- Bengals to start Brandon Allen over backup QB Ryan Finley on Sunday vs. Giants
- Jaguars will start Mike Glennon over the struggling Jake Luton
- Bengals’ Burrow out for season, while Jaguars’ Minshew continues to rehab thumb injury
The Cincinnati Bengals were dealt a massive blow last week when rookie quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a knee injury. Burrow reportedly suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, which means he will be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
The show must go on for the Bengals, however, who will be back in action this Sunday against the New York Giants. Rather than starting backup Ryan Finley, however, the Bengals have reportedly decided to give Brandon Allen an opportunity.
Allen, who has spent the entirety of the season on the Bengals’ practice squad, will take over as Cincy’s full-time starter moving forward. Sunday’s game will be Allen’s fourth career NFL start after starting three games a season ago as a member of the Denver Broncos.
Allen’s Opportunity
Allen was originally a sixth-round pick in the 2016 draft. He was signed to the Bengals’ practice squad during training camp, and he was one of the team’s final preseason cuts. Allen got the promotion to the active roster thanks to his familiarity with the Bengals’ offense.
“Whether he’s on the active roster or the practice squad doesn’t really matter. He’s still in the room doing that kind of stuff.”
Allen and Taylor are familiar with one another after having spent time together with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 and 2018. Taylor was an assistant coach on Sean McVay’s staff, while Taylor was one of the Rams’ backup QBs.
Allen gets the call over Finley, who came on in relief of Burrow following his injury on Sunday against Washington. Finley started three games for the Bengals last season after an injury to then-starter Andy Dalton. He went 3-for-10 with 30 yards against Washington on Sunday in the team’s 20-9 defeat. Finley was originally a fourth-round pick by the Bengals in last year’s draft.
Taylor added,
“He’s in a tough spot there in the second half, but that’s life as a backup quarterback. You’ve got to get yourself ready to go. There’s things that I wish I could put him in a better position to get a better opportunity, but the bottom line is we didn’t get it done and weren’t able to get any points there in the second half to help us win.”
Allen and the Bengals will head into Sunday’s game against the Giants as six-point underdogs.
Jaguars to Start Glennon vs. Browns
The Bengals won’t be the only team making a quarterback change this week. The Jacksonville Jaguars have reportedly decided to give backup Mike Glennon a start this week when the team takes on the Cleveland Browns.
Glennon gets the nod over Jake Luton, who was quite ineffective in relief of Gardner Minshew. Luton threw four interceptions in a disastrous showing on Sunday in the loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, so the Jaguars decided to go in another direction with Minshew still recovering from an injury.
This will be Glennon’s first NFL start since September of 2017 when he was a member of the Chicago Bears. Glennon started the first four games that season for Chicago before being benched for rookie Mitch Trubisky. Glennon has thrown 31 NFL passes since then over the past two seasons with the Cardinals and Raiders.
Head coach Doug Marrone said,
“I think [Glennon] gives us the best chance to win,. Like I said before, Jake’s going to take a step back, Gardner’s still limited without a full-week workload on. I don’t want to put anyone out there that I haven’t seen do a full workweek. Mike’s experienced, and that’s why we brought him in here, to be able to fill in whenever we need him. So he’ll get his opportunity.”
Minshew has missed each of the last three games with a thumb injury after starting each of the Jags’ first seven games of the year. Luton fared well a couple of weeks ago in the loss to the Texans before struggling against Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Minshew began throwing in practice last week, but he is still not ready to return to action.
Marrone also announced that he plans to run the team’s defensive play-calling during practice this week, while secondary coach Joe Danna will call the defense during the game against the Browns. Cleveland is listed as a 6.5-point favorite on the road in Jacksonville on Sunday.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …
