It’s safe to say Bengals fans are living their worst nightmare. Joe Burrow injured…again.
Joe was healthy all through the offseason, OTAs, and training camp. Everyone got their well-deserved contract extensions… sort of. And we were all preparing for a healthy and successful season.
Well, that didn’t last long.
That ended when Burrow scrambled every which way to avoid tacklers, until Arik Armstead grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him to the turf. I think it’s safe to say everyone’s heart sank into their stomach when they saw Burrow still sitting on the ground after the play. It got worse when he wasn’t putting any pressure on it and was helped off the field with the assistance of trainers.
BUT, it wasn’t the absolute worst-case scenario. Jake Browning jumped into the QB1 role and led the Bengals to their second straight win of this early season. Sure, he wasn’t perfect by any means, but he got the job done, that’s all anybody can ask for.
Now, the team prepares this week to travel up to Minnesota to face the Vikings. Ironically enough, Browning has faced both of these teams. Back in 2023, he took charge and beat the Jaguars on the road and the Vikings at home.
During this stint a couple of years ago, the Bengals went 4-3. He also led the league in completion percentage during that time.
Understandably, most, if not all, fans were and are very upset. Despite winning the game and ending up 2-0, we were in a nightmare. Monday morning, we all woke up and realized, unfortunately, it wasn’t a dream, and it actually happened.
Of course, for us fans, we were all hoping for a minor injury and to be out for a few weeks max, but that’s not Cincinnati’s luck. We all got the same news the next day, finding out he would be out for 3 months.
Now it’s time to wake up, get back to reality, and realize Browning is this city’s temporary QB1, and also realize it could be a lot worse. Not too many backup quarterbacks can jump in that role and be the league’s leader in completion percentage in a 7-week window as Browning did a couple of years ago, and it wasn’t a fluke, because he did the same thing Sunday when he threw for 241 yards with a passing touchdown and a game-winning rushing touchdown, despite three interceptions.
I’m asking you simply as another fan, to watch any football show because it’s all the same stuff. They will talk about the Bengals, and it’s immediately nothing but “their season is over” and “Browning may be good, but he’s not Burrow.”
They’re not wrong on certain things, but the season is far from over. Browning is our man, and we have to stick with him.
Not only could it not be worse for us with a different QB2, but we could have the same, or worse, defense than last year. If you even have the audacity to tell me the defense is not better than last year, you’re lying to me and yourself.
Trust me, it’s not much better, but they are definitely better. There are definitely things to clean up. There always is, but they are better.
Time to rally our Browning and go win some games.