The Cincinnati Bengals have been treading water for much of the 2023 season, but everything seemingly went up in flames when it was announced that Joe Burrow would miss the rest of the campaign with a right wrist injury. With Burrow no longer under center, the Bengals flailing championship hopes quickly disappeared into thin air.
Chances are, given Burrow's skill, and the level at which the top teams across the league are playing at, that the Bengals won't win the Super Bowl this year. Heck, they probably weren't going to win given how they had been playing even when Burrow was under center. Jake Browning didn't do much to impress in relief for Burrow, and the injuries are mounting on both sides of the ball now.
And yet, not all hope should be lost for Cincinnati. Browning was unexpectedly thrown into the fire against one of the top defenses in the league in the Baltimore Ravens, and while he wasn't outrageously good, he had quite a few reasons to struggle in this one. Burrow's injury may seem like a death sentence for the 2023 Bengals, but let's take a look at how they can still remain competitive in the AFC North throughout the remainder of the year.
How the Bengals can win without Joe Burrow
The key to success for the Bengals over the past few years has been their offense. With Burrow throwing to a pair of top-tier wide receivers in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and Joe Mixon leading the way on the ground, Cincinnati was tough to stop on offense. Taking out Burrow will obviously limit what the Bengals are able to do in the air.
Browning isn't Burrow, but that doesn't mean he can't succeed in this offense. Chase and Higgins, who are both admittedly dealing with injuries, are still in the fold, and when they are playing together, they are tough to limit. Assuming Browning's protection in front of him holds up, he should have either Chase or Higgins open on the majority of plays where he is throwing the football.
The Bengals are going to have to support Browning as much as possible, so keeping him standing upright is going to be key. The problem there is that Burrow had been sacked 24 times through ten games, and he hadn't made it through a game without getting sacked at least once. The key to Cincinnati's offense immediately shifts from one Joe (Burrow) to another Joe (Mixon).
Keeping the pressure off of Browning under center is going to fall heavily on Mixon's shoulders as the lead running back of this offense. The good news is that Mixon is having a strong season (153 CAR, 605 YDS, 4 TD, 31 REC, 188 YDS, 1 TD), and is coming off two of his better games this season. If opposing defenses have to worry about Mixon on the ground, that immediately makes Browning's life easier.
With all the weapons that Browning has at his disposal, he should be able to keep the offense moving up and down the field on a weekly basis. The Bengals have a pretty tough schedule the rest of the way out unfortunately, but that was an issue they were going to have to navigate with Burrow anyways, and there are teams, such as the Minnesota Vikings and Cleveland Browns, that are just as vulnerable as they are.
Another way the Bengals can support Browning out as he steps in for Burrow is on defense, which also didn't exactly happen in Week 11 against the Ravens. Cincinnati has talented playmakers in their front seven in Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, and Logan Wilson, and they will have to continue to wreak havoc on that side of the ball moving forward. The Bengals defense in past years has become better as the season went on, and they will be hoping the same development occurs this year.
With a 5-5 record, Cincy currently sits in tenth place in the AFC, but that could change once the remainder of Week 11's games are played. If the Bengals want to find their way into the playoffs, they will probably have to finish above either the Browns or Pittsburgh Steelers in their division, but three of their final seven games are against those squads, so they still control their own playoff destiny for the time being.
Losing Burrow hurts, and while the Bengals playoff hopes undoubtedly took a hit, the NFL has proven to be wild enough that they could still find their way to the postseason. Browning is no Burrow, but the talent around him may be enough to keep the Bengals competitive, and with extra time to get ready for their next game against the Steelers, it would be wise to expect Cincinnati to look much more cohesive to close out the season than they did in Week 11 after Burrow was forced out of the game.
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