Packers could be staring down a hilarious QB revenge game nobody asked for
The Green Bay Packers need a win after a brutal loss followed by a tie, and they enter Week 6 fresh off the bye and heavy favorites against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Joe Burrow won't be leading his team to Lambeau Field on Sunday, and it's unclear if backup Jake Browning, who has started the past three games, will retain his job. He threw six touchdown passes with eight interceptions in an 0-3 run, and Bengals head coach Zac Taylor left the door open for a QB change.
Cincinnati has a few options on the roster should Taylor decide to bench Browning. Believe it or not, one of them is former Packers quarterback Sean Clifford.
Sean Clifford is in the mix to start vs. Packers in a hilarious revenge game
The Packers won't mind facing Browning, who has been a turnover machine for the Bengals. He threw three interceptions against the Detroit Lions last week. But if Browning goes to the bench, Cincinnati will have to start one of Clifford, Brett Rypien, or Mike White.
It opens the door for a hilarious revenge game. Forget Aaron Rodgers versus Green Bay in Week 8. Clifford might get his chance at revenge first.
Clifford, a fifth-round pick by the Packers in 2023, spent his rookie season as Jordan Love's backup. The following summer, he competed with Michael Pratt for the QB2 job, with both losing out to Malik Willis after a last-minute trade.
His demotion continued this past summer, with the Packers moving on entirely and signing Clayton Tune to replace him on the practice squad.
Clifford struggled in consecutive preseasons. In his past six exhibition contests, he completed only 31 of 60 passes for 251 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, for a 61.2 passer rating. And that's in the preseason against (mostly) backups.
In a regular-season game against this Packers defense? Look out.
According to ESPN, the Bengals rank dead last in pass block win rate this season. That's music to the ears of Micah Parsons, Rashan Gary, and Lukas Van Ness. Handing Clifford his first career start in that matchup could be a disastrous decision by the Bengals.
But they may not have much choice.
Browning can't stop turning the ball over. Rypien has four career touchdowns to nine interceptions. In 2023, he started against the Packers while with the Minnesota Vikings, completing only 46.4 percent of his passes for 130 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception, while also fumbling twice. The Packers won 20-3.
White offers the most experience, but he is 2-5 as a starter and has thrown nine touchdowns to 13 interceptions.
In Clifford, the Bengals would have the unknown. A quarterback who, at the very least, would know the defense he's coming up against. Not that it would matter. It's decision time for Zac Taylor and the Bengals. The Packers are heavy favorites, and there's really no excuse for not leaving Lambeau with a 3-1-1 record.
For now, it's unclear who will start at quarterback for the Bengals, but Taylor's hesitant answer about Browning has opened the door for the Clifford revenge game.
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