Bengals' Zac Taylor and Jake Browning got on the same page and shocked the NFL
When the starting job became Jake Browning's, he requested nothing to be changed in the offense. Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals listened, and a 16-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers followed. Something needed to change. This was not Joe Burrow running an intricate offense anymore. Change most definitely came, and it resulted in a 34-31 […]
When the starting job became Jake Browning's, he requested nothing to be changed in the offense. Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals listened, and a 16-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers followed.
Something needed to change. This was not Joe Burrow running an intricate offense anymore.
Change most definitely came, and it resulted in a 34-31 overtime win over the Jacksonville Jaguars; the Bengals' first road victory on Monday Night Football in over 30 years.
How the Bengals helped Jake Browning
It started off as simplistic as could be. Browning went eight-for-eight for 45 yards in the first quarter. The problem? He took a sack with ample time in the pocket on a fourth down play and his deepest completion was four yards past the line of scrimmage.
That changed in the beginning of the second quarter with big downfield strikes to Ja'Marr Chase, Trenton Irwin, and Tanner Hudson. He completed all five of his passes 10+ yards down the field for 77 yards in the second period.
And it didn't stop there. With sprint out calls and an abundance of play action and quick throws, Browning was able to find a rhythm in what looked like an entirely new offense. He threw for 354 yards on 32-37 passing.
An offense that matched Browning's skillset. What a concept!
Instead of sticking to an offense that was tailor-made to a whole different and experienced signal caller, Taylor pulled off what he did nearly three years ago and put together a near perfect game plan for a backup quarterback in primetime.
The famous Ryan Finley game against the Steelers showed that Taylor's bag can be deep when it needs to be. The 115.5 passer rating performance Browning put together was yet another feather in his cap.
It also helped that the run game had some life. Joe Mixon played with a little more bounce before some late runs killed his efficiency numbers, and Chase Brown got involved extremely quickly. The rookie finished with nine carries for 61 yards, including a 31-yarder that was their longest of the season. He brought the exact kind of juice he was drafted to provide.
But the play-caller can't do everything. There will always be moments where the quarterback has to go out and make plays. Whether that's adjusting his drop back on a naked bootleg to account for the free rusher to make a side-armed throw, or notice an obvious one-on-one matchup with a top-five receiver and get the ball to him down the field, Browning definitely had his moments.
When the chips were down and the Jaguars needed a stop, Taylor could only watch as Browning grew up before our eyes. Going through his progressions from the far side to the backside, Browning stepped up in a muddied pocket and delivered a grown-up throw to Chase, his 10th of 11 catches on the night. He allowed Tee Higgins to absolutely cook Tyson Campbell the very next play to move the chains again.
Browning couldn't quite get the Bengals in game-winning field goal range to end the fourth quarter. He got the job done in overtime, and credit to him for doing so in grown-up fashion.
The discourse around the Bengals' backup quarterback is going to evolve quickly after such a performance, but this game wasn't possible without both the quarterback and head coach finding solutions to better work together. Taylor got Browning to the final stretch, and Browning got the team across the finish line.
It's how good teams get the job done.
Bengals’ Orlando Brown Jr. had a personal message during touchdown celebration
Live TV at its finest here.
