Browning Survives Cramping Thumb to Win Second NFL Start
It was the cramp felt all around the NFL on Sunday. Luckily for Jake Browning, his right thumb, shown locking up in an awkward position in TV replays, returned to normal.
This enabled the former University of Washington quarterback to finish off a second consecutive dazzling performance for the Cincinnati Bengals, leading them to a 34-14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at home.
In the process, Browning outdueled ex-Washington State QB Gardner Minshew, now with the Colts, in a rematch of their 2018 Apple Cup game.
Yet his sterling outing was momentarily interrupted with 14:24 left in the game when Browning scrambled out of bounds untouched, holding the football with his right hand, and had his thumb lock up on him. In looking at the replays, the broadcasters wrongly presumed he had dislocated the appendage on an earlier play.
The fifth-year pro next ran to the locker room for treatment and was able to get rid of the discomfort and return to action.
After leading the Bengals to a 34-31 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football, Browning was rock steady in his second NFL start.
He completed 18 of 24 passes for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns, and ran for another as he brought Cincinnati out of a 14-14 halftime tie and led the Bengals to their seventh win in 13 outings and kept them in playoff contention.
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