Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning kept the team in playoff contention for the last few weeks of the season as he started the team’s final seven games for an injured Joe Burrow.
Browning finished the year with 1,936 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He was 4-3 in those seven starts, ending with a three-touchdown performance in a 31-14 win over the Cleveland Browns.
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The undrafted quarterback said after the game he believed he’s done enough to vie for a starting job in the NFL.
"I think that I've established that I'm capable of being a starter in the NFL," he said. "So, obviously a weird situation where I feel like I'm one of the top 32 quarterbacks in the world, and I just so happen to be on a roster with a guy who's proven that he's a top five quarterback in the world.
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"So, what that looks like going forward, I have no idea, nor do I have any control. So, I'm not going to think about it a ton. I think when I go watch all my film to try to figure out what I'm going to work on this offseason, I'll be proud of what I put on tape. But, the goal is to go to the playoffs, and we didn't, so that's pretty motivating going into the offseason too."
Browning said the only thing he wished he could do differently was get the Bengals into the playoffs. Cincinnati lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in his first start, 16-10. The team dropped their second game to them 34-11.
It was a key difference between the Steelers making the playoffs and the Bengals staying home.
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"Find a way to win one of the last two games. All three of the losses, just find a way to get one of those," Browning said. "I don't think there was really any overarching theme to them, it's just you have to find a way to go win at Arrowhead, you have to find a way to go win at the Steelers, or at home against the Steelers.
"So really, just really figure out how to play better against the Steelers would be kind of the main takeaway. I don't have any overarching theme. I think that I don't want to have opinions until I watch all my film together, and I think you start to get a feel for what the things you need to improve on are."
It’s unclear if Browning will get another shot somewhere. But he made the most of an opportunity that took five years to achieve. He started in the NFL and won.
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