Vikings Sink Bengals in Browning's First Start
- Ian Altenau
- 4 minutes ago
- 4 min read
The Bengals maiden voyage in 2025 without Joe Burrow went about as disastrously as the maiden voyage of the Titanic. The Bengals went full-steam ahead toward the NFL-equivalent of an iceberg known as Isaiah Rodgers and were sunk before you could say “Skol!” Forget the 2 - 1 record – this team has serious problems.
If you thought the Bengals were capable of rallying behind backup QB Jake Browning, think again. No Bengals team had ever been down by more than 37 points in any game. The Bengals were down 45 to the Minnesota Vikings before the end of the third quarter. When the dust had finally settled and the Bengals were finally left alone long enough to peel themselves off the turf at U.S. Bank Stadium, the score was 48 - 10 and the Bengals had suffered their worst defeat in franchise history.
Football is the ultimate team sport, so it’s basically impossible to say any player can win a game “single-handedly.” With that said, the Vikings fifth-year cornerback Rodgers put some serious strain on that idea. He returned an interception and a fumble for touchdowns, and forced another fumble…all in the first half. His 156 return yards were more than either team’s offense managed in the first half. He was made a Pro Bowl starter midway through the third quarter.
With a grand total of four fumbles and two interceptions on the day, the Bengals admittedly played an active and very willing role in their own demise. So, maybe it’s not right to say Rodgers “single-handedly” broke the Bengals on Sunday, but he got about as close as a player can get in this league. It was so out of hand that Max Brosmer and Brett Rypien were getting multiple snaps by the end of the game.
The Bengals were clearly riding high following their first 2 - 0 start in seven years. They had gotten very fortunate in their two wins, and Burrow’s injury was obviously a huge downer, but the Bengals previous success with Browning in 2023 and the defense’s knack for timely turnovers, there was reason to think the Bengals could keep the winning going against a Vikings team that was starting its own backup QB. That delusion was swiftly put to rest.
The Vikings outclassed the Bengals in just about every conceivable way. They controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and outside of a handful of pre-snap penalties, played mistake-free football. The Bengals were no match for the Vikings even when they weren’t making life harder on themselves.
In a disaster like this, there’s plenty of blame to go around. Noah Fant got the ball rolling (pun intended), but Ja’Marr Chase, Semaje Perine, and Cam Grandy all joined the fumble party. Browning’s first interception was off a tipped ball, so it was forgivable enough even though it was returned for a touchdown, but his second was just a bad throw. The defense offered no resistance in the second half.
It should be DEFCON 1 at Bengals headquarters. They’ve bought themselves some breathing room, but their loss to the Vikings was a massive wake-up call. One week without Burrow and the Bengals look like the worst team in the league.
It’s not hard to identify an enormous weakness the Bengals must rectify if they have any hope of keeping this loss from snowballing into a weeks-long disintegration – the run game. Heading into the season, Chase Brown was getting some hype as the next great dual-threat running back in the NFL. Through three weeks, those predictions look laughable. He finished with three yards on ten carries against Minnesota, and is averaging 2.0 yards per carry so far this year.
That has to change if the Bengals have any hope of treading water while Burrow is on the mend. The Bengals can get away with being fast-first and eschewing the run when Burrow is playing because Burrow is just that good. Browning – and this really shouldn’t need to be said – is not Burrow. Without their superstar QB, the Bengals needed balance, and the Vikings were not having it.
Hopefully, the Bengals will find a way to regroup, because it’s not getting easier. Next week, the Bengals travel to play the Broncos in the thin air of Denver on Monday Night Football, before facing the Lions, Packers and Steelers in consecutive weeks. They could wake up on October 17 and be 2 - 5 and it would surprise no one.
The irony is palpable. The Bengals finally get the 2 - 0 start they’d been dreaming of, and yet this feels like the most troubling start of the entire Zac Taylor-era. In the midst of all those 0 - 2 and 1 - 1 starts over the years, there was always hope that Burrow could turn things around. This year, Burrow might not be back until late December, if at all. He’s not saving the day – the Bengals need to save themselves to make a return for Burrow in 2025 worth it. One week post-Burrow, his season, like the Bengals, is looking completely lost.