A lot of people wrote off the Cincinnati Bengals following their loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football in Week 10. Not only had the team lost for a second consecutive game, dropping their record to 5-5, but they had also lost starting quarterback Joe Burrow to a season-ending wrist injury.
Virtually everyone outside of the organization expected the team to take a step back the remainder of the season. They were turning the offense over to backup Jake Browning who had taken zero meaningful snaps to that point in his NFL career.
Despite the loss, he more than held his own against the Ravens in relief. Many really thought their season was over when they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Browning’s first career start, 16-10. It was the first time all season that Pittsburgh had outgained their opponent, certainly painting a bleach picture for Cincinnati, who was riding a three-game losing streak.
But, Browning has stepped up big time in the subsequent two weeks. In Week 13, the Bengals went on the road and picked up an upset victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football in overtime, 34-31.
This past weekend, Browning and Cincinnati protected home-field against the Indianapolis Colts, winning 34-14. The Washington product was stellar once again, etching his name in the NFL history books along the way.
Over his first three starts, Browning has completed 79.3 percent of his passes. That is the highest completion percentage for a quarterback through their first three starts since 1950 when the league began tracking quarterback stats officially.
Since 1950, Browning is only the second quarterback to complete at least 70 percent of his passes in each of his first three starts. The other was Chad Pennington with the New York Jets in 2002.
Not only has Browning been efficient when throwing the ball, but he is also putting up some impressive statistics. He has thrown for 856 yards in his three starts, joining Los Angeles Chargers star Justin Herbert as the only players to have 800+ yards while completing 70+ percent of their passes in their first three starts.
The Bengals’ 2023 season has been saved, in large part, due to Browning’s performance. But, he and the team know that the job is not yet done. They will look to continue their trek toward a playoff spot in Week 15 against the Minnesota Vikings, the continuance of a daunting stretch to finish out the campaign.
More must-reads: