CINCINNATI – The comparisons to 2023 are obvious.
The Cincinnati Bengals have a winning record, a lot of talent and aspirations that go well beyond just making the postseason, then starting quarterback Joe Burrow goes down with a serious injury, thrusting backup Jake Browning into the role.
Been there, seen that as Browning slides into the big chair once again after another Burrow injury.
But while Browning’s opportunity in 2023 was overwhelmingly positive, with him guiding the Bengals to a 4-3 record while leading the NFL in completion percentage, he is distancing himself from the similarities of that experience and instead embracing the differences.
The biggest difference working as an advantage this time around is the fact that his opportunity comes in Week 3, not Week 11.
The benefit isn’t as much about having more runway to get up to speed as it is having less distance in the rearview mirror.
“I’m a little bit closer to when I was last live as opposed to getting thrown in Week 11 and three or four months since I’d been in a real football game,” Browning said.
Browning played 72 snaps in the preseason just a few weeks ago, completing 22 of 39 passes for 222 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
And that’s not to mention all of the training camp reps, the kind of valuable ones that wilt once the regular season begins and the bulk of his time at practice is spent learning a different playbook.
“Like all last week, I was playing Jacksonville’s offense,” Browning said of his time running the scout time against the Bengals defense. “And then you get thrown into your offense, and obviously I know it and all that, but it is a little bit different.”
Not only will Browning be running head coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher’s plays all week, but he’ll also have a say in what they are and how they can be tweaked.
The coaches always have valued Browning’s opinion.
But there’s a hierarchy.
“If I got input as the backup, Joe has final say,” Browning said. “Now that I’m starting, it’s like ‘Hey, I want to do it this way.’ And you’re more likely to get that adjustment made.”
Taylor and then-offensive coordinator were willing to listen to and adapt with Browning during his seven-game run in 2023.
After taking 91.2 percent of the snaps in shotgun in the nine games Burrow started and finished, they moved toward a little more balance attack with Browning. In the final seven games, they were in shotgun just 79.4 percent of the time.
The plan already was to lean more into the run game in 2025, and that could be fast tracked with Browning at the helm started Sunday.
“We’ve tried to formulate it around Joe,” Taylor said. “Now you make a few tweaks if they’re things Jake feels like he’s better at, certain areas he wants to step into. We’re more than willing to do that.
“I’ve always been of the philosophy if the quarterback works hard, you trust his opinion and you’re going to ask his opinion,” Taylor added. “If he believes in it, it has a higher chance of being successful. If he doesn’t believe in it, stay away from it. It doesn’t matter how much I like it.”
Maybe the biggest difference from 2023, when Browning had never taken a snap in an NFL game until Burrow’s wrist popped on a Thursday night in November in Baltimore, is the banked knowledge that he can play well in win games.
Browning referred to “delusional confidence” during his news conference Wednesday.
His teammates and coaches had confidence in Browning in 2023, but it was more about belief than proof, based on watching the way he works and prepares.
“They see what he does every day,” Pitcher said. “They see his work ethic, they see how he interacts with his teammates. He’s done nothing but the best thing possible for the football team from the day he’s walked in this door in 2021. And those things go a long way.”
As Browning seizes control of the offense for the second time, a big part of the unknown has been scrubbed.
Aside from tight ends Mike Gesicki and Noah Fant, the relative skills players all were part of the success the Bengals had with Browning in 2023.
As were offensive linemen Orlando Brown Jr. and Ted Karras.
“There’s a difference when you have those qualities, but guys are still trying to figure out if he can do it,” Pitcher said. “That part’s been figured out, so now we know he can do it. He knows he can do it.
“And so all these other positive things that surround him and how he approaches his day-to-day job, those now can be accentuated because the part where you’re waiting around to figure out, yeah, I like this guy, I love what he’s about, but can he get it done? Well, we know the answer to that question. So yeah, that experience is critical.”
Things didn’t go well for Browning out of the chute in 2023.
The Ravens outscored the Bengals 27-10 after the Burrow injury, and Browning lost his first career start the following week against the Steelers.
But after that, he and the Bengals ripped off three consecutive wins, all of which came against teams with winning records.
The Bengals were 10-point underdogs to the 8-3 Jaguars on Monday Night Football and won 34-31 in overtime.
They soundly beat the 7-5 Colts, 34-14.
And then Browning led a 14-point comeback against the 7-6 Vikings, prevailing 27-24 in overtime.
That’s when Browning, who was mic’d up, sat down on the bench and yelled “You never should’ve f—king cut me,” referring to the Minnesota organization that let him go in August 2021.
Now, as Browning takes over again, his former team stands in the way once more.
But this week is about the differences, not running back the revenge angle.
“I think at some point you gotta move on, and I feel as though I have moved on from that,” he said.
Another difference Browning is dealing with, and embracing, is the recovery period after Sunday’s game in which he rallied the Bengals for a 31-27 victory with a final drive of 15 plays and 92 yards in nearly 90-degree heat.
Typically, he said he comes in on a Monday and works hard on getting his heart rate up after standing around all day doing nothing on Sunday.
But it’s been the exact opposite the last two days as Browning admitted he was physically and mentally drained after Sunday’s comeback win.
“When you’re the starter, you have to recover from the last game and get ready for the next game,” he said. “The physical toll is obviously a lot different. It kind of changes your routine a little bit.
“I spent yesterday getting my routine together, and here we go.”
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