Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals Escape Wild Week 2 with a Win After Joe Burrow's Toe Injury

Episode Date: September 14, 2025

Joe Burrow's toe injury leaves the Bengals with a murky outlook, but they're 2-0! Jake Browning and the Bengals' D did just enough to secure a wild 4th quarter comeback and escape Week 2 with a win fo...r the first time in the Zac Taylor era. Jake Liscow and James Rapien break down what we know about Burrow's injury and the wild home opener that buys the Bengals a little time for Joe Burrow to get healthy.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!5-Hour ENERGYTee up that trip! Enter for a chance to win a dream golf trip for two to any golf tournament* in the USA. Visit https://5HEWIN.com for full rules and entry. No purchase necessary. Excludes the Master’s tournament. Ends October 31, 2025.DoorDashWith DoorDash Streaks, you save every Saturday you order — stack it up all season and you could save up to $250. Order this Saturday. Keep the streak alive. Fuel your gameday — only with DoorDash. Terms apply. Promo period through 11/18.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.UpsideDon’t let this offer drive on by, download the free Upside app now using my limited time promo code TOUCHDOWN for a limited time 25 cent per gallon bonus! Offers vary by user and location, Go to upside.com for terms and conditions.Click Here to download the app: https://getupside.onelink.me/zlLr?af_xp=custom&pid=barrington&c=barrington_lockedon25&deep_link_value=promo&deep_link_sub1=lockedon25&af_dp=upsideapp%3A%2F%2FYahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Draft now at https://yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnfl.PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 The Cincinnati Bengals are 2 and O for the first time under Zach Taylor, but, and it's a big but Joe Burroughs probably got turf tone. It's going to miss some weeks. Let's talk about it. You are locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. One of our Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
Starting point is 00:00:33 I'm Jake Liscoe. He's James Rupin, and we've been covering. your Cincinnati Bengals here on lockdown Bengals since 2016 between the two of us, making it your best one-stop shop for everything going on with the Cincinnati Bengals from post-games like this to film analysis in the middle of the week to everything going on with Joe Burroughs left big toe. And that is certainly the story coming out of this game, even though it's the first time the Bengals have won in week two in Zach Taylor's tenure. We have to sit here and talk about another unfortunate Joe Burrow injury. Welcome back to the everydayers. Welcome back to those of you
Starting point is 00:01:08 who make us your first listen. And James, word is it is turf toe on that left toe for Joe Burrow. It is and it sucks. It sucks. This is the first time that I can remember covering turf toe since AJ Green. And that AJ Green turf toe, I think, was that 20, it might have been 2017, but it was in that range and turf toe is a pain it is and so look it's it's one of those things where anytime joe burrow one is limping or it takes a big hit or anything everyone everyone and there was like 66,000 people here at paycourt stadium that you can just feel them go and so when he's walking and he's kind of walking a little like limping a little funny And then he just decides to sit down.
Starting point is 00:02:03 You're like, what in the world is going on? And you go through all the thought of, well, what is it? Is it this? Is it that? And he walks to the medical tent. And they're like, okay, well, it might be like an ankle tweak. They're going to tape that thing up and get him out there. Right.
Starting point is 00:02:21 And then he's walking to the locker room after being in the medical tent for like seven, eight-ish minutes. I was sort of timing it, not exact, but in that seven to eight minutes range. And this is what was really like, oh, man, is when he asked for help. I don't know if you saw it. I posted the video, but he asked for help as he's walking to the locker room, and both trainers are supporting him and helping him. And he's limping. And it's just like, all right, well, this is scary.
Starting point is 00:02:48 So the good news is, is I don't think this is some season ending thing, right? The bad news is, is I would be stunned if we see him play in Minnesota. Right. I would be stunned if we see him play over the next few weeks. And we could be talking about an IR stand. Who knows? Maybe not. We don't have all the details.
