On Sunday afternoon in southern Ohio, the Cincinnati Bengals pulled out an improbable 31-27 win over Jacksonville, grabbing the lead with 18 seconds left on the clock — the only time they had led in the game.

They were 2-0, a first in the Zac Taylor era, but the touchdown in the dying seconds was not from face of the franchise Joe Burrow, but instead from back-up QB Jake Browning, who had led a brilliant 92-yard drive inside the final four minutes. Browning’s involvement in anything but a blowout was also massively overshadowed by the sight of Burrow hobbling off the Paycor turf.

When he entered the blue medical tent midway through the second quarter, there were a few grumbles but, so accustomed are Bengals fans to the sight, most assumed Burrow would emerge, dust himself off and take the game to the Jags. Instead, the diagnosis was a turf toe injury, which will result in the QB’s third surgery in just six seasons.

While the music was belting out in the Bengals locker room, one corner remained especially muted. The front office had been blasted for not fixing ongoing O-line problems either in the draft or in free agency, and the oversight had come home to roost in the worst possible way.

Taylor addressed the media on Monday afternoon and confirmed that Burrow will indeed require surgery, but would not commit to any timescales for his return. Three months is being bounced around as the best case scenario, and the media is already awash with comparisons to the luckless Andrew Luck. This will not be Burrow’s fate. With 15 games to go, he could yet return for the road fixture in Baltimore in mid-December. The question now is whether Browning can keep the Bengals’ ship afloat until then.

Offensive co-ordinator Dan Pitcher, a likely head coach in waiting, will be the one to guide Browning to being a steady stand-in — as he was in 2023 with a 4-3 record in the final weeks of the season — before Burrow re-enters the fray and slays the Ravens.

Until then, the NFL spectacle will be diminished without Burrow’s coolness, aura and flat-out elite ability.