Brandon Allen Will Start for Bengals Against Giants

The Bengals are reportedly planning to start Brandon Allen and not Ryan Finley at quarterback Sunday against the Giants when the team begins to pick up the pieces following the devastating season-ending knee injury suffered by promising rookie Joe Burrow.

The NFL Network was first with the report of the Bengals' pending decision.

The #Bengals are planning to start QB Brandon Allen on Sunday vs. the #Giants, according to sources. Allen was on the practice squad until the other day when he replaced Joe Burrow on the roster. Ryan Finley, who came in for Burrow against #WashingtonFootball Team, will back up.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 25, 2020

The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Allen was a sixth-round draft pick by the Jaguars in 2016. He played his college ball at Arkansas, where his head coach was current Giants outside linebackers coach Bret Bielema.

Allen was a three-year starter for the Razorbacks, for whom he completed 583 out of 1,016 pass attempts (57.4%) for 7,463 yards, 64 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions (134.8 passer rating).

READ: How Giants are Preparing for First Meaningful Football Since 2016

As a runner, Allen rushed 134 times for 136 yards and four touchdowns. In his final season at Arkansas (2015), he even caught a pass for 11-yards on a gadget play.

In the NFL, Allen has started all three of his NFL games to date, those with the Broncos last season. Compiling a 1-2 record as a starter, Allen has completed 39 of 84 pass attempts (46.4% for 515 yards and three touchdowns to two interceptions.

Allen also has ten career rushing attempts for 39 yards, four first downs. He had been on the Bengals practice squad until Monday, when he was promoted following the Burrow injury.

READ: Giants Head Coach Joe Judge No Longer the "Biggest Unknown"

Allen was with Bengals head coach Zac Taylor when the two were with the Rams in 2017-18, the latter season pairing Taylor as the Rams quarterbacks coach.

Finley was drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. He finished last week's game against Washington after Burrow exited the game in the second half with his knee injury, completing just three of ten pass attempts for 30 yards and an interception.

Finley is 0-3 as a starting NFL quarterback.

Get the latest New York Giants news by joining our community. Click "Follow" at the top right of our SI Giants Country page. Mobile users click the notification bell.