Bengals QB Jake Browning’s Cramps Cause Concern, Then Laughter After a Record-Breaking Win

On Sunday, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning became the first player in NFL history to post a completion rate of at least 78% and a passer rating of at least 95 in the first three starts of his career, yet after the game, he was feeling … embarrassed?

Browning put a scare into the Paycor Stadium crowd early in the fourth quarter of the 34-14 victory when he took a knee in the huddle and needed medical assistance.

AJ McCarron entered the game as Browning when sprinting into the locker room in a scene reminiscent of nearly eight years earlier, when Andy Dalton broke his thumb on Dec. 13, 2015, and McCarron came in to finish the game and the season.

Jake Browning’s Cramps Cause Laughter After Bengals Win

Sunday’s stint was much shorter for McCarron, as Browning came running back out of the locker room a few minutes later, rehydrated with an IV puncture in his arm and no more cramping in his right forearm and thumb.

MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart

“It’s pretty dumb,” Browning said after completing 18 of 24 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.”

“I just have to drink more water and electrolytes, I guess,” Browning added. “Sometimes, when it’s cold, you just aren’t thirsty. That’s probably the main takeaway from the game — hydrate better. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

Browning said he started feeling it on the first play of the fourth quarter when he threw an incomplete pass to Tee Higgins and absorbed one of only three quarterback hits by the Indianapolis defense. Television replays showed Browning going down with his right hand being one of the first things to hit. His right thumb was tucked in his palm when it happened.

The list of QBs in NFL history with better than a 78 completion percentage and a passer rating higher than 95 in their first 3 starts:

Jake Browning

That's it. That's the list.

He has a 79.3 completion percentage and 113.4 passer rating.

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) December 10, 2023

On the next play, he started to throw a pass but pulled it down and took off for a three-yard scramble. Then, when he was in the huddle, it got worse and caused him to take a knee, leaving everyone thinking the worst.

“There was a little bit of PTSD with quarterbacks grabbing their hand and wrist area, so I didn’t love that,” right tackle Jonah Williams said, referencing the season-ending wrist injury Joe Burrow suffered to open the door for Browning’s emergence.

McCarron and Burrow were wearing earpieces, listening to the communication between the coaches and Browning, so they knew exactly what was going on with the cramping.

Browning said when he got back to the sideline, Burrow was laughing at him.

“Embarrassing,” Browning repeated.

The opposite of embarrassing is what Browning has been able to accomplish in his first three starts, leading the Bengals to back-to-back wins against teams ahead of them in the playoff race while completing 69 of 87 passes for 856 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 113.4.

This is where Browning’s stats rank in NFL history for quarterbacks in their first three starts (minimum 20 pass attempts):

• 79.3% completion rate – 1st
• 113.4 passer rating – Tied for 1st with Chad Pennington
• 9.8 yards per attempt – 9th
• 856 yards – 17th

“We felt like we were in a great flow the last eight or nine weeks. The Pittsburgh game was our outlier,” Taylor said of the 16-10 loss to the Steelers in Browning’s first career start. “We’ve been playing good football, so the quarterback jumps in and is prepared. Jake has done that. The guys believe him. But it’s not about one guy. It’s the unit coming together.”

And keeping the fluids flowing.

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