Thanks, Jake Browning, for making Bengals games fun to watch down the stretch | Opinion
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Like probably everybody else in the sports world, I resolved that my beloved Cincinnati Bengals' year had gone kaput when quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a season-ending wrist injury. Being a diehard Bengals fan, I still planned to watch every game, but my expectations – particularly dreams of winning a Super Bowl − were tempered for sure.
Enter: Jake Browning.
I knew very little about Browning beyond his performance during the preseason, which honestly didn't impress me much. In fact, you could've counted me among the Bengals contingent who thought the team needed to go out in search of a better backup quarterback at the start of the season, especially if Burrow was going to miss games with a strained calf. Boy was I wrong.
The Bengals evidently knew they had something in Browning, who threw a record-setting 91 touchdown passes in high school in 2014 (229 in three seasons) and was a college standout with the Washington Huskies. He exceeded the expectations of perhaps everyone but himself, becoming one of the most captivating feel-good stories of the NFL's second half. Not to mention, he most likely earned himself some extra ching-a-ling somewhere down the road.
More: Bengals' Joe Burrow on his wrist injury, future of Tee Higgins, changes offense must make
The Bengals didn't make the playoffs behind Browning, but he proved himself a winner (4-3 as a starter) and a starting-caliber NFL quarterback nonetheless. Certainly, Browning didn't do it alone. He was surrounded by some of the best offensive talent in the league and good coaches. Still, capable backups who can step in and win at the hardest position in the game of football aren't easy to come by. That's why Cincinnati's lucky to have Browning for however long that may be.
I'm bummed that I won't be watching my favorite team in the playoffs this weekend, competing for a Super Bowl. But I want to thank Jake Browning for making those remaining Bengals' games exciting and fun to watch and giving me a glimmer of hope until the end.
Opinion and Engagement Editor Kevin S. Aldridge has been a diehard Bengals fan since the age of 7. He can be reached at kaldridge@enquirer.com. X, formerly known as Twitter: @kevaldrid.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jake Browning made Bengals games fun to watch until the end