Week 4 of the NFL season will be closed out between the Cincinnati Bengals (2-1) and the Denver Broncos (1-2).
In light of Joe Burrow’s toe and resulting surgery, Cincinnati will be playing backup quarterback Jake Browning. Browning’s first start came in a Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Can Jake Browning Replicate His 2023 Monday Night Football Turnaround Against the Broncos?
Browning served as the Bengals’ backup QB for a second straight season in 2024, after spending the 2021 and 22 campaigns on Cincinnati’s practice squad.
According to NFL.com, Burrow is expected to miss at least three months. His injury was sustained against the Jacksonville Jaguars after his pocket collapsed in the second quarter on Sept. 14.
Browning has taken over as the Bengals’ signal caller since the injury. He also stepped into the starting QB role for the final seven games in 2023 due to Burrow’s then-wrist injury.
the parallel scenarios for jake browning:
2023
– terrible in start no. 1
– shines on MNF on the road in start no. 22025
– terrible in start no. 1
– another MNF road game to shock the world?tonight feels like a turning point, one way or the other: https://t.co/e6QmbS2HWP pic.twitter.com/F4YqWHNpsB
— John Sheeran (@John__Sheeran) September 29, 2025
The Cincinnati Bengals currently have a 56.2 in PFSN’s Offense Impact metric.
Browning is 29 years old and stands at 6’2″. He weighs 209 pounds and played college ball at Washington. With the Huskies in 2018, he started all 14 games 2018.
The 2018 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention won 39 starts, which was the most ever by a Pac-12 quarterback. Browning set numerous Washington season and career records, including career yards (12,296, 4th-most in Pac-12 history), in addition to helping lead the Huskies to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2016.
Browning has thrown for 2,317 yards and 15 touchdowns across 211 completions on his career so far, in addition to rushing for four touchdowns across 31 carries.
In his two games so far this season, Browning has passed for 381 yards and three touchdowns.
According to Sports Illustrated, Broncos head coach Sean Payton said that even with Browning in the pocket, his team is prepared to defend the Bengals’ offense.
“Yes. There’s a stretch where Joe was injured a couple years ago, where this quarterback [Browning] is accurate, in rhythm, all of those things. First down is important if you allow him to get going,” Payton said last week.
“They’ve won a lot of games and played well with him. So … it’s not like the backup is a different type of player. He’s a pocket passer. It’d be different if who’s playing is all of a sudden a guy who scrambles, runs. We would defend the offense, because the offense really hasn’t changed.”
Kick-off is slated for 8:15 p.m. EST at Empower Field at Mile High between the Broncos and the Bengals. Cincinnati will then host the Detroit Lions on Oct. 5.