Starting point is 00:03:08 So the range here is a bit wide, but it could be worse. It certainly could be better because they could be two and oh with a healthy Joe Burrow. That would be the best case scenario. Unfortunately, this is far from that. Yeah. What we don't know is the severity of the turf toe like any, well, what is turf toe? maybe it's a question you have not going to spend too much time on it because we're not doctors here we've had doctors on the show to talk about injuries before maybe we will again here but the basics are there are some soft tissue in your toe joints that connects the bones together this is typically a ligament issue and there can be torn ligaments with this injury in your big toe specifically and if you look at the replay you can see joe has a lot of pressure on those those toes as they're bent backward.
Starting point is 00:04:00 And in that case, there can sometimes be too much pressure, too much motion, hyper extension on that joint that can lead to either stretching those ligaments, partially tearing or fully tearing the ligaments. The reporting that we have seen is that there potentially are torn ligaments or torn ligaments. Don't know if it's plural or not in play. And that would be the more severe type of injury. Sometimes this is something that requires surgical intervention. This injury don't know if that will be the case for Joe Burrow or not.
Starting point is 00:04:33 It is extremely common in this sport. It is, I think, the most common sport for this to happen in is football. So we'll have to wait for more information, obviously. The report of torn ligaments is not promising, especially for a fast return. In the case of mild turf toe, where you're just getting that ligament stretched a little bit, It can be as fast as a week. You could have seen if it were a mild case, Joe Burrow returned to action pretty quickly.
Starting point is 00:05:02 But with some suggestion that the belief is that there are torn ligaments and Joe Burrow did have an MRI during the game, that could lead to a longer outage TBD. We don't know specifically what that will look like, obviously. But that being the case, it means that now you have to survive with that potential IR stint for Joe Burrow. Yeah. And based on their history,
Starting point is 00:05:25 And the reason why it's important to cover it now is they may make this move Monday. Like it could happen very, very quickly. If they think he's like three to four weeks, I don't think they'll, I think they'll leave that window open. Even if it's four to six weeks, they may leave that window open for him because he's the most important man in the building, as I've said many times. And the most important person in the building for that matter. And so they might leave that window open for him to come back and not just shove him on IR. So how they manage that, regardless of what said, I will be eyeing that. Because if they say all four to six weeks, we're going to put them on IR, usually with the really, really important guys, they give them a shot.
Starting point is 00:06:09 And there's no one more important. So just let's keep an eye on that because if they go the IR route, then it might be towards the long end of that whatever number of weeks or months or hopefully not months, but a number of weeks that they're saying. Yeah, the worst case is months, of course, but we don't know if we should be talking about the worst case yet. An IR trip would tell us that it's probably not, you know, the report of something torn tells us that it's probably not a grade one, which gives you that chance of a pretty quick recovery. But you're anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months, depending on the severity that is the question we don't know. The decision to IR or not will probably give us some insight there. I almost am expecting IR based on the limited reporting we've seen. but that is just based on reporting we've seen the veracity of which and the accuracy of which
Starting point is 00:07:00 will probably become clear over the next couple of days here. How frustrated are you from a perspective of this protection stuff has been an issue for so long? And any time Joe Burrow takes a hit, that means you're risking something like this happening. This looks so innocuous when the sack happens to the point where people thought it was the other ankle. that was the issue, the ankle that was being, he was being tackled by. Eric Armstead had him by the right foot. It wasn't anything to do with the right foot. It's just so happens that his toe got caught.
Starting point is 00:07:35 And so that's just like something that happens all the time, often doesn't lead to anything. But because the toe got caught in such a way that it was bent too hard, you get an injury for Joe. He was under pressure on nearly 50% of his dropbacks before he left the game. Got a little bit better with Jake Browning in the game, did the protection. but this is after the second half last week, a whole bunch of quarters in a row where, you know, we talk so much about protection with Joe Burrow with this offense, that we're still talking about it here again with another injury for Joe Burrow.
