PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It’s a team they know, see twice a year, sometimes three, but there is an unknown Sunday as the Steelers play in Cincinnati.
Who is Jake Browning?
The 27-year-old will make his first NFL start for Cincinnati after the wrist injury to Joe Burrow which knocked him out for the season. Undrafted out of the University of Washington, he went 8-14 for 68 yards with a touchdown and sacked three times coming in for Burrow against the Ravens last week. He’s been with the Bengals since he was waived by the Vikings in 2020.
Some impressive numbers in college, throwing for 12,296 yards, 94 touchdowns and 34 interceptions while rushing for 244 yards and 16 more scores. The 6’2” Browning was the 2016 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year and fourth all-time in Pac-12 passing yards. He holds the Pac-12 season-season record with 43 touchdown passes as a sophomore in 2016.
The numbers show he could do it at a Power 5 level, Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith said he’ll prepare like Browning can do Burrow-like things. He notes he’s been in the Cincinnati system for a couple of years and he expects him to run the typical Bengals offense.
Corner Joey Porter, Junior said it’s as much about the Steelers being right with what they do as it is knowing the ins-and-outs of Browning. They need to be on their game, especially communication, regardless of the opponent.
“It’s definitely different, but the quarterback they have in place has been there, has been in the system,” said Steelers linebacker TJ Watt. “He’s been in the NFL for quite some time. He’s a smart guy. There’s going to be a lot of challenges. He will be able to throw the ball around the yard if he wants to”.
“Just like every week, they are going to want to establish the run. If we don’t stop the run early in the game, he’s going to continue to try to do it. That’s a challenge every week.”
Cincinnati will be without receiver Tee Higgins as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury. But all of the others will be at Browning’s disposal.
“He’s their quarterback,” said linebacker Elandon Roberts. “They got good coaches over there. They got good players. That quarterback is going to be comfortable in what they are doing. They got a good running back in Mixon. They got a good receiving corps from this side to this side.”
“These guys are going to be ready to go. We’ve got to be ready to go. They are still going to be explosive. We got to be ready for another 60-minute game.”
“We got to think they are going to be way more comfortable this time around than in the middle of a game,” said Steelers captain Cam Heyward. “You got to think they got their full playbook available. It’s not like they are missing multiple guys like Cleveland was. I think you look at it like you’ve got to get the ball to our receivers. Got to get the ball in their running back’s hands.”
It’s not like the defense struggled against Cleveland, although Dorian Thompson-Robinson was able to quick-pass his offense to a 13-10 victory at the end of the game. Veteran corner Patrick Peterson believes the Bengals will at least explore a similar plan to the Browns.
How do you affect a pass that is released in less than three seconds?
“I think you just do the things that if you know the ball is getting out, you rush with a purpose and then get your hands out,” said Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. “Because sometimes that ball, you're not going to have an opportunity to get there unless you beat your guy clean and still may not
get there. We talk to them about getting hands up, batting passes. A lot of times you'll see tipped passes from the D-line, and those end up being good plays for us.”
“There are different ways to affect the quarterback. You might not lay him on his back as much as you want, but if you bat a couple passes and get him to hold it sometimes because he's worried about the passes being batted, then you
have an opportunity to rush.”
“I think we can definitely affect balls,” Highsmith said. “I think there were a couple last week where I could have gotten my hands up. I think overall we have to do a good job on those short throws and screens getting our hands up and batting some balls.”
“Got to get our hands up a little bit and bat down some balls,” Heyward said. “Need to be able to stop the run, got to have some longer downs to make them throw down the field.”
Watt mentioned one thing he noticed on film is the Bengals don’t max-protect very often. They trust their tackles to make plays. That could be a huge factor in this game.
Peterson said they learned from their experience last weekend facing an inexperienced quarterback. They go up against another with huge stakes sitting at 6-4 overall. A loss puts the Steelers in the basement of the AFC North with the Browns and Ravens above them.
“One of my good, old coaches Bruce Arians used to tell me, good teams don’t lose two in a row,” Peterson said. “We’ll see where we are after this week.”