Jake Browning is still around, which is good news considering what happened to him on Friday night. He was dropping back to pass, as a quarterback is apt to do several times in a game when out of nowhere, he was crushed. Like, really crushed. It was the kind of hit that straddles the line between an exciting football game and a play the sport is trying to legislate out of the game. Needless to say, the washington Huskies quarterback is going to be feeling that one in the morning.
Browning hits the turf
It was 3rd-and-6 for Washington, a passing down as the team was staring at their own 40-yard line.
As Browning dropped back, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights showed blitz, with the Huskies' right tackle forced to try and block two defenders. That let Darnell Davis spring free, and spring free he did, heading right towards Browning with the quarterback unaware of the hit he was about to absorb.
Oh. My. Gosh. Darnell Davis just murdered Jake Browning in broad daylight pic.twitter.com/iqiZAfAJkZ
— Jack McGuire (@JackMacCFB) September 2, 2017
The hit was so hard and so unexpected that the ball dislodged and hit the ground, a rarity for a quarterback known for his ball control. Luckily for his team, Washington recovered the football, preventing the Scarlet Knights from starting deep in opposing territory on their next drive.
Maybe Browning was slightly shaken up if his first half stats were any indication: just 5-of-11. Not the kind of performance befitting a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Washington turns it around
At the end of the first quarter, Washington trailed 7-3, a minor upset considering just how good the Huskies were last season - and just how bad the Scarlet Knights were.
The team's only touchdown in the first half came courtesy a 61-yard punt return from Dante Pettis, which gave the Huskies a 10-7 lead just prior to the halftime break. Browning must've had a good talk during the intermission, however, because he looked more like himself in the second half.
In the third quarter, Browning tossed his first touchdown pass of the season.
After a timeout and two stops by Rutgers, Washington faced a 3rd-and-7 in the red zone. As he dropped back for the pass, he patiently waited for Lavon Coleman to spring open near the right end zone. Without a defender in sight, Browning completed an easy touchdown to put his team up 17-7.
Browning underwent shoulder surgery shortly after the College Football Playoff, but the injury wasn't believed to be a concern for this season. If Washington wants to make it back to the CFP, they better hope that's the case.
