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After watching Jake Browning throw three interceptions against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, it appears that Bengals coach Zac Taylor might be ready to at least consider the idea of making a quarterback change. 

Following the Lions' 37-24 win over the Bengals on Sunday, Taylor was asked if the team would be moving forward with Browning as the starting quarterback and the Bengals coach didn't exactly give his QB a vote of confidence. 

"After a game like that we're going to look at all personnel to make sure we're doing the right thing," Taylor said. "I won't shy away from that because it's a very fair question after the amount of turnovers we had. To say Jake can't win games for us, I believe Jake can win games for us. I do. We'll just continue to look at everything we can personnel-wise."

Browning won games for the Bengals two years ago, but this year, he's gone 0-3 as the starter, and it's been an ugly 0-3. As a matter of fact, over the past three weeks, you could make the argument that the Bengals have been worst team in the NFL. Yes, the 0-5 Jets exist, but even the Jets haven't been as bad as the Bengals. Since Browning took over as the starting quarterback in Week 3, the Bengals have been outscored 113-37. 

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Taylor got asked again on Monday if Browning would be the starting QB going forward, and once again, he wouldn't commit to anything. 

"We'll see where it goes," Taylor said. "Like all personnel decisions, we got to evaluate it."

The Bengals are heading on the road in Week 6 for a game in Green Bay. 

If the Bengals want to have any chance to save their season, now seems like the time to make a move at QB and let's talk about why. 

They are somehow very much still alive in the AFC North

Yes, the Bengals are in the midst of one of the ugliest three-game stretches in franchise history, but despite that, they're still very much alive in the AFC North. The Ravens somehow have more problems than the Bengals, the Browns are the Browns and the Steelers haven't been exactly overpowering their opponents during their 3-1 start. 

Here's a look at the current AFC North standings: 
1. Steelers (3-1)
2. Bengals (2-3)
3. Ravens (1-4)
4. Browns (1-4)

The Bengals actually play the Steelers in Week 7 and if they were to win that game, that would put them right back in the thick of the AFC North race. Taylor is very well aware of the state of the AFC North, and we know that, because he brought it up unprompted following the Lions' game. 

"I'm not oblivious to what goes on in the AFC and our division," Taylor said. "There's going to be plenty of opportunity there if we can stick through this storm and stick together and find a way to put us in some better positions on offense together and score some points."

If Taylor wants to see his team score some points, Browning probably isn't the guy to do it. 

During their current three-game losing streak, the Bengals have been outscored 69-9 in the first half of those games, which means the games have been over before most fans at the stadium have finished their first hot dog. 

If Taylor sends Browning to the bench now, it sends a message to fans that he's doing everything he can to win games. The front office could also send a message by making a trade. So if Browning gets benched, who would take his place? 

The QB options

The Bengals have only made two midseason trades over the past 52 years that involved them acquiring a player, so they'd have to be desperate, which is exactly where they should be after Sunday's loss. There are several possible trade targets out there and I covered a few of them last week (You can check out the story here), but here's the short list: 

There's a reason that all five of these guys are backup quarterbacks right now, so they'd all come with their flaws, but each of them would certainly be an upgrade over Browning. Derek Carr is also out there, but he's dealing with a shoulder injury and it's unclear if he's healthy enough to play at this point. Ryan Tannehill could also be an option. The former first-round pick briefly talked with the Vikings this offseason about possibly signing with Minnesota, but he didn't sign. The only real advantage with Tannehill is that he's a free agent, so the Bengals wouldn't have to make a trade. 

The Bengals play at Green Bay in Week 6 and it's unlikely a new QB could come in and be ready for that game, so a new QB would have to target Cincinnati's Week 7 game against the Steelers. And once again, a win there would put the Bengals right back in the thick of the AFC North race. 

Quarterbacks on the roster

One reason Taylor has likely has been hesitant to bench Browning is because the Bengals don't have a lot of great options on the roster. The backup QB on Sunday was Brett Rypien, who hasn't thrown a regular-season pass since the 2023 season. The Bengals also have Sean Clifford, who has thrown exactly one pass in his NFL career since being drafted by the Packers in 2023. And then there's Mike White, who once threw for 405 yards in a game AGAINST the Bengals, but that came back in 2021. White has only thrown 17 total passes with zero starts over the past two years. 

So there you have it, the Bengals have three backup quarterbacks on their roster who have combined to throw just 11 passes since the start of the 2024 season and those were all thrown by White. 

The other problem here is that none of these three guys have had any time to learn Zac Taylor's offense. Rypien didn't sign with the team until late August while the other two weren't added until after Joe Burrow was injured in mid-September. If the Bengals do make a quarterback change heading into this week's game against Green Bay, the job would almost certainly be going to one of these three guys since it would be pretty much impossible to get a new guy in and up to speed before Sunday's kickoff. 

As for Browning, he went 4-3 as a starter after Burrow went down with an injury in 2023, so the Bengals were understandably comfortable with him as the backup this year, but now, it's time to make a move. 

The Bengals spent big money to keep their roster together this season with new contracts for Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and if they don't do something now, that money is going to go down the drain. No front office hates to see money go down the drain more than the Bengals, so maybe that will convince them to make a move. 

If they can find a QB to keep them in the playoff race, the light at the end of the tunnel would be the possible return of Burrow in late December, but it's a light that's going to extinguish soon if the Bengals keep losing, because Burrow likely won't play another down this season if this team isn't in playoff contention at the end of the year.