Cincy Jungle
The Cincinnati Bengals have started the 2025 season with a 2-0 record for the first time since the 2018 season, but like Thanos at the end of “End Game” it has cost them everything. That’s because, lost in their Week 2 win, was franchise quarterback Joe Burrow, who will need surgery on a turf toe injury on his left foot and is expected to miss up to three months.
Considering this, it’s likely many Bengals fans woke up on Monday morning feeling like they were hit by a truck. After all, for the third time in six years Burrow is going to miss a large portion of the season because the team can’t seem to protect him.
Rich Eisen may not be a Bengals fan, but he knows football, and he’s not overly concerned.
“I don’t think the season’ over [for the Bengals],” he said on Monday’s podcast. “I think Jake Browning is better than maybe a third of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL.”
He went on to say he believes Browning to be the best backup quarterback in the NFL.
This isn’t Browning’s first rodeo. When Burrow was lost for the season in Week 11 of 2023, Browning stepped in and kept the Bengals relevant in the playoff hunt all the way through Week 17, winning four of the team’s seven remaining games, and they were within one score on two of the three losses.
If Browning can keep the Bengals in the hunt, at a minimum, in theory, Burrow could come back when the playoffs start. Whether or not all those puzzle pieces fall into place is a whole different story.
