Bengals OC Brian Callahan goes all in on QB Jake Browning taking over
The situation has drastically changed, but the end goal stays the same for the Cincinnati Bengals with Jake Browning at quarterback. Browning will replace Joe Burrow for the final seven games of the regular season, and with the playoffs still a possibility, tanking becomes even more unfathomable than it already is in principle.Offensive coordinator Brian […]
The situation has drastically changed, but the end goal stays the same for the Cincinnati Bengals with Jake Browning at quarterback.
Browning will replace Joe Burrow for the final seven games of the regular season, and with the playoffs still a possibility, tanking becomes even more unfathomable than it already is in principle.
Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan has no thoughts of throwing in the towel. In fact, his belief in Browning may have even the eternal optimists surprised.
Callahan spoke to reporters Monday afternoon following Cincinnati's Thursday night defeat the Baltimore Ravens in which Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury. You'd have to think the coordinator of the offense will be making adjustments to better help the backup quarterback play well, but Callahan opted to go bold in his evaluation of Browning, going as far as comparing his style of play to Burrow's.
"I'm incredibly excited for his chance," Callahan said of Browning. "I think they play the game pretty similarly. … I don't think you need to cut anything back."
Since joining the Bengals' practice squad in 2021, Browning has slowly developed into the role of QB2, and for the reason Callahan stated. Having a backup play similarly to the starter ensures that when tragedy strikes, major schematic and game-plan changes aren't necessary.
The question lies in how much Browning will be able to succeed in running the same plays Burrow effortlessly commanded. Cincinnati's offense has both thrived and suffered almost entirely based on the quality of play from Burrow this year. They won't be able to make it to January if Browning can't play up to the peak of Burrow's game.
Callahan's praise is indeed strong and encouraging, but the flip side of it seems damning to how the beginning of the year transpired. If Browning was able to conduct the full offense all along, then why wasn't he playing for Burrow during the first four weeks of the season when Burrow's calf injury was severely hindering everything? Did they overestimate how healthy Burrow actually was, or are they just gassing up his backup now that they haven't a choice?
We'll find out soon enough when Browning takes the field this Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bengals open as slight favorite over Steelers for Week 12 matchup
Cincinnati has yet to win an AFC North game this season.
