Who Should I Start? Jake Browning or Michael Penix Jr.

Monday, September 15, 10:51 AM

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning could see an extended run as his team's starting quarterback with the news that Joe Burrow (toe) will require surgery on his injured toe and may miss three months. Browning replaced Burrow in the second quarter of Cincinnati's Week 2 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and finished the game by completing 21 of 32 pass attempts for 241 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also logged a one-yard rushing touchdown. Browning had an extended run as the injury replacement for Burrow in 2023 and performed adequately from a fantasy perspective. In seven starts, Browning completed 70.4% of his 243 pass attempts for 1,936 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also showed a little bit of juice with his legs, rushing for 127 yards and three touchdowns. Browning has an explosive supporting cast of pass-catchers to work with in Cincinnati and could be a startable fantasy quarterback going forward as a streamer or injury replacement, particularly in Superflex formats.

Saturday, September 13, 12:56 AM

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. performed well in Week 1, completing 27 of 42 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown without throwing an interception, while also adding six rushes for 21 yards and a score. In Week 2, he'll have a road matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, who were tough against the run last season, allowing the second-fewest rush yards per game (93.2), and who only allowed 61 rush yards to non-quarterbacks in Week 1. It likely means the Falcons will lean on the pass again in this matchup, and the 25-year-old will have a full complement of receivers as Drake London (shoulder) and Darnell Mooney (shoulder) were both full participants in practice on Friday. The Vikings defense will be without a couple of pieces on Sunday, namely Andrew Van Ginkel (concussion), who nearly led the team in sacks in 2024 with 11.5, so the former first-round draft pick shapes up as a mid-range QB2 this week whose arrow is pointing up.