Bengals may have to consider kick-starting a new roster battle following tough preseason loss to Eagles
It was a troubling night for Bengals quarterbacks not named Joe Burrow.
In a preseason game with 61 combined points, excitement and intrigue was on full display in the Cincinnati Bengals’ 34-27 preseason-opening defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Exhibit A: We may have witnessed a new roster battle emerge.
Starting quarterback Joe Burrow was surgical in his two drives, completing nine of 10 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
The QBs behind him? Not quite. And because one of them underwhelmed so much, a conversation may need to be had.
Jake Browning opens the door for Desmond Ridder to compete for backup QB job
There aren’t many positives to say about Browning’s preseason debut. Burrow’s backup of the last two years finished six of 14 for 62 yards with a sack and interception to boot, and would’ve had more INTs had the Eagles worn stickier gloves as well. He was inaccurate and erratic for over two quarters, and the offense only mustered three points with him on the field.
Vanilla playbook and lackluster supporting talent? Absolutely. But those pieces of context can’t fully cover up the poor film Browning put on display.
Browning was given six full drives and produced four first downs. That’s the same number Desmond Ridder was credited with in four drives, including Cincinnati’s longest play of the night to another former Cincinnati Bearcat Jamoi Mayes.
Ridder followed that pass with a fourth down conversion and a touchdown to tight end Tanner Hudson, sparking life into the offense and keeping hope alive for a potential comeback win. He couldn’t seal the deal on the last drive of the game, but he certainly came away feeling better about the night than Browning.
The Bengals signed Ridder right before the start of training camp and booted then-QB3 Logan Woodside off the team. Coaches made it clear he was to be the new QB3 instead of sharing reps with Browning with the second-string.
That stance is likely to be held this coming week ahead of preseason game No. 2, but if Browning doesn’t show significant improvement against the Washington Commanders, is there anything to justify keeping the status quo the same?
Preseason games spawn many an overreaction. Ridder is not hands down a better QB than Browning, and three quarters of football isn’t going to change that, but the possibility of a competition to wrap up the next two weeks can’t be outright dismissed after Thursday night.
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