CINCINNATI (AP) — For the second time in three seasons, Jake Browning has stepped in for an injured Joe Burrow. But unlike in 2023, things aren't going well.
In Sunday's 37-24 loss to the Detroit Lions, the Bengals' third-year quarterback threw three more interceptions, giving him eight in four games. Browning, who also tossed three second-half touchdown passes, took responsibility for the loss.
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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) runs the ball against the Detroit Lions during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) is brought down by Cincinnati Bengals defenders during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning talks with the media after an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) sacks Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) for a safety during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
“A lot of people in that locker room played winning football today,” Browning said. “I did not. You throw three picks in the NFL, you’re going to lose.”
Burrow had surgery on his injured left toe and is out indefinitely. The Bengals stuck with the backups on their roster instead of trying to acquire a veteran QB.
Browning's backup, Brett Rypien, has 11 career appearances and four starts, three for the Broncos and one for the Rams. For now, the Bengals are sticking with Browning.
At halftime on Sunday, Browning was 14 of 23 for 86 yards and two interceptions, and Bengals coach Zac Taylor heard the boos every time Browning jogged back out with the offense.
“I’m sure a lot of people wanted him on the bench at that point,” Taylor said. “I could hear it. There are some plays he’s going to want to have back. I’m glad he hung in there. I believe he gives us our best chance to win.”
In 2023, Browning took over after Burrow's season-ending wrist injury and completed 70.4% of his passes, going 4-3 as the starter. He threw 12 touchdown passes and seven interceptions.
His eight interceptions this season are the second most in the league, behind Las Vegas' Geno Smith.
“Jake’s taken a lot of adversity for himself and for the team, period,” receiver Ja'Marr Chase said. “I tell him to stay in it, keep his head up. At the end of the day we all have his back and we all need him to be our quarterback. The way he stayed in the game and kept fighting, that’s what we need.”
Browning finished 26 of 40 for 251 yards on Sunday. But two of his three picks came during another dismal first half for the Bengals, who have been outscored 69-9 before halftime in their last three games.
“I put that on myself,” Taylor said. “I call the plays. I've got to keep us out of danger. We’ve scored three points three weeks in a row in the first half. That’s my responsibility to score more points.”
Browning said it comes down to him making better decisions with the ball and not trying to force throws.
“Everybody’s been very supportive, but at the end of the day this is a results business and I need to play better,” Browning said. “I threw three picks that were bad. There’s no hiding from that. Bad decisions. Bad ball placement. That’s on me.”
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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) runs the ball against the Detroit Lions during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) is brought down by Cincinnati Bengals defenders during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning talks with the media after an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) sacks Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) for a safety during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.
The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.
But in its 2-1 decision, the panel ruled a federal judge in New Jersey didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter at this time. Federal law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts first, before Khalil can challenge the decision, they wrote.
“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”
The law bars Khalil “from attacking his detention and removal in a habeas petition,” the panel added.
It was not clear whether the government would seek to detain Khalil, a legal permanent resident, again while his legal challenges continue.
Thursday’s decision marked a major win for the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to detain and deport noncitizens who joined protests against Israel.
In a statement distributed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Khalil said the appeals ruling was “deeply disappointing, but it does not break our resolve.”
He added: “The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability. I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”
Baher Azmy, one of Khalil's lawyers, said the ruling was “contrary to rulings of other federal courts.” He noted the panel’s finding concerned a “hypertechnical jurisdictional matter,” rather than the legality of the Trump administration’s policy.
“Our legal options are by no means concluded, and we will fight with every available avenue,” he added, saying Khalil would remain free pending the full resolution of all appeals, which could take months or longer.
The ACLU said the Trump administration cannot lawfully re-detain Khalil until the order takes formal effect, which won't happen while he can still immediately appeal.
Khalil's lawyers can request the active judges on the 3rd Circuit hear an appeal, or they can go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested on March 8, 2025. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his firstborn.
Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They have also accused Khalil, 30, of failing to disclose information on his green card application.
The government has justified the arrest under a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.
In June, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that justification would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released.
President Donald Trump's administration appealed that ruling, arguing the deportation decision should fall to an immigration judge, rather than a federal court.
Khalil has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous,” framing his arrest and detention as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”
Judge Arianna Freeman dissented Thursday, writing that her colleagues were holding Khalil to the wrong legal standard. Khalil, she wrote, is raising “now-or-never claims” that can be handled at the district court level. He does not have a final order of removal, which would permit a challenge in an appellate court, she wrote.
Both judges who ruled against Khalil, Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas, were Republican appointees. President George W. Bush appointed Hardiman to the 3rd Circuit, while Trump appointed Bibas. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, appointed Freeman.
The majority opinion noted Freeman worried the ruling would leave Khalil with no remedy for unconstitutional immigration detention, even if he later can appeal.
“But our legal system routinely forces petitioners — even those with meritorious claims — to wait to raise their arguments, the judges wrote. “To be sure, the immigration judge’s order of removal is not yet final; the Board has not affirmed her ruling and has held the parties’ briefing deadlines in abeyance pending this opinion. But if the Board ultimately affirms, Khalil can get meaningful review.”
The decision comes as an appeals board in the immigration court system weighs a previous order that found Khalil could be deported. His attorneys have argued that the federal order should take precedence.
That judge has suggested Khalil could be deported to Algeria, where he maintains citizenship through a distant relative, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family.
His attorneys have said he faces mortal danger if forced to return to either country.
Associated Press Writer Larry Neumeister contributed to this story.
FILE - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil holds a news conference outside Federal Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
