Bengals backup quarterback Jake Browning had just thrown his third pick of the day, and Golden was yelling to his defensive players that they needed four stops. They “never flinched,” he said Wednesday, and the four-play series ended in a turnover on downs to set up the game-winning drive for the offense.
While Joe Burrow is out, Browning will need the same kind of support from the defense moving forward.
The Bengals, as players and coaches have expressed, share full confidence in Browning as he prepares for his first start since 2023, but this is where the defense especially has a chance to shine. Cincinnati takes a 2-0 record on the road this weekend, facing the Minnesota Vikings (1-1) on Sunday.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“It’s on us, too,” safety Jordan Battle said. “Just get him the ball, takeaways. Keep doing what we’ve been doing on defense, just be plus-2, that’s the main thing. Going out there and taking shots at the ball. When they put it in the air, make plays on the ball, any way we can get the offense more possessions, I think we’ll be good.”
Cincinnati faces an opponent also expected to rely on a backup Sunday, as Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell on Monday said he was preparing for McCarthy to be out due to an ankle injury suffered in Sunday night’s loss to Atlanta. Veteran Carson Wentz, in his 10th season, is now in line to start.
McCarthy, the No. 10 overall draft pick in 2024, struggled mightily in that game, throwing two interceptions and losing one of his three fumbles. He was making just his second NFL appearance after his rookie season was wiped by a torn meniscus last preseason.
Wentz has made just two starts in the past two years, including one with the Raiders in 2023 and one with the Chiefs last season, after going 2-5 in seven starts with Washington in 2022. The Philadelphia Eagles’ No. 2 overall draft pick in 2016 threw for 27 touchdowns and just seven interceptions in his last full season in 2021 with the Colts, where he landed after five seasons with Philadelphia to begin his NFL career.
Golden said he spent two days at the beginning of the week studying all of his reps at Washington, Indianapolis and Kansas City, and Wentz is still a capable quarterback.
“He moves really well, he’s still throwing the deep ball, he has enough elusiveness to create in the pocket,” Golden said. “He’s there for a reason, right? He’s there because he can run that offense. He’s always been an intelligent guy. I don’t really see them varying much from what they do. They’re really good at what they do, and I feel like they’ve been bringing him along for the last three, four weeks to get him ready for this opportunity.”
Minnesota is known for a versatile attack emphasizing pre-snap motion and movement, play-action concepts from under center with a lot of short to intermediate passes designed to spread the defense and a zone-based running game.
Golden said his pass rushers have to be able to transition quickly from defending the run against two bigger backs in Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason to affecting the quarterback, who also has one of the league’s best receivers in Justin Jefferson as a weapon.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Bengals have some potential concerns at cornerback after Cam Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner both came out of practices this week with hamstring injuries.
“You can’t just say to the back end, ‘Don’t let them catch a deep one or take 18 (Jefferson) away,’” Golden said. “The reality is it’s on all of us, the play-caller, the ability to transition and affect the launch point and then the players downfield doing their job. It takes all three, the confluence of those three elements to really produce a good outcome for us.”
The Bengals are tied for eighth in turnover margin at plus-1, thanks to four interceptions by the defense, and Trey Hendrickson has been a part of that in the pass rush. Golden said as the play-caller, he needs to do better on third down to put guys in a better position to be successful, but the pass rush hasn’t been good enough outside of Hendrickson.
There was a plan to get rookie first-round draft pick Shemar Stewart more involved moving forward, but now he is doubtful with an ankle injury suffered Sunday against Jacksonville.
“Obviously, we feel like he can impact the game in a number of ways, his length, his velocity,” Golden said. “I’m sure if you guys look at just his chase play on the one screen, that’s an elite play, and that was all over the tape at Texas A&M, so it’s hard to find guys that can do that, that can rush the passer, turn and go make a play in the screen on the alley, so hopefully he can get healthy and we can continue to make progress with his development.”
About the Author