Starting point is 00:08:06 It sucks. And it is frustrating. And I think fans are pissed off and frustrated because Joe is the franchise. And I think a lot of people know that in this building. the powers that be. I think they know that, Jake. Like, I don't doubt that. But, man, would it be nice to be able to hold up against the Jaguars early
Starting point is 00:08:29 when you're trying to find your rhythm? Would it be nice to have that clean pocket? And by the way, like, they have some past rushers over there. Like, Josh Hydez Allen's a real dude. Trayvon Walker's a real dude. But coming into this game, and I paid attention to some Jacksonville stuff, they're like, yeah, defensive tackle, it's just, eh. But it just, it's not like they were really bullish on their.
Starting point is 00:08:50 defensive tackle room. And they were losing. They were losing that battle. And Ted Karras talked about it after the game, how frustrating it was. And at halftime, they had to make a decision on what they're going to do. And I think mentality-wise, they were pissed off and mad. Because that sucks, your quarterback getting hurt. And they know, they know that they're going to get blamed. They know that that's going to be a part of it. They're the offensive line. Like, that's it. That's part of it. If we're talking about it, it's usually not good. It's usually not good. That's part of that job.
Starting point is 00:09:24 And so people are frustrated. They're annoyed, not just with the offensive line with Zach. And I get it. You know, we'll have time to dissect it and do all of those things, but I get it. I get the frustration and the anger. And it's, I forget exactly what Ted said, but it definitely put a dark cloud over what should have been an awesome day because winning 31, 27. If you would have told me that 24 hours ago, I'd have said, take it, get to 2 and O and enjoy.
Starting point is 00:09:55 But it's not that simple. Yeah, we'll wrap up the conversation there. It was a crazy game. We have to talk about the game as well. We will get to the game in addition. Absolutely wild stuff happening on the field behind James. If you're watching on YouTube down at Paycor Stadium, we will continue and wrap up on Joe Burrow, get to the game here coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by prize picks.
Starting point is 00:10:18 The Daily Fantasy app, we're making the right cock and actually pay off. you and I make decisions well every single day. And on prize picks being right means cashing in. Football is back in prize picks is the simplest and fastest way to get in on the action. All you do is pick more or less on two to six player projections. And you can turn your takes into real prizes all in less than 60 seconds. So maybe you think that next week, Jamar Chase, who had an outstanding day, is going to go for more than his prize picks projections for receptions.
Starting point is 00:10:50 Well, he did in week two with 14 catches. That is one of multiple. You just got to pick two to six and start cashing in today. Download the Price Picks app or use code locked on NFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's code locked on NFL for $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Price Picks, it's good to be right. Just wanted to wrap up with a thought here, which is that, yes, dark cloud, no doubt. the aphorism of a silver lining is that the Bengals are 2 and O.
Starting point is 00:11:27 They have escaped two games that looked unlikely for them to win with wins, and we will talk a lot about this game. Same went for last week, got out of that one with a win. That gives you at least a little cushion. And we're going to get into what's upcoming for the Bengals this week and what the schedule looks like, all those things. What will be conversations that we have this week and as we look forward and as we learn more about the injury.
Starting point is 00:11:51 But at least they're 2 and 0. So we'll see what the deal is with the injury, but at least they're 2 in 0, and there's a chance that they can stay afloat while Joe recovers. And I think that is the only silver lining you can really take away. It's a big silver lining, but it's really it when you're talking about losing Joe Burrow in the home opener. That would be one.
Starting point is 00:12:13 And I think two, and this is why Zach Taylor, I don't know if you saw Zach after and watched it yet, Jake. But for those that haven't, I think he should. He was so, I think, ecstatic at how his team fought back because they weren't playing well. They didn't necessarily play well. And they could have, and I kind of had expected them to. Like, no one was really think, I mean, I guess the crowd, a lot of the crowd was.
Starting point is 00:12:39 They were still cheering. So shout out to the fans. Good for them. I was thinking about Joe the whole time. All right. Well, what's the latest on Joe? I'm looking at Joe. I'm looking at, you know, and so for them to come out at halftime, you're only down seven, but it's still.
