The Vikings begin the closing four-game stretch of their season Saturday when they go to Cincinnati to play the surging Bengals.
After starting quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a wrist injury that ended his season, the Bengals installed Jake Browning as their on-field leader. Browning was a star quarterback for the Washington Huskies during his college career, but he was ignored in the 2019 draft and had not seen any action in his NFL career until this season.
He had been on the Vikings practice squad in 2019 and 2020 before moving onto the Bengals in 2021. His job in Cincinnati had been to run the scout team, mimicking the opposition quarterback. He was able to rise to the position of No. 2 quarterback this summer, when he outplayed Trevor Siemian.
Browning has led the Bengals to victories in back-to-back games against the Jaguars and Colts, overcoming expectations in both games. Browning has shown that he is accurate and productive, and his team has gained quite a bit of confidence in him.
He has completed 77 of 102 passes for 924 yards with 5 TDs and 2 interceptions, and he led the Bengals to a 34-31 victory over the Jaguars in Week 13 and a 34-14 triumph over the Colts. Those are formidable performances for a backup quarterback, and the Vikings are hoping Nick Mullens can deliver in a similar manner when he gets the start this week.
After watching Josh Dobbs struggle and stumble badly in Week 14 against the Raiders, head coach Kevin O’Connell made the inevitable decision to change quarterbacks. Mullens gave the Vikings a brief spark as he led them down the field on the only drive of the game that produced points against Las Vegas. Mullens completed 9 of 13 passes for 83 yards and he was not sacked. That performance came on the heels of Dobbs going 10 of 23 for 63 yards while getting sacked 5 times.
Mullens has made 17 starts in his NFL career – 16 with the 49ers in 2018 and ’19 — and Kirk Cousins has been working with Mullens on what he can expect to see from the Cincinnati defense.
“The Bengals do a lot of interesting stuff on defense and a lot of challenging stuff,” Mullens said. “To hear his veteran perspective on it has been great. He brings great energy talking football, talking life, talking Christmas cardigans he’s been wearing.”
It’s great to bring a sense of humor to the job. It shows that Mullens is not overwhelmed by the assignment.
At this point in the season, the Vikings are all about playing a remarkable brand of defensive football. The Vikings have not given up a touchdown in either of their last 2 games, and just 1 touchdown in their last 3 games. Undrafted Ivan Pace is coming off an NFC Defensive Player of the Week performance (13 tackles, 1.0 sack and an interception), and he is joined by Danielle Hunter (13.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles), Cam Bynum (team-leading 103 tackles) and Josh Metellus, (84 tackles, 4 forced fumbles).
If they can hold Browning, Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals to no more than one touchdown, they would have a chance to win this game, and that would be the source of optimism for the remaining 3 games of the season.
They will be facing the division-leading Lions twice in Weeks 16 and 18, while they also host the Packers in Week 17.
The Vikings are starting their fourth quarterback of the season, and they have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs. They are in the playoff structure right now as the No. 6 seed, and a triumphant run in the final weeks could actually result in the NFC North title.
It may be too much to ask, but it begins with this game against the Bengals. Cincinnati has the more established backup quarterback and has played two excellent offensive games in a row. It is quite a bit for the Vikings to overcome, but they have that opportunity.