Jon Bunch compares Jake Browning’s “vengeance game” to a 1988 classic
Four weeks ago, it seemed like the Bengals’ chances at the postseason were essentially dead. Quarterback Joe Burrow had suffered a season-ending injury against Baltimore. The Bengals had dropped 3 consecutive games to fall to 5-6 on the season and 0-4 in the AFC North. Ahead of the Bengals was a brutal schedule to conclude the season against winning teams that were all in playoff contention. Bengals fans were starting to already look ahead to the offseason and researching NFL draft prospects.
But both quarterback Jake Browning and the 2023 Cincinnati Bengals refused to die. Like John McClane trapped in Nakatomi Tower with a gang of terrorists on Christmas Eve, these Bengals “Die Hard.” In the lead-up to the film’s 1988 premiere, many people weren’t certain that Bruce Willis could carry an action movie, but Willis’ relatable everyman and sense of humor separated his character from the seemingly invincible action stars at the time. Thirty-five years later, “Die Hard” is considered an all-time classic film and a gold standard in action-adventure cinema against which other films of the genre are routinely measured.
Best Performance: Jake Browning. How can you not love this guy’s story? It took Browning five years of failure, disappointment, perseverance and hard work to get to this moment.
Undrafted in 2019 despite being a 4-year starter and PAC-12 Player of the Year at the University of Washington, Browning was waived for three consecutive years by the Minnesota Vikings after the preseason. After two years on the Bengals’ practice squad, Browning finally won a spot on the Bengals active roster this September as Joe Burrow’s backup quarterback.
When given his opportunity, Browning has absolutely crushed it. He made NFL history by becoming the only quarterback ever to throw for over 1,000 yards and complete 75% of his passes since they started tracking statistics in 1950. Browning’s incredible performance has defied expectations, not only salvaging the Bengals’ season but also placing them right in the thick of the playoff hunt.
On Saturday against the Vikings, the Bengals trailed 17-3 entering the fourth quarter. Browning led the Bengals to three touchdowns in the final quarter and the game winning drive in overtime to engineer a 27-24 heart-stopping victory. Browning was clutch down the stretch, throwing for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Bengals won their third straight game with Browning at the helm, with each win coming over teams currently in playoff contention. The Vikings win improves the Bengals record to 8-6 on the season and they are currently seeded in 6th position in the AFC playoff standings.
Bruce Willis in Die Hard. Who else? Willis’s performance of John McClane is iconic because it’s human. Willis wanted to play a character “who was afraid to die”—so he imbues McClane with a certain level of anxiety and nervousness that makes him relatable. Willis’ New Jersey upbringing and comedic background made the character authentic, grounding the story in reality. The performance catapulted Willis from relative unknown to superstardom—and all these years later, it’s still easy to see why.
Runner-Up: Bengals: How about some props to another underdog story on this team? Tanner Hudson is another undrafted practice squad player that has made the most of his opportunity on the active roster. According to Pro Football Focus, Hudson has registered the best grade amongst all tight ends since Week 13 (88.6). Die Hard: Alan Rickman’s villainous turn as Han Gruber is almost as iconic as Willis’ performance. Often imitated, Rickman’s performance became the gold standard for bad guys.
Best Scene: Tee Higgins with a catch for the ages. It’s been a difficult year for Higgins, but he made a play late in the game against the Vikings that might be the defining play of his career in stripes. Trailing 24-17 with 48 seconds to play in regulation, Browning was forced to backpedal out of the pocket to evade pressure and keep the play alive. With a hand in his face, Browning heaved what looked like a prayer deep down the right sideline. Higgins comes back to the ball from out of the endzone and leaps to make the catch in front of a Vikings defender a few yards shy of the endzone. As he lands with both feet in bounds, Higgins contorts his body and reaches the ball backwards over the goal line to break the plane and score the game-tying touchdown. It was a jaw dropping play that epitomized the Bengals’ “never-say-die” spirit of recent weeks.
In a similar vein, John McClane finds himself at the razor’s edge with time running out in Die Hard’s best scene. Trapped on the skyscraper’s rooftop, forty stories high, McClane knows the roof is rigged with explosives and set to momentarily explode. Unable to make his escape via traditional means, McClane innovates, tying a firehose around his waist and jumping from the rooftop mere seconds before the rooftop explodes in a fireball behind him. The scene is a masterpiece of energy, expert pacing and editing, and the iconic slow-motion image of Willis leaping with both arms fully extended, illuminated by the explosion behind him remains seared in movie history.
Runner-Up: Tyler Boyd’s 44-yard catch and run on a third down in overtime that set up the Bengals game-winning field goal (Bengals). “Now I have a machine gun. Ho-Ho-Ho.” (Die Hard)
Best Quote: “Yippee-ki-yay” is undoubtedly the most famous and most quoted line from the film. But when I think about a quote from the film that personifies these Bengals at this point of the season, I think about McClane’s response to Hans Gruber when he asks who is talking to on the radio: “Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the *ss.” When the Bengals lost Burrow for the season, many thought that was the end. Yet here they are, messing up that storyline—led by an underdog quarterback that never gave up.
The Minnesota win was so sweet for Browning because of the three separate times he was released by the Vikings. After the third time, he was told by the Vikings to wait at the team hotel to see if he would make the practice squad. He never heard from them. So when Evan McPherson booted the game-winning field goal through the uprights in overtime, Browning turned to the Bengals video crew and said to the camera, “Shoulda never ****** cut me!”
Jon Bunch is an avid life-long Bengals fanatic. Raised in the 740. West Pointer, Army and Iraq War veteran. Passionate evangelist of the Who-Dey spirit. @WhoDeyBunch
