If just a month ago you told Bengals fans that they would be 2-0 for the first time since 2018 when Marvin Lewis was still running the show, and Andy Dalton was still under center, they'd be ecstatic.
Even if the wins are ugly, who cares? 2-0 is 2-0, and the Bengals always play ugly to start the season anyway. After all, if they just beat the Patriots in Week 1 last year, they would've been in the playoffs, so take these early-season wins when you can get them.
Now, add on the caveat that it comes with a Joe Burrow injury that'll, at best, sideline him for several weeks, and more likely sideline him for several months.
All of a sudden, jubilation becomes shock and horror, as the prospect of another wasted season of one of the franchise's most promising quarterbacks ever becomes an unfortunate reality. There is hope, though, that the team can stay afloat amid these dark times.
Jake Browning provides post-Joe Burrow hope despite brutal Bengals schedule
Enter: Jake Browning once again. He made a name for himself back in 2023, when Burrow went down with a season-ending injury, and managed to keep the team in the playoff hunt until the end with a 4-3 record.
For a backup, he performed well. There were some expected low points, such as the second game against the Steelers, but the highlights were plentiful.
Most notably, a stellar 350+-yard performance in Jacksonville (ironically enough) on 32-37 passing. Entering the game against a familiar opponent, Browning flashed both sides of what we saw in 2023, throwing 3 picks in one half, while at the same time connecting on deep ball after deep ball to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and leading a 92-yard game-winning touchdown drive.
He has his time in the spotlight once again, with a serious opportunity to garner a lot of interest from quarterback-needy teams this offseason as a restricted free agent.
However, there's a lot of football between now and then, and he hasn't been granted an easy start as he takes over as QB1 for the Bengals. While the three-stretch games of at Baltimore (on Thursday night again, go figure), at Buffalo, and at home vs. Baltimore had fans sweating when the schedule dropped back in May, this next month of football is looking like a tough stretch after two weeks of football-- even without considering Burrow being out.
Next week, the Bengals head up to Minnesota, before going out west to Denver on Monday night, then coming back home to take on the Lions, and ending a gauntlet of a four-game run by visiting Green Bay.
It's not an easy lineup by any means, as it includes three strong defenses that can suffocate opposing offenses, as well as a Detroit offense that just put up 52 against Chicago and may leave Jake Browning and Co. playing catch-up for most of the game. These coming weeks will really prove whether or not it is really worth it to dedicate three (give or take) hours a week to this team without Burrow.
And then most of us will watch anyways, worth it or not.
The upcoming game against the Vikings is probably the easiest in this stretch, and even then, they're no slouch. While the offense has only had one good quarter in two games under de facto rookie J.J. McCarthy, the defense has performed well, only giving up 39 points across two games. Besides, it's never easy to go into U.S. Bank Stadium.
Even though McCarthy is out for Week 3, possibly along with running back Aaron Jones and two Vikings o-line starters, Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores will be cooking up something freaky for Browning and the Bengals to deal with.
As for the hardest game? Just hop one state over, where the Green Bay Packers play. They're also off to a 2-0 start, but have looked far more convincing than Cincinnati, against a far more capable pair of opponents.
The Green Bay defense has completely shut down two high-powered offenses in the Lions and Commanders — largely thanks to the Micah Parsons addition just before the season. Their offense is nothing to scoff at either.
Jordan Love has gotten off to a good start in his 2025 campaign, Josh Jacobs is a workhorse back who can give the Bengals' run defense fits, and Tucker Kraft is already looking like a top tight end in the league after his 6 reception, 124-yard, one-touchdown performance versus the Commanders.
Cincinnati's 2-0 cushion does help, but there's not a far-off reality where the Bengals go 0-4 during this stretch and their season is spiraling before November. On the other hand, if Jake Browning can lead them to a 2-2 record over the next four weeks, then Cincy may very well be on the way to hanging in playoff contention until Burrow returns — if he does at all this season.