Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning remembers the days where he got four reps every week in practice. He spent four years on practice squads, and he barely even received an opportunity to show the type of quarterback he could be. “When you only get four reps,” Browning said, “they feel very important.”
He knows how to handle pressure because he has spent his entire professional life handling pressure. As an undrafted quarterback, he had to battle for a chance to even get practice reps. He had to work out with the Bengals before they offered him a spot on their practice squad. His only NFL experience before this year was in practice and the preseason.
For Browning, those preseason games were like a playoff run. So the situation he finds himself in now doesn’t seem a whole lot different.
The Bengals beat the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 on a 29-yard walk-off field goal for Evan McPherson on Saturday at Paycor Stadium. The game mirrored the arc of Browning’s entire career. Browning led the Bengals back from a 14-point deficit.
After the Bengals’ defense allowed a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Browning led the Bengals into the end zone again. This time, he did it with an injured Ja’Marr Chase in the locker room.
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After picking up blitzes and leading the Bengals down the field, Browning threw up a prayer for wide receiver Tee Higgins. Knowing that Higgins is one of the best contested catch playmakers in the NFL, Browning’s aspirational throw was the correct read. Higgins snared the catch and reached the ball across the goal line to tie the score.
In overtime, the Bengals got the ball first and punted. But the Bengals’ defense gave Browning one more shot by stopping quarterback sneaks on third and fourth downs. Playing without injured defensive tackle DJ Reader, one of the best run stoppers in the NFL, the Bengals’ delivered one of their gutsiest stretches of the year.
When Browning got one more chance, he made the best throw of his career. He escaped a sack, scrambled toward the left sideline and made a throw across his body to wide receiver Tyler Boyd for a 44-yard pickup. Boyd sprung open on the scramble drill and showed the ability to create separation that has made him a standout slot receiver for years.
Boyd’s catch got the Bengals into the red zone, and McPherson did the rest.
Now with an 8-6 record, the Bengals have a half-game lead on a playoff spot with three games left in the season.
For three quarters on Saturday, Browning looked like a career backup.
On the Bengals’ first play of the game, Browning had Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins wide open down the sideline. The Bengals had a chance to make a statement against a suffocating defense. But Browning underthrew Higgins, who had to adjust his route and dropped the ball.
In the second quarter, Browning had wide receiver Charlie Jones wide open down the middle of the field on third and 15. If Browning had read the field more quickly, he would have had a 44-yard touchdown. He eventually made the throw, but Jones hesitated on his route and didn’t reel in the pass down the field.
Then shortly after halftime, Browning threw a careless pick when he forced a throw into double coverage to tight end Irv Smith Jr.
At that point, it looked like the Bengals’ season was over. They trailed by 14 points against the hottest defense in football with a backup quarterback, and the Bengals only had 116 total yards of offense for the entire game.
That adversity was nothing like the adversity that Browning overcame to get a shot with the Bengals.
The Vikings gave Browning a shot in 2019 as an undrafted free agent, but he spent two years stuck on their practice squad. The Vikings cut him in 2021, and Browning didn’t think another call was coming. He was ready to get into coaching before Bengals head coach Zac Taylor offered him a lifeline.
The Bengals were interested in Browning because they like quarterbacks who are winners. They like players who have shown that they don’t flinch in the biggest moments, and the Bengals will prioritize that type of player over a quarterback who’s faster or has a stronger arm.
Browning doesn’t have any elite qualities, but he’s tough. He set records as a high school quarterback and was a star for four years at the University of Washington. The Bengals believed they had something in him, and they told potential free agent backup quarterbacks this offseason that they’d have to compete with Browning.
The Bengals had hope for Browning, but they admitted that you can’t know what you really have until you see a quarterback under the spotlight.
“Maybe,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said, “He’s just a really pretty good quarterback.”
Browning was spectacular when the Bengals won consecutive games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts, but he reached a new level on Sunday. It’s supposed to be impossible to come back from a 14-point deficit against the Vikings defense, but Browning has gotten used to overcoming long odds.
The entire way, Browning looked calm. He navigated the pocket and flicked a first-down throw to tight end Tanner Hudson. He found Hudson again in a tight window. He lofted a fade to Higgins for the Bengals’ first touchdown of the game.
Following a stop from the Bengals’ defense, Browning somehow looked even more poised. On 3rd and 21, he connected over the middle with wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Browning calmly went through his reads, watched Chase reach a soft spot in the Vikings’ defense and took a shot down the field.
The Vikings’ defense went 13 quarters without allowing a touchdown. Then Browning got three in a row.
It shouldn’t be possible for Browning to deliver a more impressive and more dramatic win than he did two weeks ago against the Jaguars. But Browning made it happen, and the Bengals’ playoff hopes are alive and well.