CINCINNATI — It is a somber time in the Queen City that is Cincinnati, Ohio. During Sunday afternoon’s win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow left with a left toe injury that will sideline him for a minimum of three months.
Bengals backup quarterback Jake Browning stepped up and led the Bengals to a 31-27 victory over the Jaguars and gave the team their first 2-0 start since 2018.
One national analyst has an exorbitant amount of faith in the Bengals backup signal caller.
“I don’t think the season’s over, I think Jake Browning is better than maybe a third of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL,” Eisen said on Monday. “I think Jake Browning is that good, I think Jake Browning is the best backup quarterback in the NFL. And that’s why I don’t even think they should call Atlanta right now.”
Eisen said following up on his statement, even saying that trading for Falcons veteran Kirk Cousins would be a bad move.
"I don't think the season's over [for the Bengals]. I think Jake Browning is better than maybe a third of the starting quarterbacks in the NFL." 👀
—@richeisen on Bengals' backup QB Jake Browning
(via @RichEisenShow) pic.twitter.com/UlfoKGKtyQ
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 15, 2025
The praise for Browning from Eisen is admirable and warranted. When Browning took over the Bengals offense following Burrow’s wrist injury in 2023, he led the Bengals to a 4-3 record and kept them in playoff contention for the remainder of the season.
Browning finished that season with a 70.4 completion percentage, 12 touchdowns, 7 interceptions, and a rating of 98.4.
It would be purely ignorant to say that the Bengals offense can reach the same heights it normally could with Burrow, but this team showed incredible resilience after Burrow went down on Sunday. They rallied behind Browning.
