CINCINNATI (AP/WKRC) – Jake Browning passed for 241 yards in relief of the injured Joe Burrow and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard sneak with 18 seconds remaining as the Cincinnati Bengals rallied for a 31-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday.

“I convince myself every Saturday that this is going to happen and I study and I get ready for it,”said Browning. “So then it does happen it’s surprising to everybody else but it’s my job as a backup is to be ready for that.”

“As a backup quarterback… he knows I gotta be prepared, could be any moment, could be down a touchdown and I gotta lead this team back to win,” said Bengals head coach Zac Talyor. “We’ve had that confidence every step of the way with Jake. He’s proven that time and time again.”

Burrow suffered a left toe injury in the first half and did not return, an ominous sign for the Bengals and their franchise quarterback.

“I couldn’t be happier that we were in this position in Week 2 so we’ll find out what our team is made of,” said Taylor. “So early in the season we can go ahead and figure out how this team is going to handle some adversity and I saw that in spades today. There was not a second anybody flinched.”

The Bengals — 2-0 for the first time since 2018 — took over at their own 8 with 3:42 remaining after the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence couldn’t connect with Brian Thomas Jr. on fourth-and-5. Browning directed a 15-play, 92-yard drive on which he completed 9 of 12 passes for 65 yards, including a 13-yard strike to Chase Brown on fourth-and-3 at the 15.

“You got a guy that’s ready that the team trusts because they’ve seen him do it all. Then we put the ball in his hands at the end of the game and he went down and delivered for us,” said Taylor.

“Can’t be afraid of the fourth in that situation… just being a little delusional and just keep being a aggressive because the moment calls for it,” said Browning.

“We’re down three but we’re going to go win the game, not go tie the game,” said Taylor. “I never even gave Jake a field goal landmark, because that really was not our mentality. Our mentality was we’re going to go score and win the game and not just kick a field goal.”

Cincinnati also benefited from a pass-interference penalty on Jacksonville two-way rookie Travis Hunter on a fourth-down play at the Bengals 33.

“Despite (the interceptions), you got a lot of confidence in him, and the players do and they play for him,” said Taylor of Browning. “We had trust that he’s going to figure out a way. Those fourth down decisions are tough. He checked the ball down on a fourth down to Chase (Brown) to get the first down, he changed a route on fourth down to (Andre Iosivas) to give him a shot and we got the DPI. So again, he just went out there cool, calm and collected, ready to do his job.”

Ja’Marr Chase had 14 receptions for 165 yards. The fifth-year Bengals wide receiver, who reached 400 career receptions during the first quarter, hauled in his first touchdown of the season on a 4-yard quick slant in the first quarter.

“He’s the best receiver in the NFL. Get him the ball,” said Browning.

Burrow was 7 of 13 for 76 yards and a touchdown before being injured. The sixth-year quarterback left after he was sacked by Arik Armstead with 9:02 remaining in the second quarter. It was the Jaguars’ second sack of Burrow.

Browning completed 21 of 32 passes with two touchdowns and three interceptions. His best throw was a 42-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins in the fourth quarter that made it 24-24. On third-and-5, Higgins got separation from Tyson Campbell and caught the ball at the Jacksonville 16. Campbell and teammate Andrew Wingard ran into each other at the 11, allowing Higgins to waltz into the end zone.

Trevor Lawrence completed 25 of 43 passes for 294 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for the Jaguars (1-1).

“I couldn’t be prouder of our group. They just looked each other in the eyes in the second half and said we’re going to figure out a way to win this game. And that’s exactly what they did. I’m really proud of them,” said Taylor.

Plenty of firsts

The Bengals tied it at 17-all on the first drive of the second half when Mitchell Tinsley made a one-handed grab over cornerback Jaarrian Jones in the right corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown.

Not only was it the first score of Tinsley’s career, it was his first NFL catch.

“He was one-on-one and if you’re wearing a Bengals uniform on Sunday and you’re one-on-one I’m going down swinging and I’m going to give him a chance,” said Browning of Tinsley’s catch.

Injuries

Jaguars: CB Jarrian Jones suffered a back injury in the first quarter but returned in the second.

Bengals: Rookie DE Shemar Stewart had a right ankle injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.

Up next

Jaguars: Host AFC South rival Houston next Sunday.

Bengals: At Minnesota next Sunday, the start of five straight games against teams that made the playoffs last season.