The Cincinnati Bengals lost in Week 5 against the Detroit Lions, and one of the most glaring problem areas was once again the quarterback play. Jake Browning has not had the best few weeks filling in for Joe Burrow, and many are wondering if there will be a change coming soon.
The day after the game, head coach Zac Taylor answered questions about the quarterback position, and he left the door open on who could be the starter moving forward, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic.
“Zac Taylor asked if he sees Jake Browning as starting QB vs GB: ‘We’ll see where it goes. Like all personnel decisions, we have to evaluate it.' Taylor again leaves door open to go a different direction at QB. Other QBs in the building: Brett Rypien, Mike White, Sean Clifford,” Dehner wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Taylor was also asked about the play-calling and what that could look like moving forward.
“Zac Taylor says he is retaining play-calling duties going forward. Calls the question fair, but points out their process takes as much from other coaches as any play-caller in the league,” Dehner wrote.
The Bengals have other issues they need to fix on the team, but it would be best if they fixed the most glaring issue first.
Do Bengals still have confidence in Jake Browning?
Prior to the Week 5 game against the Lions, Taylor expressed a lot of confidence in Browning as the starting quarterback after being asked if there should be a competition for the job.
“I don’t,” Taylor said. “I think with every position, we are always assessing. That is Duke's job; that is the personnel department. They do a great job of that and presenting options for when Joe (Burrow) went down, of other guys we could bring in the room as well. We thoroughly assess that. I have a ton of confidence in Jake (Browning), I'm unwavering from that. I've seen the best in Jake, and I know we can do a great job of supporting him to where he can go win the games for us. I feel extremely confident in Jake Browning.”
#Bengals HC Zac Taylor says he doesn’t feel the team needs to add another QB and that they remain confident in Jake Browning.pic.twitter.com/5TFSeBBADg
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 1, 2025
Things may have changed after this latest game, and it's understandable after the expectations that this team has. Even without Burrow, they want to be competitive, and it's hard to see if Browning gives them the best chance to do that right now.
