Good News: Backup QBs as Browning in spotlight as Bengals host Colts in key AFC matchup

At the point when quarterback Joe Tunnel was lost for the season as a result of a wrist injury in the midst of a three-game pallet, the Bengals season finisher trusts appeared to be blurring quick.

Yet, Jake Cooking had a comment about that.

The reinforcement quarterback, in his second NFL start, had a memorable game Monday night. Cooking, who’d burned through a large portion of his genius profession on training crews, was 32 for 37 for 354 yards and a score and scrambled for one more score in the 34-31 win over Jacksonville.

Besides the fact that it leveled the Bengals’ record at 6-6, it offered them a colossal chance of certainty. Sautéing showed he could win in the NFL. Additionally, Cincinnati’s playoff window remained open with five games remaining despite the defeats of Pittsburgh and Cleveland, rivals in the AFC North, last week.

“There’s still a lot on the line for us,” Cincinnati mentor Zac Taylor said. ” We’re in a position, the status quo shaking out around the association, that we continue teaching about controlling our own fate.”

The Bengals will see whether Searing can perform reliably when they have Indianapolis (7-5) on Sunday. The Colts are one game behind the Jaguars, who are in first place in the AFC South, and have won four straight. They’re likewise winning with a reinforcement quarterback, Gardner Minshew, who stepped in and played well after Anthony Richardson was lost to a season-finishing shoulder injury in October.

The Foals are additionally falling off an extra time win, 31-28 over Tennessee last week.

“I think the greatest thing is simply certainty at this moment,” Minshew said. ” Everyone is feeling it, everyone is playing together, confiding in one another. I think you saw every one of the stages becoming completely awake at various times the week before. Simply beginning to feel like we’re beginning to assemble our best ball and that is the manner by which it ought to be this season.”

STEWART IS BACK

The Yearlings will get their best run plug, cautious tackle Grover Stewart, back Sunday. He was suspended the beyond six games for disregarding the association’s presentation upgrading substance strategy.

How basic is Stewart to Indy’s safeguard?

The Colts stopped four of their first six opponents from rushing for more than 105 yards under Stewart’s leadership. They allowed 125 yards and 138 or more in five of their six games without him. He’s anxious to get back.

“These most recent a month and a half have been hard for me sitting at home, watching the folks go out there every single week, battle and take care of their business,” Stewart said. ” It was hard watching them, realizing I was unable to be out there aiding them.”

RUN GAME Making strides

The run game has been an issue for the Bengals the entire season, however in Monday’s success over the Pumas there were positive signs. Joe Mixon scrambled for 66 yards and controlled in for two scores. New kid on the block Pursue Brown scrambled for one more 61 yards on nine conveys. Coming into the game, Brown, a fifth-round pick from Illinois, had only two conveys for 6 yards. Sautéing likewise ran for 22 yards and a score.

HOMECOMING FOR Penetrate

Beneficiary Alec Puncture made the short drive from Cincinnati to Indianapolis after he was drafted by the Foals in 2022. This week, he’ll make the converse drive.

No, it’s not the initial time the Cincinnati Bearcat will play inside Paycor Arena (previously Paul Earthy colored Arena) — simply the initial time in the meeting storage space.

“I played in the Bengals arena in two or multiple times, so it will be cool to return there and play as a star,” he said.

The timing couldn’t be better for Piece, who set up Indy’s extra time TD with a 55-yard gathering last end of the week and praised the initial 100-yard round of his ace profession.

TAYLOR’S STATUS

When 2021 NFL hurrying top dog Jonathan Taylor had a medical procedure on his right thumb last week, most anticipated that he should miss no less than three weeks.

On Wednesday, however, mentor Shane Steichen declined to preclude Taylor for the Bengals game.

“We’ll see,” Steichen said after first recognizing there’s no timetable for Taylor’s return.

In the hope of at least forcing opponents to call timeouts, Steichen has run his kicking teams on and off the field a number of times this season. For Wednesday’s walkthrough, the Yearlings assessed Taylor’s training status would have been out.

Browning and Minshew will meet for the first time since 2018 in a familiar setting as quarterback. Searing was the star QB for Washington and Minshew drove Washington State in the Apple Cup game dominated 28-15 by the Huskies.