Starting point is 00:12:52 the game feels almost irrelevant. And Jake Browning finds Mitch Tinsley. And then Jake Browning, the Jags take the lead again. And you find, like, super resilient. And so I think there's a silver lining there that, like you were saying, what's the argument? How are they going to stay afloat? Well, those guys played their butts off in the second half,
Starting point is 00:13:14 even if it wasn't perfect. And found a way to beat a Jags team that, yeah, definitely had some self-inflicted wounds, but it wasn't like obvious stuff like missed kicks like last week. Like the Bengals had to go take that game and they were able to do that. Yeah, a couple of drops. There are the parallel between this week and last week. A big fourth down drop for Brian Thomas,
Starting point is 00:13:33 a touchdown drop for Diami Brown. Those plays certainly in the fourth quarter matter. The Bengals end up outscoring the Jags in the second half, 21 to 10. You mentioned they were down 17 to 10 at halftime, final score 3127. There's some arithmetic for you. but they were in many ways getting outplayed in the first half.
Starting point is 00:13:56 They took advantage of Trevor Lawrence's mistakes, and we talked about in the pregame show. I thought Trevor Lawrence was going to give the Bengals chances. He gave them a lot of chances. They capitalized on some of those chances on defense. A defense that gave up, what was it, over five yards per carry, 5.1 yards per carry this week after they held the Browns to two yards per carry last week, not as good on run-dee this week,
Starting point is 00:14:17 didn't expect them to be. but Beychal Tootin looked great and made guys look silly a number of times in this game. Travis Aetian had another productive game. The misdirection, the screen game, the play action, all very, very effective for the Jags. But when they did have to have Trevor Lawrence
Starting point is 00:14:35 just drop back and pass the ball, Trevor Lawrence was making mistakes. And the accuracy was not there. The ball placement was not there. That gave the Bengals some chances in this game. And you credit Trey Hendrickson for some clutch plays. Dax Hill for collecting the interception
Starting point is 00:14:47 on one of those two plays in Jordan Battle for collecting on a tip drill, big plays in this game where the defense has been able to at least capitalize, even if they're giving up yards on some of their opportunities. They end up negative in the turnover column this week, minus one. But the turnovers they did get were a big deal in keeping the Bengals in this game. And so while there are still issues on the defense, Trey Hendrickson, Jordan Battle, Dax Hill, Camp Taylor Britt with a bounceback week, and T.J. Slayton, I think all those guys guys deserve a tip of the cap, at least on first blush, for playing some pretty good games,
Starting point is 00:15:23 despite the overall 400-yard performance from the Jags offense and all those things. Yeah, yeah, I agree. I mean, to me, this defense has been so hard to pin down because there's times in each of these games where you're like, man, they suck. It's just like last year. Yeah. Like they just can't stop anyone. And then when it feels like 14-0-0-0-0-0-0.
Starting point is 00:15:49 inevitable and 10-0 would be a win. Trey Hendrickson forces a bad throw. Trevor Lawrence, awareness, just launched that thing to the back of the end zone, dude. But awareness. He doesn't. Dax Hill takes advantage. You mentioned that. Like, that's a huge play.
