The Battle of the Backups

If you hear a loud beeping sound in Minneapolis, don’t be alarmed because they can hear it in Cincinnati as well. That’s the sound of the backup quarterbacks getting ready to take the field at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday. For the Bengals, it will be Jake Browning, who was a backup in Minnesota for a while and actually beat the Vikings playing for the Bengals a few years ago.

The Vikings are also trotting out their backup in Carson Wentz, who was once a promising player with a bright future. His trajectory got derailed by the injury bug, and he has traveled around the league trying to find a spot to reignite his flame. When the two teams hit the field, it will not be the matchup that fans hoped to see with J.J. McCarthy taking on Joe Burrow.

This matchup was never a possibility a few months back until the Vikings decided to dump both their backup quarterbacks and bring in Wentz, and go with rookie Max Brosmer, who impressed everyone in camp.

We know more about how Browning might perform than we do Wentz.

Last week, Browning stepped in for the injured Burrow against the hapless Jaguars. He might be the guy for most of, if not the entire season, depending on how Burrow heals from his foot injury and what the Bengals’ record is late in the season. While he got the win, the stats definitely don’t support that outcome. Browning went 21 of 32 attempts and threw two touchdowns to three interceptions. Not a great showing, but in the end it’s the “W” that matters.

He is not a terrible quarterback. He’s just not good enough to take a starter role. He’s got a great supporting cast with all-world wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, his partner Tee Higgins, and tight end Mike Gesicki to make up for what he lacks. he won’t have the help of a really strong run game, but with weapons like these at his disposal, he won’t need one if he can get on a roll.

Can he get a win against the Vikings? Yes. The Vikings’ defense should be able to handle a backup like him. He’s nothing special, and the upgraded defense should make him look like what he is: a career backup. After holding both the Bears and Falcons to one touchdown each and a series of field goals, the defense should have another great game against the Bengals. The problem we tend to see is that when a quarterback like this has faced the Vikings in the past, they have, for some reason, made them look a lot better than they are.

Two good things are happening for them this week, and their names are Harrison Smith and Andrew Van Ginkel. Smith’s leadership and veteran savvy have been missed on the field the past two weeks. I don’t think it has cost them much, but it is still a factor, even if he’s on a “pitch count” as Adam Schefter and others have reported the last few days. Van Ginkel is coming out of the concussion protocol after a week on the shelf. He wasn’t greatly missed with Dallas Turner starting and holding up pretty well, bringing in three tackles, two assists, and a sack on the evening.

He seemed to set the edge on run defense better than he has in previous games. It’s hard to really pick on the defense too much since they really haven’t been an issue, especially when you factor in that the touchdown the Falcons scored that the Vikings allowed to happen to preserve more time on the clock. If they do what they’ve been doing, which, at least, is bend but not break, they should be able to help with a victory on their end.

The offense is a completely different story. While Wentz has the longer career, you almost forget that his stats aren’t really that bad. He has thrown for over 3000 yards 3 times and over 4000 yards once, while only throwing seven interceptions in each of those seasons, with touchdowns of 27, 27, 21, and 33. Can he beat the Bengals with no reps and no preseason with the team since they signed him off the couch? Sure. The Bengals have had a recent history of starting off slow early in the season, and with Burrow out, that acceleration can’t be counted on to jump up quickly.

Trey Hendrickson is one of the top defensive ends in the league, but he barely made it to the lineup as he was involved in a contentious holdout this offseason. The Bengals’ defense is decent, but they have their own injury concerns with two starting defensive backs possibly out for this game. This should make it easier for Wentz’s own weapons of ultra-world wide receiver Justin Jefferson, veteran Adam Thielen, and T.J. Hockenson more room to roam.

Add in that he has a running game with Jordan Mason and he should have the upper hand in this scenario. Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler are on injured reserve, so he won’t have them to target out of the backfield. This could also be a chance for Zavier Scott to show off what he displayed in the preseason that got fans excited to see him perform in the regular season.

The concern is much more surprising than most had thought it would be this year, as the offensive line hasn’t played as well as was foretold. That has some thinking that McCarthy wasn’t as much of the problem getting the offense going as it is the line underperforming. While no one wants to see the line continue to struggle, it might make some fans feel better that McCarthy isn’t the end-all be-all of the team’s struggles.

I haven’t even mentioned the Kevin O’Connell quarterback whisperer angle that could come into play. Even before they were down, Ryan Kelly – who is in concussion protocol they were struggling, and now they have to rely on Michael Jurgens to jump in and perform as well or better. He had a great preseason performance, so it might be possible for him to do it. If the line improves,

Wentz might get the time he needs to get it to those players and make them more of a factor in games. Theilen and Hockenson have been pretty nonexistent, and Jefferson hasn’t had the impact he really should at this point. Wentz can get it done, with the only worry coming out of a stellar performance being the dreaded quarterback controversy, especially if he does it for multiple weeks.

In order for the Vikings to win this game, the offense needs to get its collective act together. The same could be said for the season. It starts this Sunday with the Bengals with a convincing win, and not just one successful quarter that they happen to use to cross the finish line.

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