Week 11 was a brutal one for the Cincinnati Bengals. Not only did they lose to the Baltimore Ravens 34-20 on Thursday Night Football, but their rest of season outlook became bleak because of a major injury.
Star quarterback Joe Burrow injured his wrist against the Ravens when throwing a touchdown pass to running back Joe Mixon. He was seen attempting to throw on the sidelines after but was in visible pain as he dropped the ball to the ground.
He was evaluated in the locker room and eventually announced out for the game. Unfortunately, that pass to Mixon is going to be the last time that we see Burrow on the field this season. The injury he suffered requires surgery and he is going to miss the remainder of the 2023 season.
Taking Burrow’s place in the lineup will be Jake Browning. The Washington product went undrafted in 2019 and has spent the last few seasons as a backup on the Bengals but had no regular season experience coming into the campaign.
Prior to his relief appearance in Week 11, Browning had attempted one pass in his NFL career; back in Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns. Now, he will be tasked with taking over as the starter to try and help get the team into the postseason for the third straight year.
That will be a tall task as the Bengals are 5-5 heading into their Week 12 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their schedule does them no favors, as all seven of their remaining games are against opponents with a .500 record or better right now.
While expecting Browning to replicate Burrow’s production would be foolish, don’t expect things to look much different on the field. According to NFL insider Dan Graziano of ESPN, Zac Taylor and his staff aren’t expected to change anything when it comes to the offensive game plan.
“…Still, the Cincinnati coaching staff believes Browning, who has been with the team since 2021, can operate all facets of the offense and that it won’t have to alter its game planning or playcalling with Browning in the game,” wrote Graziano.
He also cautioned Fantasy Football managers out there that a drop in production for players such as Mixon, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins should be expected. But, his relief appearance against the Ravens was at least encouraging as Browning completed 8-of-14 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown, adding 40 yards on the ground.
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