CINCINNATI — Sometimes a snapshot is not a true reflection of the whole story. But sometimes, a snapshot can genuinely capture the essence of the moment and offer an invaluable perspective.
Jake Browning and Tyler Boyd provided such a moment Sunday after a season-ending 31-14 win over the Browns that allowed the Bengals to finish an otherwise disappointing and agonizing season with a winning record.
Browning finished his seven starts with a 4-3 record, just missing out on the playoffs because the Bengals lost twice to Pittsburgh and once to Kansas City.
“It’s better than ending with a loss, but I don’t know,” Browning said in a reflective moment. “I think the second the game is over, you’re glad you won and didn’t play bad, but it’s like, ‘Man, we were so close to the playoffs.’ It’s a weird, bittersweet feeling where you won, and it was good to go out strong. Every team is going to be different every year, and that’s part of the business side of it. But man, we were so close to the playoffs, and it just sucks that we are going home. It’s mixed feelings.”
And it was his feelings that he made sure he shared with Boyd, who may have played his last game with the Bengals Sunday. After Boyd finished an answer to my question about his contribution to Bengals culture. Browning interrupted the scrum session to share with Boyd his appreciation of the wide receiver’s support over the course of the season.
“He’s been my locker mate the whole year and has been a big part of helping me bounce back when I throw three picks in a game,” Jake Browning told the crowd at Boyd’s locker. “And I think he’s an underrated part of the whole locker room and receiver room. Obviously, we’ve got a ton of talent in there but he’s a big unsung hero of the locker room and I hope he’s back. But wherever he goes, they’re lucky to have him in the locker room.”
Jake Browning shows love and respect for Tyler Boyd in a class moment postgame pic.twitter.com/hiew9oE4iM
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 7, 2024
Boyd’s response?
Love bro. Love. Straight love,” Boyd said, just shaking his head in admiration. “It just shows the respect man, out there. I’ve always been that same person each and every day I walk in here. Whether I had a terrible game, a good game or game where I didn’t have any looks, I’ve always been that guy to help support guys and just just always been true to myself. I’m authentic guy and I’m always be that person you know because when times get rough that’s when guys show the true colors and I’m always keep my true colors.”
“TB has been my locker mate throughout this whole year. I think Ja’Marr (Chase) and Tee (Higgins) get a lot of publicity — and rightfully so, they’re unbelievable players — but I think TB, at least in my experience over the past couple years here and watching this place — I wasn’t here when it was bad — but watching it climb to the next level, I think TB is an unsung hero, or a guy that pulls a lot of weight in the locker room. Those two guys came here, and he was kind of the guy, and those two guys came and it’s a zero-sum game. You can’t throw the ball to three people every play.
“So, there were a lot of touches that went other people’s ways, but he kind of set the tone that, ‘This is not going to be a primadonna room.’ It’s just really about winning and going as hard as you can. I’ll always have a lot of respect for T.B. and just how he carried himself. I threw three picks against Pittsburgh, his hometown, in front of his whole family basically. Coming into the locker room, he was like, ‘Hey man, shake that off. Everybody has one of those games.’ So, I’ll always remember that. Like I said earlier, you remember what people were like when something bad just happened. So, I’ll always think very highly of Tyler.”
That sums up the character of the 2023 Bengals in a nutshell. These Bengals were derailed by two significant injuries to their franchise quarterback. They could never get their safety position right. Their defense was well below the standard of the previous two seasons and far below that of the three other AFC North teams that qualified for the playoffs.
But as cliched as it sounds, the Bengals summoned up the energy and effort to keep battling over the final seven games with Jake Browning as their quarterback. Browning may have yelled at Zac Taylor in the third quarter Sunday, leading 24-0 and in the midst of a 99-yard TD drive. But that certainly doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the utmost admiration for his head coach who trusted Browning with an offense that didn’t change much from Joe Burrow.
“I think for me, in my situation, starts don’t grow on trees,” Browning said. “So, every single one is important. I think our locker room — it starts with the type of guys you bring in the locker room, then the culture that Zac has established. I don’t even think there was really a thought that we were going to come out and not play hard, for a couple reasons. One, football is pretty physical, and the second you come out not prepared, that’s when injuries happen. I think (No. 2), at least for me personally, no one really said anything about it, but I think one of the cooler stats — there are all these stats that pop up on TV, and one of the cooler ones that I always saw …”
Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin has never – in 17 years of coaching the Steelers – endured a losing record, including 14 winning seasons.
“I mean, I hate the Steelers as much as everybody else, but the fact that Mike Tomlin has had that many winning seasons … Hopefully however many years from now, Zac has that same thing. There will be a little bit of that, ‘OK, in 2024 now, good thing we got that win.’ So, the streak’s at three. It’s not even close to Mike Tomlin, but it’s still alive and I think that’s a pretty cool stat for a coach to have. Zac gave me my opportunity and has treated me really, really well and is the reason I’m still allowed to put on pads on a Sunday. So, I kind of wanted that for him. I think it’s a cool stat to have as a coach.”
We’ve known for some time 2023 wasn’t going to be the year for the Bengals. Everyone knew the Bengals weren’t going to the playoffs when they lost at Kansas City in Week 17. What we found out Sunday, after a game that was only cosmetic in nature, is that these Bengals cared for one another.
And we can thank Jake Browning and Tyler Boyd for drawing the curtain back a little to see just how much.
Ted Karras believes teammate Jonah Williams earned himself a lot of money this offseason by playing right tackle at a level that puts him at the top of the class in the upcoming free agent market. Karras also expressed relief that Williams made it through the game without serious injury after playing in garbage time with backups Cody Ford, Max Scharping and Jackson Carman. Since the Bengals only dressed eight offensive linemen, Cordell Volson and Williams had to play to the finish.
“Just really proud of him really,” Karras said. “I was kind of sweating garbage time there for him. Just wanted everyone to get out there clean and he can have some options. I hope we bring him back but you never know. This is a business and he set himself up to be you know the premier guy at tackle in the class.”
Karras says he and the Bengals learned a ton about themselves when Joe Burrow went down and Jake Browning was forced to start the final seven games.
“I think it was a obviously a disappointing year,” Karras said. “I think with Joe going down was a healthy exercise in figuring out how to manage our personnel and what we do best without a superstar running point. So I thought Jake did a great job emerged and himself, kind of set himself up to be to be a guy in this league. So there’s a lot of positives of the year obviously ending on a win is great overall. (But) a failure not making the playoffs. But we’re gonna work hard, take our break and work hard to make sure that never happens again.”
“Ended on a winning note.. overall, a failure, we’re going to take our break and work hard to make sure that never happens again” Ted Karras pic.twitter.com/UkbFqVVvfi
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 7, 2024
Zac Taylor took a look around Paycor Stadium Sunday and was impressed and proud with what he saw: 65,865 fans in attendance.
“I’m also really proud of the fans for finishing it the right way, too,” Taylor told me. “The turnout was really awesome, and the support we’ve gotten from them all year. It’s a game where the playoffs are not on the line, its cold, and every excuse not to be here. It was really appreciated by us and the team to see that. I looked out in the upper deck and saw people there. I don’t know if that’d be me, but they showed up and supported us. I appreciate that and we look forward to rewarding them with championship-level football next year.”
“We look forward to rewarding them with championship-level football next year” Zac Taylor on the Bengals fans who turned out Sunday at Paycor for the season finale pic.twitter.com/9PEPkYiUn6
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 7, 2024