Starting point is 00:16:04 And this defense somehow, some way has found ways to have rack up, one, four interceptions in two weeks. Two nearly had another one today. And then you come up with that. stop aided by the drop. I agree. But still, fourth and five is fourth and five. And to get off the field there and just give the offense a chance is huge. I mean, that's, that's all you're asking for if Joe Burroughs the quarterback, right? And so I, full disclosure, I had it written after that Jake Browning interception. I'm like, all right, well, I'm going to rate my story of them
Starting point is 00:16:42 losing. It's built around Burrow. And then they get the ball back and they converted that first, fourth in three. And I was like, oh, I better, I better flip this thing a little bit just in case. And so I had that second story rolling. And once he completed, I think he completed it to Mike Dysicki. And they got inside the red zone. I was like, all right. Yeah, they're about to win this game. So you better have it ready. Yeah, one big break for the Bengals of the end of this game is when they pick up the first down, but not the touchdown when Chase Brown might have been in. I think he actually was in. They didn't review that play. I guess there were no angles that they had. But from what I saw on replay, it looks like he was on top of other bodies, essentially, as the ball approached
Starting point is 00:17:21 a goal line there, but they roll him down inside the one. They get the first down there. Then you get the rare, I mean, there's some irony here on the offense at the end of the game. And we'll shift gears and talk about the offense here to finish up, talk about Jake Browning's performance, talk about everything that happened on that side of the ball. But the irony of Dalton Reisler being called for the offensive off sides, and then the Bengals game-winning play, the touchdown to go ahead being a variant of the tush-fush. And all of the consternation around the way Philly runs a tush-bush and all the
Starting point is 00:17:53 Philly offensive offsides that should be called and the point of emphasis that it is this year. Some irony there. But to wrap up on the defense before we get to everything that happened on the offensive side of the ball, the roller coaster that was Jake Browning and going to revisit that Mitch Tinsley play because what a debut catch for Mitch Tinsley. my last thought on this defense is they got to figure out the pass rush a little bit better like it's another one of those where like you mentioned hard to pin down a little bit but the consistency of the pass rush not where it needs to be shamar stewart leaves with an injury he
Starting point is 00:18:29 was quickly declared out was in a boot after the game as well as far as i saw in reports james and besides tray hendricks and they're really grasping at straws in the past rush so blitzes are not working at least through two weeks when they are dialing them up, which was more frequent in week two than week one. But that is an issue. Is part of the reason that the D.Bs at times have looked kind of bad, but they're just putting these no-win situations when there's just no pass rush to speak of. So that is something that will need to be better.
Starting point is 00:19:02 So you got this mixed bag on defense, right? They're stepping up. They're making plays at times. And at others, there's like plenty of room, obviously, for improvement. Yeah, and Shamar, he was on crutches and boot. So, you know, they're very similar to Joe Burrow. Same thing. I'm not saying it's the same injury, but same thing.
Starting point is 00:19:23 And he walked off very gingerly after getting hurt, then return for a play, I believe. I think it was one play. He did return. Wow. Someone said 97's back on the field. So maybe they saw it wrong, but then he was quickly declared out. So regardless, when he was walking off the field, I was like,
Starting point is 00:19:44 it doesn't feel great. All the focus was on Joe, but it didn't feel great. They need Shamar because he is disruptive. He had an almost, nearly four-yard tackle for loss today that he should have, could have would have had. But you're right. We do need to talk about this offense. When do we wait until the third segment, talk about offense?
Starting point is 00:20:02 What was a weird game? And this is a weird show. We'll talk about the offense coming up next. The show is sponsored by Better Health. to some funny places for advice, your barista, your barber, the barista often, maybe a random stranger in the bathroom. I don't know your life. I don't know who you're asking for advice, but not everyone is the right one when it comes
Starting point is 00:20:24 for comes to real support. And that's why BetterHelp is here with over 30,000 licensed therapists and more than 10 years of experience. BetterHelp finds you helps you find your right match, the right person to give you advice, someone clinically trained and credential to guide you through life's challenges. So maybe instead of venting to the group. chat or oversharing with a new friend who, you know, that they want to help. Maybe you shouldn't be dumping on somebody brand new.
Starting point is 00:20:51 You can go to a therapist, someone trained to help you work through the tough situations. And as a largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse range of experience. Find the one with BetterHelp. Our listeners will get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com slash lockdown. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com slash locked up. Today's show is also brought to you by Upside. You have to get the Upside app.
Starting point is 00:21:18 Why? Well, because you don't want to pay full price for gas. I've been using Upside for years now. Stop leaving money behind. Get real cash back every time you fill up with the free, and this is important, the free upside app. All you do is download the Upside app in the App Store at Google Play and start earning cash at the pump today.
