THE LEGEND OF “JOE SHIESTY”:
In 2020 the Cincinnati Bengals drafted the savior of their franchise, a quarterback out of LSU by the name of Joe Burrow. Burrow’s rookie season was cut short by a torn ACL, however, in his sophomore season, he hit his stride. Burrow led the Bengals to a 10W-6L season and their first playoff appearance since 2015. The 2021 playoffs were when the college football legend “Joe Shiesty” arrived in the pros. “Joe Shiesty” led the Bengals to a wildcard win against the Las Vegas Raiders before heading to Nashville for a Divisional round matchup with the Tennessee Titans. Despite being sacked 9 times, Joe Burrow got the job done and led Cincinnati to a 19-16 win.
The next week, the Bengals traveled to Kansas City to face the best the AFC had to offer, in Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs. Mahomes showed why he was considered the best by throwing three touchdown passes in the first 20 minutes of the game, putting the Chiefs ahead 21-3. But with “Joe Shiesty” under center, the game was far from over. Burrow and the Bengals’ offense roared back, as Joe Burrow found Samaje Perine and Ja’Marr Chase for touchdowns. Courtesy of a last-moment field goal by Bengals’ kicker, Evan McPherson, Cincinnati was able to force overtime. Joe Burrow got the job done again, setting up a game-winner from McPherson to send the Bengals to the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.
Even though the Bengals lost the Super Bowl, the excitement in Cincinnati was at an all-time high. If this young core of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and co reached the Super Bowl in 2021, just imagine what they’re capable of accomplishing after a few years of developing. Burrow and the Bengals found themselves back in Kansas City for the AFC championship game the very next year. The Bengals played well but ended up losing the game due to a controversial “unnecessary roughness” penalty, which set up a game-winning field goal for the Chiefs. Even though the Bengals fell short yet again, their 2022 season was proof that with Joe Burrow running the show, every season has the potential to rewrite history.
THE 2023 SEASON:
Per usual, Joe Burrow’s start to the season was underwhelming. However, this year, it took him more time than usual to get going. Between nursing an ankle injury and being somewhat rusty, Burrow’s offense looked horrible through their first four games, starting 1W-3L. The Bengals won a “gimme” against the tanking Arizona Cardinals in week 5 and were carried by their defense to a 17-13 win over the Seattle Seahawks in week 6. Heading into their week 7 bye, there was a lot of concern regarding the Cincinnati Bengals. If Cinci was to go on another playoff run, Joe Burrow had to wake up, and fast!
“Joe Shiesty” woke up in a big way in week 8. Burrow and the Bengals put up 31 points and 400 yards in a statement win over one of the top defenses in the league, the San Francisco 49ers. The Bengals kept the momentum going by beating the Buffalo Bills the following week, before losing a week 10 shootout to CJ Stroud and the Texans.
Now standing at 5W-4L, the Bengals were desperate to get hot again to win the division. They had a great opportunity to climb back in week 11, as they faced the current division leaders, the Baltimore Ravens. But the game went horribly wrong. Joe Burrow landed awkwardly on his wrist after throwing a touchdown pass in the second quarter. After failing to grip a ball on the sideline, Burrow was brought into the locker room to receive medical attention. The Bengals quickly announced that Joe Burrow suffered a sprained wrist and will not return to the game. After further examination, the medical team realized that they weren’t dealing with a sprained wrist and that “Joe Shiesty” had torn a ligament in his throwing hand, requiring immediate season-ending surgery.
THE EMERGENCE OF JAKE BROWNING:
In the 2014 season, Folsom High School’s quarterback, Jake Browning set a national record with 91 touchdowns in only 16 games (5.68 per game). Naturally, Browning was highly recruited and ended up committing to play college football for the Washington Huskies.
In his freshman year, Browning was average, but he hit his stride the following season. In 2016, Browning led the Huskies to a 12W-2L season and threw 43 touchdowns, two more than first-round picks Pat Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Unfortunately, in 2017, with no possible explanation, Browning couldn’t recreate his success and only threw 19 touchdown passes. Going into his senior year, if Browning wanted to have a chance of becoming a franchise NFL quarterback, he had to put up another 40+ touchdown season. Browning failed to do so and only threw for 16, tying his career low.
Jake Browning wasn’t selected by any team in the NFL draft, yet got a shot afterward. In April 2019, the Minnesota Vikings decided that the slim chance of reviving the 2016 Jake Browning was worth giving the kid a roster spot. However, they quickly stopped believing in Browning, leading to him being cut from the team in August 2021. About half a year later, the Cincinnati Bengals gave him a shot. After having to prove himself multiple times, Browning eventually worked his way up to second on the depth chart. Therefore, when Joe Burrow went down in week 11, Jake Browning was thrown into action.
Browning looked lost against the talented Baltimore defense, causing the news that he’s starting the rest of the season to demoralize the Bengals faithful. Browning was underwhelming yet again in the Bengals’ week 12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now at 5W-6L, the NFL was ready to write off the Cincinnati Bengals.
But then, like a skeleton in a horror movie, the high school football touchdown king came crawling out of his grave.
TO BE CONTINUED IN “IS JAKE BROWNING LEGIT?”
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