At the end of the third quarter (as in, as of this writing) the Cincinnati Bengals are trailing the Denver Broncos 21-3 and it’s worse than it looks. The Bengals’ offense is putrid again with quarterback Jake Browning going 11-20 passing for 106 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
That’s not going to be good enough, especially for wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. He currently has four catches for 23 yards and most NFL insiders would agree that’s terrible.
Chase agreed in the third quarter when he decided to have a little tete-a-tete with head coach Zac Taylor on the sidelines.
Ja’Marr Chase just isn’t the same with Jake Browning
Of course Chase isn’t the same triple-crown winner that he was in 2024 without the services of injured quarterback Joe Burrow. Any offense would be vastly different when it loses a stud like Burrow.
But, the dropoff to Browning is significant enough that it makes you wonder when general manager (sort of) Duke Tobin will ask the Brown family for permission to call other teams about acquiring a better quarterback. There was simply too much preseason hope for the this Bengals team to flush it all down the toilet by sticking with Browning.
Apparently, Chase thinks the problem is bigger than Browning or else he wouldn’t have taken his grievances to Taylor. His quarterback situation is what it is right now, but Chase seems to have bigger structural issues.
The Bengals need to pound the pavement for a new starting quarterback for Ja’Marr Chase
No, the offensive struggles aren’t all on Browning, that would be myopic to think that. They also can’t run the ball a lick. Chase Brown entered this season with a lot of hype, but the results just aren’t there. Through the first three games, he’s run for 93 yards and a touchdown.
That’s not going to get it done, especially when Browning could use all the help he can get (and he certainly won’t get it from the defense).
Several media outlets noted after last week’s throttling at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings that Browning is really at the bottom of the barrel of the league.
“Browning has reached the five-interception mark after throwing just 59 passes,” wrote Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “He ranks 30th in the NFL in pass attempts, but none of the quarterbacks who have thrown more passes than him has thrown as many interceptions. Browning has thrown interceptions on an NFL-high 8.5 percent of his passes.”
Sayre Bedinger of NFL Spin Zone did a quarterback power ranking and the Bengals signal caller was…dead last at No. 32.
“Nobody was under the illusion that things were going to be great with a Joe Burrow injury in Week 2, but Jake Browning has been an inefficient turnover machine,” Bedinger writes. “He’s obviously a backup, so you can’t be too harsh, but the way the Bengals laid flast against the Vikings – who were also using a backup QB – was disappointing. Browning had another pair of interceptions and the offense lost three fumbles. Ugly.”
Chase just got paid so it’s safe to say he’s not wading into A.J. Brown territory, but he’s probably not going to stay quiet for long. Sure, he’s frustrated, but he’ll more upset if the offense looks the same in Week 9.
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