengals’ chances of making the playoffs this season appeared to go down with their franchise quarterback.
But somebody apparently forgot to tell Jake Browning, who produced yet another clutch performance for the Bengals on Saturday.
With Burrow watching from the sidelines, Browning first rallied the Bengals back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit. Then in overtime, he drove them into position for Evan McPherson’s game-winning 29-yard field goal as the Bengals turned back the Minnesota Vikings, 27-24.
In three starts, Browning has now led the Bengals (8-6) to three consecutive victories — all against playoff-contending teams.
The Bengals entered Saturday’s game clustered with five other 7-6 teams in the AFC’s muddled playoff picture. Yet the victory elevated them into the No. 6 seed in the AFC and improved their playoff chances to 47 percent thanks to the play of Browning, who’s done nothing short of save the Bengals’ season.
Jake Browning finishes strong
Browning struggled early on for the Bengals, who were down 17-3 through three quarters. But he saved his best for last as Cincinnati scored three touchdowns on three straight fourth quarter drives, the final one coming on a highlight-reel catch by Tee Higgins with 39 seconds left in regulation.
Higgins jumped to haul in Browning’s pass at the 2-yard line and then had the wherewithal to spin his body with the ball outstretched enough to cross over the pylon before he went out of bounds.
It was the second touchdown of the game for Higgins, who hadn’t scored since Week 2. In the end Browning needed everything he could get out of Higgins because his best receiver, Ja’Marr Chase, departed the game with a shoulder injury and watched the overtime period in street clothes on the sidelines.
In overtime, it was Tyler Boyd who stepped up for Browning. On third-and-9, Browning scrambled away from what looked like a sure sack and then threw deep to Boyd and come down with the ball for a 43-yard gain, setting McPherson up for his game-deciding kick.
Jake Browning giving Bengals hope
Browning is certainly making believers out of the Bengals after only four NFL starts. The University of Washington product, who was originally signed by Minnesota as an undrafted free agent in 2019, is playing as well as any quarterback in the NFL at the moment, and he’s putting up numbers that would place him among the league leaders if they were extrapolated over the full season.
Yet more important than Browning’s stellar 73.6-percent completion percentage, the Bengals are piling up important wins with their best player, Burrow, on the sidelines.
And with games against Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Cleveland over the final three weeks, the Bengals’ playoff destiny is not only in their hands, but it’s also resting on Browning’s capable right arm.