After starting QB Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending injury in 2023, Jake Browning made seven starts for the Bengals.

Browning has a chance to cement himself as the best Bengals backup option ever by going around .500 or better over the next three months and seeing what happens from there. The task starts against Minnesota this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Browning comes from a football family, primarily through his father. Ed Browning played quarterback at Oregon State from 1987 to 1991. In his college career, Ed played in 14 total games over three seasons and produced just 527 passing yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions.

Week 3 fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Jake Browning, Mac Jones, Cooper Kupp in 2025. Read their waiver wire outlooks for fantasy football.

Zac Taylor will have to get through an extended period without franchise quarterback Joe Burrow for the third time in his tenure as the Cincinnati Bengals’ coach.

As such, his backup, Jake Browning, has significant experience and has fared reasonably well in them. That includes Sunday's performance, when Browning overcame three interceptions to lead Cincinnati to a win, scoring the game-winning touchdown on a quarterback sneak with 18 seconds left.

Bengals receiver Mitchell Tinsley had a breakout performance in the team's second preseason game, against Washington.

Week 3 of the NFL season is the sweet spot: enough games to see patterns, but still early enough to gain an edge by jumping on under-the-radar performers. This week’s plays mix breakout opportunities with a few big-name fades.