Starting point is 00:21:37 Right now, use my limited time promo code at Touchdown. I get an extra 25 cents back per gallon on your first fill up. You can make up to $300 a year from just buying the gas that you already needed that you were already buying. And you can use that money towards PayPal, towards your bank account. You just want to cash out and put it right in your bank account. Or you can use e-gift cards for Amazon and other brands. Again, get the upside app today. Use promo code touchdown to get an extra 25 cent bonus.
Starting point is 00:22:05 Offers varied by user and location. Go to upside.com for terms and conditions. All right, James. Let's talk Jake Browning offense. obviously led by Jemar Chase. Jamar Chase, massive game in this one. He's probably your headliner on offense the way Jake Browning played,
Starting point is 00:22:23 but Browning made the plays and took them down the field to win the game. But shout out Jemar Chase, 14 catches, 16 yards, one touchdown on 16 targets. Catching 14 of your 16 targets, and he could have had 15 of those 16 if Jake Browning could deliver an accurate ball in a corner route in the fourth quarter
Starting point is 00:22:42 where Jumar was wide open. that's a heck of a day for the Bengals top playmaker who will need to continue to have games like this with Jake Browning leading this offense, James. Yeah. Yeah. It's such a mixed back. Honestly, the theme's in this one. I mean, with Jake Browning, there was multiple times where I was like, man, that's a great throw.
Starting point is 00:23:07 Really nice throw. Like that decision. The Mitch Tinsley one, loved it. I love giving Mitch a shot. And shout out the Mitch Tinsley for. first career touchdown, I believe, certainly first touchdown with the Bengals. First career target in a regular season game that he converts with a spectacular catch, the likes to which we became accustomed to for him in the preseason.
Starting point is 00:23:26 Okay, so he didn't make any catches in Washington. I just, I hadn't looked at the Washington stuff. That's all. Just a handful of snaps on offense in Washington, yeah. Got it. So there you go. So, yeah, if that's your first catch, that's insane. But everyone behind the seams loves him.
Starting point is 00:23:41 Loves him, loves his Bork ethic, loves how he plays, loves the plays he makes, loves his route rang, Jamar Chase praised him, Zach Taylor praised him. And that's where this game kind of, I don't want to say changed, but it really gave the Bengals a shot here. And I think it gave Jake a little bit,
Starting point is 00:23:57 not that he never had, like it was lacking confidence, but it wasn't knocking the doors down after that, right? He had thrown the interception when they're in scoring range. I know it wasn't on him, but that still doesn't feel good as a quarterback. So you have that.
Starting point is 00:24:10 And yeah, so you get Mitch, and then you go, deep to tea and you're just getting the mixed full Jake Browning experience. He's not going to be able to do that next week if he plays against Minnesota, but as far as the three turnovers go, but he's still capable. He's still that guy that helped them at the end of that 2023 season to a 9 and 8 record when it didn't feel like there was any hope. It felt like hope was lost. So there's reason to believe. And I'll say this, another moment. So Mitch Tinsley, I thought was a
Starting point is 00:24:41 moment. And then when Jamar caught a ball up the sideline and then he just lose it, he's just so hype afterward that that was a moment too. He's just letting all that emotion out. So I think that that's, that was a big moment as well. After Joe went down, Jake was in and the Bengals needed a little momentum. I think they settled for a field goal on that. Jared. Maybe not. I don't know. I can't remember, but maybe that was the one that led to Mitch Jensley sketch. I'm not sure which play exactly you're talking about. I remember there was like a third and long play where Jamar got three yards short of the sticks in the red zone. He was quite excited after that one.
Starting point is 00:25:16 I think they kicked a field goal on the next play because that was a third and long. But you credit for one thing specifically for Jake Browning, I think dealt with the Blitz really well in this game. And the Jags were showing for Joe Burrow and for Jake Browning. We talked about this in the pregame, make you figure out where the pressure is coming from. Jake Browning when he was blitzed in this game, according to PFF's initial charting, 9 of 7, 13 yards per attempt,
Starting point is 00:25:39 that ball to tee down the sideline. I went for a touchdown, 118 yards on those 10 blitzed dropbacks, took just one sack in those situations. Now, when he was pressured on a four-man rush, that was a problem. And protection wasn't great for Jake Browning. It was better for Browning than it was for Joe, but a bigger sample size as well. Browning pressured on 30% of his dropbacks versus nearly 50% for Joe.
