The Cincinnati Bengals suffered their third straight ugly loss in Week 5, with the Detroit Lions handing them a 37-24 defeat. Once again, it was another rough outing for Jake Browning as he continues to fill in for the injured Joe Burrow under center, and it sounds like head coach Zac Taylor could be ready to make a change at quarterback.
While Browning finally got something going on offense late in this game, he’s been unable to consistently move his team up and down the field, while also turning the ball over at a very high rate. Up until this point, the Bengals have remained committed to Browning, but all options appear to be on the table for Taylor moving forward.
Zac Taylor Opens Up on Potentially Benching Jake Browning
Burrow suffered a turf toe injury in Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars that required him to undergo surgery, which could hold him out for the rest of the regular season. This isn’t the first time Browning has been called upon to fill in for Burrow, as he started seven games in place of Burrow in 2023, so the team had confidence in him after losing their star quarterback.
Browning initially led Cincinnati to victory over Jacksonville, but he’s been abysmal in the three games since then. The Bengals scored just 13 total points against the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos in Weeks 3 and 4, and while the team eventually scored three touchdowns in the second half against the Lions, they never seriously threatened to win this game.
Against Detroit, Browning’s numbers aren’t horrific (26/40, 251 YDS, 3 TD, 3 INT), but his struggles are single-handedly stunting this offense. While subpar play from the offensive line in front of him isn’t helping, Taylor finally sounded open to replacing Browning under center after his latest ugly start for Cincy.
“After a game like that, we’re going to look at all personnel to make sure we’re doing the right thing,” Taylor said. “I won’t shy away from that, because it’s a very fair question after the amount of turnovers we had. But to say that I don’t think Jake can win games for us, I believe Jake can win games for us, I do. And we’ll just continue to look at everything we can, personnel-wise.”
Zac Taylor, Bengals Turn the Page to Week 6
GettyHead coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts during the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bengals‘ winning formula is constructed on the back of their offense’s ability to put points on the board. With Burrow out, though, Browning simply hasn’t been able to do what the team needs from him. He has several talented playmakers, such as Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown, at his disposal, but it simply has not mattered to this point.
With the double-digit losses continuing to pile up, Taylor has to consider sending Browning to the bench if he can’t get his act together. The problem is that the team has another tough matchup on its hands against the Green Bay Packers in Week 6. Regardless of how Cincinnati plays at quarterback, they will have their work cut out for them, and it will be worth keeping tabs on Browning to see if Taylor sends him to the bench ahead of their next game.
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