Steelers Get Great News As AFC North Rival Commits To Making Horrible Quarterback Decision

The Pittsburgh Steelers have slipped into a Week 5 bye with a record of 3-1 and the AFC North lead. The division has had a rollercoaster of a season so far, especially because of the injuries that are running rampant everywhere. One of the more focused-on quarterback situations in the sports news cycles has been what is going on with the Cleveland Browns, but there have also been significant developments for the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. Joe Burrow is out for at least three months due to a toe injury, and Lamar Jackson is dealing with a hamstring ailment.

The Steelers have a 41-year-old in Aaron Rodgers under center and he has been able to stay relatively healthy aside from some bumps and bruises. An early bye isn't always great, but the veteran signal-caller is certainly not complaining about giving his body a break.

For Cincinnati, Jake Browning hasn't had the same success that he did when he replaced an injured Burrow back in 2023. With a difficult Detroit Lions team to go up against in Week 5, it could be speculated that the Bengals need to make a trade for a quarterback sooner rather than later. Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday morning, however, that the plan in Cincinnati is to avoid that at all costs.

"The Bengals have not had trade talks for any veteran to come in and start, sources say," Rapoport wrote. "Not the Giants' Russell Wilson or the Falcons' Kirk Cousins or anyone in between. The plan is to roll with Browning for the foreseeable future. As for why, it's simple: They've seen him succeed. They watched Browning lead the team to a 4-3 record in 2023 in place of an injured Burrow, and there is confidence he could do it again."

That 4-3 record for Browning two seasons ago featured two losses to the Steelers, in which he threw four interceptions to only two touchdowns. With Cincinnati and Pittsburgh set for a short-week Thursday Night Football matchup in Week 7, it appears as if the Steelers will get to go up against a quarterback that they have had recent success against.

If the Bengals didn't have an overwhelming amount of confidence in Browning, Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin could have attempted to acquire a benched Russell Wilson from the New York Giants after another poor performance from Browning in Week 4, but that wasn't the case. Now, Cincinnati could be leaking some information to Rapoport to keep Browning's confidence up.

The reality is that the Bengals probably aren't a playoff team without Browning anyway, but with the way the team has looked since Burrow went down, it's going to be an uphill climb to even enter the postseason conversation. If Cincinnati is out of the picture to play in January come December, then Burrow will likely be kept out the remainder of the year, even if he is fully healed after getting surgery on that injured toe.

Steelers Had An Absolutely Dominant Performance Against Browning In 2023

Pittsburgh was in the middle of a three-game losing streak in December of 2023 when it hosted the Bengals in the Steel City. In dominating fashion, the final score was 34-11, with Browning having to throw the ball 42 times. He tossed three interceptions and was sacked three times. It's fair to note that Ja'Marr Chase was sidelined, but the Steelers were also able to capture a 16-10 weeks prior with the dynamic receiver active. Overall, Browning has only managed 21 total points against Pittsburgh.

Do you think that the Steelers are happy to see Cincinnati committing to Browning? Let us know in the comments below!

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