Starting point is 00:26:05 And that's where a lot of those turnover-worthy plays came from. A lot of those questionable decisions came from some of the Yolo balls, but he also threw a yellow ball to Andre Yoseva. And ended up drawing a defensive pass interference on fourth and five for Travis Hunter, which, you know, probably not very happy if that call is going in the other direction against the Cincinnati Bengals in that scenario, you know, but didn't get his head around and that draws the Iyer referee sometimes. And he is not lacking for courage.
Starting point is 00:26:33 I think the standout quote to me from his postgame presser is you have to be, what was the word he used exactly? You have to be a little delusional. Yeah, after throwing three picks to go win the game and he won the game. That final drive was an impressive drive for Jake Browning. And like you said, a very up and down day, a very roller coaster day. And one of the big questions coming out of this game from fans is like, what are they doing differently when Browning's in the game versus when Joe's in the game that makes the offense look so different?
Starting point is 00:27:01 Why don't they just run this stuff with Joe at quarterback? And that is a question that we're answering again that we're going to have to dive into at some point this week, James. Yeah, it's one of those things where you look and you're like, well, this offense was struggling with Joe. I mean, they only had seven points when he was in. They were getting ready to punt. He had just gotten sacked. And Jake came in for one more play. Maybe they converted it with Joe, who knows, but came in for one play and then that series ended.
Starting point is 00:27:31 And so, yeah, I get that. I think, do I think this offense would have found a way to win with Joe? And still, yeah, I do. but I get why people are wondering, all right, well, how did this, why was this offense not fully jump started from the jump of this game? And I think Jacksonville is unique and it takes a little time and it probably took Joe a little time and he would have figured it out and probably maybe finish with two or three touchdowns and no interceptions
Starting point is 00:28:01 instead of two or three. So I don't really worry about that. but I do think that whatever they did, whatever they're doing for Jake, clearly it's worked because that's a really tough spot against a solid defense. That's not a bad defense. That's not a bad Jags team.
Starting point is 00:28:20 And so to go out there and to perform, even at that level and find a way to win, I think he deserves a ton of credit. Yep, you deserve credit for coming out of that spot, figuring out a different game plan in the second half, things that you didn't rep this week, figuring out the plays that Browning and the offense can run, Dalton Reisner making his first start as well,
Starting point is 00:28:39 mixed bag for him out there. And now you have to go deal with like a Brian Flores defense next week, not to get too far ahead of ourselves here, but talk about crazy defenses and throw a lot at you and are very difficult to prepare for. That's what the task is for Jake Browning this week. But at least they get a week to rep with him, design the offense around him. Because teams play when Jake Browning is a quarterback,
Starting point is 00:29:03 the Bengals' offense differently than they play it when Joe Burroughs is a quarterback. I think that's part of what we saw today. That's what leads to some of the differences. And there's certain things that Jake Browning is certainly more comfortable with than Joe Burrow. And obviously things like we saw what happened when they tried to call the game as if Joe Burrow was a quarterback when Jake Browning was a quarterback a few years ago. That doesn't work. They will need to make adjustments here. And that is likely the task here for at least a few weeks.
Starting point is 00:29:30 And that's what we're going to have to look forward to next year, James, is we're going to look at the outlook as we have. more information. We're going to revisit the tape in this one and then it'll be on to Minnesota pretty quick. So that's our work cut out for us here on the next couple of days on lockdown Bengals. And until then, we appreciate you listening to this episode. The Bengals are 2 and out. So that's exciting. We got you covered all week here. Until next time, thanks for listening. Ho-Day and have a good.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.