No Joe Burrow? Expect the Cincinnati Bengals to keep fighting...

It's not perfect in Cincinnati. But they've got the right backup quarterback and, most importantly, the right coaches for this moment. Zac Taylor's greatest challenge yet begins now.

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Expectations were made clear in the form of earsplitting jeers. When Zac Taylor dropped back to pass in Lincoln, Neb., he could quite literally hear his own fans booing the hell out of him in the middle of a play. Classmates. Alumni. They all let him have it because, hey, that’s life as the starting quarterback of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Two decades ago, this was sacred ground. A position made famous by names like Turner Gill and Tommie Frazier and Eric Crouch.

And in 2006, Taylor turned those boos into cheers as the Big 12 offensive player of the year.

To his core, he loved every second of those ups and downs because Taylor knows the inherent pressure of playing quarterback hardened him into the human being he is today.

“You’ve either got to be for it or against it,” Taylor said back at the owners meetings during the offseason. “If you can be for it and develop thick skin and the ability to lead and the toughness that comes with it, you can do some great things with your life. Whether you’re in business or coaching or playing in the NFL, there’s some great things that can come from the adversity you deal with playing quarterback as a kid. Every snap I ever played in my life was at quarterback. Next thing you know, you’re a head coach and you’re dealing with a lot of the same stuff I’ve dealt with my whole life.”

And then some.

After hearing Taylor’s spirited explanation, I reached out to one person who knows him best: Zac Selmon.

Growing up in Norman, Okla., Taylor, Selmon and Kellen Sampson were all close friends. Little did the trio know that Taylor would go on to become an NFL head coach, Sampson would become the basketball head coach in-waiting at the University of Houston and Selmon an athletic director at Mississippi State.

Firsthand, Selmon witnessed the origins of Taylor’s competitive fire.

And today, he’s blown away by his friend’s positivity through any circumstance. Be it a Super Bowl loss, contract disputes or the reality that these Bengals historically don’t spend much money on much. Selmon is correct to point out that there are coaches in all sports who are quick to find excuses for why they couldn’t win. Taylor, conversely, has always brought a “Let’s figure it out” mindset to problems.

“He’s always been brilliant — even if it’s backyard football — at putting together a team of guys,” Selmon says. “He’s going to take his and he’s going to go beat yours. Because of his demeanor and who he is as a person. People want to go run through a wall for him. I haven’t played football with him in, I don’t know, 20+ years. I’d go strap it up right now with him.”

Those offseason words are proving prophetic now.

Taylor is now without his star quarterback, Joe Burrow, for the next three months.

Last week, the NFL’s reigning passing champ suffered a Grade 3 turf toe. Cincinnati won’t rule him out for the season.

In comes backup Jake Browning.

Out goes realistic Super Bowl hopes in a conference loaded with elite quarterbacks.

At least in the brains of most football consumers, that is.

Nobody should be surprised if these 2-0 Bengals stay in the playoff picture. Browning is no middling mercenary of a No. 2. He won’t flinch. He’ll push the ball the downfield to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins and hold his arms out as if to ask, “Are you not entertained?!” And the No. 1 source of belief is the infrastructure, the coaching. In the great reality show that is pro football, Taylor is more bit actor than main character. There aren’t books written on his innovations, nor has he cozied up to national media types in an effort to boost his profile. When the general fan takes a look at that Sean McVay tree, this 42-year-old is widely viewed as more of a twig. Burrow was so good, so soon — leading Cincinnati to a Super Bowl in Year 2 — that it unfairly muddied Taylor’s ability as a coach in the eyes of observers.

Most teams wilt when their QB1 is lost for the majority of a season. Let alone a divine talent like Burrow.

So, at the moment, criticism is loud. Much, much louder than anything Taylor experienced at Nebraska. The Bengals coach has been crucified for not doing nearly enough to support his franchise quarterback with a sturdy offensive line. There’s some truth to the heckling. But it’s more complicated than describing this all as Andrew Luck 2.0. For starters, these are freak injuries. No quarterback this century suffered the same wrist injury Burrow did in ’23, per a study conducted by the Harvard Medical School. He hurt his toe on a basic sack, too. There’s nothing abnormal about this.

Sure, the Bengals could try to incubate their quarterback in the pocket but that’d be a far worse act of coaching malpractice. Taylor was correct to build an offense around his quarterback’s superpowers. Nobody in the sport keeps their eyes downfield while eluding tacklers quite like Burrow. He stays on the play-to-play prowl for big plays. Zapping this element from his game would be akin to declawing an actual bengal tiger.

The goal is to win championships. Not 8 or 9 games each fall like the Bengal teams of old.

Long ago, Cincinnati accepted the innate risk involved in letting Burrow be Burrow.

All while locking up two of the best wide receivers long term.

