Cincinnati Bengals: Jake Browning Could Be Benched After Another Loss
The Bengals (2-3) have dropped three straight games with Jake Browning as their starting quarterback, and he has thrown eight interceptions this season.
Head Coach Zac Taylor sounded open to the possibility of making a quarterback change after Sunday's 37-24 loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Lions intercepted Browning three times, and two of those turnovers led to touchdown drives by Detroit. Browning's three touchdown passes came after Detroit had already built a 28-3 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
"After a game like that, we're going to look at all personnel to make sure we're doing the right thing," Taylor said via Ben Baby of ESPN.com. "I won't shy away from that because it's a very fair question after the amount of turnovers that we had.
"I believe Jake can win games for us. I do. We'll just continue to look at everything we can, personnel-wise."
Browning heard boos from the hometown fans in Cincinnati, and he understood their reaction.
"I threw three picks that were just bad," Browning said. "And there's no hiding from that. It was bad football. From me."
Bengals franchise quarterback Joe Burrow underwent toe surgery on Sept. 18 and is expected to miss a minimum of three months.
The Bengals have three other quarterbacks – Brett Rypien on the 53-man roster, and Mike White and Sean Clifford on the practice squad. Cincinnati visits the Green Bay Packers (2-1-1) in Week 6.
Cleveland Browns: Dillon Gabriel Impresses Teammates in First Start
The Browns (1-4) dropped a 21-17 decision to the Minnesota Vikings in London, but rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel had impressive moments in his first start.
"[Gabriel] looked like he usually does. Composed, making the plays that we know he can make," Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garrett said via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com. "He put us in position to win. We've got to help ourselves out."
The Browns didn't stop Minnesota from driving 80 yards for the game-winning score, a 12-yard touchdown pass from Carson Wentz to Jordan Addison with 20 seconds to play. That wasted a solid performance from Gabriel (19-for-33,190 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions). His 9-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku gave Cleveland a 17-14 lead late in the third quarter, but Gabriel lamented the Browns being just 3 for 15 on third down conversions.
"We just got to convert," Gabriel said. "It starts with me but us coming together collectively to go make that happen…you look at a lot of the third downs to extend drives, that's where we can continue to help ourselves."
The Browns visit the Steelers in Week 6.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Watching Divisional Foes Fall Made Their Day
The Steelers (3-1) had a bye in Week 5, but their early lead in the AFC North grew.
The Ravens, Bengals, and Browns all lost, making for a happy Sunday in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are the only team in the division with a winning record.
In 2024, the Steelers started 10-3 but lost their last four regular-season games and were overtaken by the Ravens, who won their second-straight AFC North crown. Then, in the playoffs, the Ravens eliminated the Steelers on Wild Card Weekend.
Pittsburgh still hasn't faced an AFC North opponent, but that will change over the next two weeks. After hosting the Browns in Week 6, the Steelers will visit the Bengals in Week 7. Winning their next two games would make the Steelers' early-season grip on first place even tighter.
The Ravens (1-4) don't face Pittsburgh until Dec. 7 and will visit Pittsburgh in the Week 18 regular-season finale.
