What three highlight plays showed about Bengals quarterback Jake Browning

Last Tuesday morning, when Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning reported to the team facility to start preparing to face the Minnesota Vikings, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan told him, “I think you’re going to throw for 500 yards.”

The Vikings run a uniquely aggressive defense that disguises its coverage on every snap and blitzes more than any team in the NFL. Quarterbacks beat that style of defense by pushing the ball down the field. Browning had been having success with screens and safer play action throws, so Callahan told him Browning he'd need to play a different style of game.

The Bengals’ game plan depended on Browning doing his best Joe Burrow impression. The Bengals needed Browning to pick apart zone coverages with tough throws deep down the field. Then in the fourth quarter and overtime, as Browning led the Bengals to a comeback 27-24 win over the Vikings, that’s exactly what Browning did.

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Back in Week 14, when the Bengals beat the Indianapolis Colts, Browning’s average depth of target on passing attempts was 4.9 yards per attempt, which ranked second-to-last in the NFL that week. Against the Vikings, Browning’s average depth of target doubled to 8.3 yards per attempt.

Browning was at his most aggressive as he led the comeback. Three throws show what he brings to the table for the Bengals down the stretch

Jake Browning completes a 13-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins on the first play of the fourth quarter

When Browning dropped back in the pocket, he had three open receivers right away on 1st and 10 from the Vikings’ 13-yard line. The only receiver who wasn’t open was Higgins, but Browning held onto the ball as the Vikings’ six-man blitz started to heat up.

“That's not really where we thought the ball would end up going on that play,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said.

Browning could have checked the ball down to Tanner Hudson, Ja’Marr Chase or Drew Sample for a few yards. But Browning made it clear against the Vikings he’d never turn down a chance to find Higgins in a one-on-one matchup.

Higgins ran a beautiful route out of the slot. He started out running straight, and Vikings safety Camryn Bynum jammed him at the goal line. Higgins’ didn’t have any leverage on the route, but he kept pushing up the field.

Higgins powered through that contact, broke free of Bynum and looped toward the back corner of the end zone. As soon as Higgins got Bynum to turn his hips around, it was game over on the play.

“We knew we’d get that coverage,” Higgins said.

This corner post at the goal line is one of Burrow’s favorite throws, but it’s also very difficult to hit a receiver in stride in such a narrow window of the field. The Bengals ran this same play for a touchdown in Week 2 against the Baltimore Ravens, and Higgins leapt for a contested catch on that one. This time, the throw and the route were so pretty that Higgins caught the pass in stride.

“Tee is such an enormous person,” Taylor said. “For Jake to feel that (blitz) and throw it back there and trust Tee… Tee has made a lot of those plays in the corner of the end zone, so you're not really wrong ever. Our quarterbacks have just learned if he gets a match up like that, you just put it up and it'll work out in our favor.”

Jake Browning finds Ja’Marr Chase on 3rd and 21 to set up a game-tying touchdown with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter

The Bengals ran this play – an in-breaking deep dagger over the middle against zone defense – once in practice last week. Browning threw a pick. Despite that, with the Bengals looking to complete their comeback, quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher recommended that play call when the Bengals desperately needed a first down.

Every week, the Bengals’ coaching staff comes up with a set of plays that they like for 3rd and 11-plus. Usually in those situations, the Bengals run screens and draws to improve their field position or just throw a true deep ball and hope a receiver makes a contested catch.

Pitcher was confident that this play would give Chase the ability to make a catch in space and pick up yards after the catch. Chase ran such a nice route that he didn’t even have to break a tackle to get past the first down line.

“That play was just two guys being on the same page,” Bengals tight end Drew Sample said.

Before the snap, the Vikings bluffed a seven-man blitz. After the snap, they rotated into a deep Cover-2 zone. The drawback of disguising coverages before the snap is that defensive backs don’t settle into their zones as quickly, and Chase found open space before the Vikings could identify him.

“They're forcing you to (throw into) tight windows down the field,” Taylor said. “They can play with vision on the quarterback. Their guys are teeing off, not worried about the run. And so you're usually in a disadvantaged situation. That was a moment we needed to be aggressive, so we called a dagger route. Jake did a great job with the location of the throw and the timing of the throw, and the protection was really good. Ja’Marr ran through there and made a big play.”

Browning said that this throw only worked because of a mistake that he made earlier in the game. The Bengals ran almost the exact same play earlier in the game. In the second quarter, the Vikings covered the dagger route and left wide receiver Charlie Jones wide open on a vertical route down the field.

Browning overthrew Jones on that drive-killing incompletion, but the Vikings’ defense made a mental note that came back up later.

On Chase’s catch in the fourth quarter, Higgins ran the same route Jones had run earlier in the game. Browning stared down Higgins, and the Vikings locked down on him. The set up gave Chase a chance to get himself open.

“Our guys hung in there on that one, stuck with the play and hit a big one,” Taylor said.

Browning handled 3rd and 21 like it was 3rd and 8. He recognized the disguised coverage, used his eyes to help Chase get open and made a routine-looking throw that hit Chase in stride. Browning’s processing, anticipation and poise were all on display.

The Bengals made one of their most improbable conversions of the year, and Browning made it look routine.

“His confidence is through the roof,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said. “He’s just a gamer once he gets on the field, so shout out to him.”

Jake Browning makes a 44-yard throw to Tyler Boyd in overtime to set up the walk-off field goal

On 3rd and 9 in overtime, Browning was supposed to hit Boyd in stride on a crossing route over the middle. Boyd was open for a 15-yard gain, but the play wasn’t going according to plan.

“Initially, I was the throw anyway,” Boyd said. “I was open if you go back and watch the play. But Jake had pressure and I just tried to stay with him.”

This time, the Vikings beat the Bengals with a blitz look. They had eight potential blitzers at the line of scrimmage. The Vikings only rushed four, but they weren’t the four that the Bengals were expecting. Two offensive linemen didn’t have anyone to block, and running back Trayveon Williams had to finish a one-on-one block against star Vikings safety Harrison Smith.

The Vikings created pressure up the middle, so Browning didn’t have a lane to find Boyd. Browning’s only option was to start running and set up a scramble drill. If there’s one thing that the Bengals know about Browning, it’s that throwing on the run is one of his biggest strengths.

“Every time he scrambles, you have an opportunity to get the ball,” Boyd said. “You have to get open and get yourself available.”

Boyd kept running horizontally around the Vikings’ 40-yard line, and he made a key decision to veer his route in Browning’s direction. Browning called Boyd’s adjustment a quarterback-friendly angle, and Boyd caught Browning’s attention with the way he cut across the field.

When Browning was an NFL Draft prospect, he was knocked for his arm strength. Over the last five years, he invested in private quarterbacks coaches and strength programs to improve. He trained at 3DQB and took an analytical approach toward becoming a better passer.

All of that work paid off with this throw to Boyd. Browning made a leaping throw across his body that hit Boyd in stride, and then Boyd broke a tackle to pick up 24 more yards after the catch.

“Jake just did a good job of putting the ball right in front of him and we needed that play at that moment,” Taylor said. “That was a big, big play for us. They found a way to get it done.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jake Browning's performance vs. Vikings: Breaking down his highlights