They haven’t transitioned to youth well on defense — an obvious issue. On the offensive line, they’ve tried to patch holes via draft and free agency. Some decisions have hit. Others miss. This is an imperfect roster. This is also an ownership group that refuses to manipulate the cap in a fashion to win now, and that’s frustrating. But the Bengals are also very rich where it matters most: synergy between Quarterback and Coaching. Cincy adjusted on the fly with Browning in ‘23 to finish 4-3 and stay in the hunt. He completed an NFL-high 70.4 percent of his passes. At Arrowhead, Cincy even took eventual champ Patrick Mahomes to the limit.

Here’s thinking the trio of the trio of Taylor, Browning and OC Dan Pitcher put their heads together and ensure this Bengals offense remains explosive.

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Let’s say Burrow is out until mid-December. There’s no reason Browning cannot go 6-4 or 7-3 and hand a playoff team back to the starter.

In other locker rooms, an injury at QB1 is a death blow. This isn’t Peyton Manning in 2011. That Colts team cratered. This isn’t Aaron Rodgers in 2013. That Packers team toggling from Seneca Wallace to Scott Tolzien to Matt Flynn went 2-5-1 when its MVP was sidelined with a broken clavicle. Expect this situation to mirror those Sean Payton-led Saint teams whenever Drew Brees missed time or — to go back further — Andy Reid’s Eagles teams whenever Donovan McNabb went out.

Over time, the coaches have built an offensive system that supplies answers to the quarterback.

Of course, you first need a quarterback full of self-belief.

Browning is not a clipboard-clutching backup happy to skip along for the ride.

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The 6-foot-2, 209-pounder from Folsom, Calif., could not have handpicked a more fitting opponent to reboot his role as season savior. Forget the current players and coaches on the other sideline. He’s got no beef with any individuals. Rather, that Minnesota Vikings as a team represent an eternal sore spot. No way will the quarterback ever forget how this team cut him loose four years ago. After surviving on the team’s practice squad from 2019 to 2020 to 2021, Browning was about to sign to the p-squad again when a Vikings staffer interrupted him with a “whoa, whoa, whoa.” Apparently, GM Rick Spielman wanted to speak to him. Spielman told Browning that the Vikings didn’t even think Browning wanted to be here. Browning, stunned, told the GM he was willing to bide his time.

Spielman informed the QB that they didn’t have a spot for him on the practice squad anymore but he could hang out at the adjacent Omni Vikings Lake hotel. Perhaps they’d find room.

After four to five long hours of waiting, Browning’s agent finally received a text saying the Vikings didn’t need him.

“I never heard anything again,” Browning told us in a December 2023 feature. “It was a weird deal.”

Puked out by the NFL machine, Browning then waited for his turn on Cincinnati’s p-squad through ’21 and ’22 before getting the No. 2 gig and eventually his starting opportunity when Burrow tore wrist ligaments in ’23. No wonder he lost his mind after shredding the Vikings for 324 yards and two touchdowns in a wild 27-24 win. Revenge was sweet. Browning slammed his helmet to the turf and stared into the lens of a camera: “You should’ve never fucking cut me!” he screamed.

Every so often a backup quarterback full of piss and vinegar gets his shot and wins hearts. Browning possesses enough spunk to sincerely believe he’s talented enough to keep these Bengals in AFC contention.

Raw talent has never been an issue. Browning completed more passes (1,191) and threw for more yards (16,775) and more touchdowns (229) than any high school quarterback in California history. At the University of Washington, he set school records in all the above. The problem’s been his average size, arm, athleticism. Browning proved that arm strength can be improved. He worked with Jordan Palmer in the offseason to increase his velocity.

Vaulted into action again last weekend, the home crowd was treated to the full Jake Browning Experience.

He sailed three interceptions — they weren’t pretty. But he also scored three touchdowns. Browning bombed one TD to Tee Higgins on third and 5 perfectly in stride and saved his finest drive for last: a 92-yard march that included a pair of fourth-down conversions and culminated in a 1-yard QB sneak plunge to win with 18 seconds left.

Maybe the lack of an elite arm does hold him back over the course of a season.

Or maybe these coaches (and receivers) will consistently put him in position to complete a high volume of passes.

The offensive coordinator in his ear was built for this challenge.

We chronicled Pitcher’s tumultuous rise to this position in the offseason, from D-III Cortland to the pros. He’s unusually driven and bright.

“Like genius-bright,” said longtime offensive line coach Paul Alexander, who helped jumpstart his career. “There’s guys who are passionate who aren’t smart, and there’s guys who are hard workers who are not smart. But to have the combination of being bright and passionate and hardworking with leadership skills is a unique guy. He had it all. He really didn't have a weakness that would prevent him from being great.”

And for the boss, Taylor, this is a defining moment.

This is where we always separate the good head coaches from the great ones. Shanahan is responsible for one of the worst draft gaffes of a generation — selecting North Dakota State’s Trey Lance No. 3 overall — but has also proven he can win with multiple quarterbacks. He’s taken Jimmy Garoppolo, an overpaid QB who blew off the offseason, to the Super Bowl. He helped steer “Mr. Irrelevant,” Brock Purdy, to another Super Bowl (and a $265 million-dollar contract). Last week, he got 279 yards, three touchdowns and a win out of castoff Mac Jones. Last season, Matt LaFleur schemed up two Malik Willis wins. Sean McVay once plucked Baker Mayfield off the street and the former top pick had all of two days to learn the playbook. That Thursday night, Mayfield erased a 16-3 deficit in the fourth quarter to lead a win over the Raiders. One game-winning, 98-yard drive completely rejuvenated his career.

Long before Patrick Mahomes vaulted into the GOAT debate, the aforementioned Reid kept the Eagles afloat with the likes of A.J. Feeley (4-1 in 2002) and a 36-year-old Jeff Garcia (5-1 in 2006).

This is Taylor’s golden opportunity to assert himself as one of the best offensive coaches in the sport.

He built one scheme that accentuated Burrow’s strengths, albeit at a cost. Browning isn’t nearly as physically gifted — by any measure. But his combination of a quick trigger and fearlessness will keep Cincinnati in games every week.

Those who know Taylor best know he’s got the right temperament for the NFL noise.

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Growing up in Norman, Selmon likens their crew’s friendship to “tribalism” because they were always together, always competing and — above all? — developed a faith that if something went wrong? “Keep going. Push forward.” Selmon was always impressed by Taylor’s ability to maximize his own God-given ability as a player.

“He had this unique way to lead people even when he didn’t know he was leading,” Selmon says. “And some people have a gravity to ‘em — people want to be around ‘em, listen to ‘em, follow ‘em. Zac’s always been like that.

“You’ve got to be comfortable in your own skin and authentic to who you are. Zac has never shifted from that. If I go grab coffee with him today, he’s going to be the same dude that he was when we were just growing up. He’s always been naturally confident in who he is. He’s trustworthy. He’s not out for self-interest. He’s out to be a good person. And I think that’s rare. He’s always been a really good communicator and that’s something that stuck with him.”

They all lived within one mile of each other and naturally gravitated toward each other. It didn’t matter if they were playing Capture the Flag, Xbox or pickup basketball as kids — Taylor brought an extreme passion to the competition, Selmon says. He was the one pulling up for the mid-range jumpers, diving for loose balls and taking charges.

When Selmon read Ryan Holiday’s epic “Ego is the Enemy,” he thought of Taylor as the ultimate example people in all industries should model because his friend is so humble. Taylor enjoys working in “in the dark.”

Each season that ends shy of a Lombardi Trophy with Burrow is a championship squandered. The same logic applies in Buffalo and Baltimore. Yet as the pressure to win in Cincinnati builds, and builds, and builds, Taylor doesn’t crack. He has sincerely relished that rising temperature after spending the first half of his life as a quarterback himself.

Publicly, that’s clear. Privately, Selmon still speaks to Taylor regularly and says he handles all pressure “masterfully.”

The Mississippi State AD makes a good point, too. When people thought of the Cincinnati Bengals before Taylor’s arrival, a much different image came to mind. The arrival of an LSU savant of a quarterback was obviously a driving force, but it’s on the coach to bring substantive cultural changes to a building. Far too long, this team was known more for off-field arrests.

Nor does a head coach merely roll a football onto a field. Taylor made the decision to unleash Burrow in all his fury and should apologize to no one.

Through it all, Taylor’s value gets muddied. If his offensive guard holds a block in the Super Bowl — and Burrow hits Chase for a TD over Jalen Ramsey on fourth and 1 — the man is a forever a legend.

Not that Taylor cares what anyone thinks.

“It fits his personality,” Selmon says, “because Zac’s never been one that seeks credit to say, ‘Hey, look at me. Look what we've done.’ He’s just, ‘Okay, I’m going get a little bit better today and I’m going to get a little better tomorrow and we’re just going to keep showing up and doing the work.’ That rubs off on people: ‘We’re not self-promoters. We’re just going to show up and do the work.’ He’s not seeking publicity. He just wants to coach ball at a high level and get guys on a team to come together and chase something really special.”

Browning is not Burrow.

But this Sunday, his team will play in one of the loudest stadiums in sports. As Taylor puts on his headset, relays advice to Browning — and the Bengals can hardly hear themselves think — the head coach will be right at home.

ICYMI:

BUILT TO LEAD: The Arduous Rise of Cincinnati Bengals OC Dan Pitcher