Jacksonville has spent the first half of this one surviving the flags and cashing in when it mattered most.
At the break, the Jaguars were in front of the Bengals 13-3, with Trevor Lawrence doing enough against a stingy Cincinnati defense and Cam Little supplying the early points with field goals from 55 and 28 yards. Then, right before halftime, Jourdan Lewis jumped Joe Burrow for a pick that flipped the field and gave Jacksonville a short field to work with. Lawrence finished the sequence with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Brian Thomas Jr. for the 10-point cushion.
Burrow had Cincinnati moving for at least a field goal chance when the rush forced him into a throw toward the middle of the Jaguars’ secondary. Lewis was in position, snagged his second interception of the season, and returned it to the Cincinnati 18.
The bigger storyline, though, has been the laundry on the field.
Jacksonville came into the game with only 15 enforced penalties over the first three weeks. In one half, the Jaguars were flagged 10 times.
The calls have been costly, too. A roughing penalty wiped out a Travis Hunter interception.
A facemask on Jarrian Jones helped set up an injury to Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Chase was hit by linebacker Ventrell Miller after the Jones facemask and has not returned.
The two teams have combined for 16 penalties and 149 yards in a first half that has been repeatedly interrupted.
Jacksonville also had multiple touchdowns erased by flags. Bhayshul Tuten broke loose for a 44-yard score that disappeared because of a holding call on Ezra Cleveland, and another 3-yard touchdown came off the board after an Anton Harrison hold.
The Jaguars are also shorthanded in the secondary, with cornerbacks Buster Brown and Christian Braswell unavailable against Burrow and Chase. Safety Caleb Ransaw left with a knee injury.
In Other News...
Ja'Marr Chase Update Carries Big Consequences After Jaguars Hit
The Jaguars left Cincinnati with a game that carried more than one ripple effect, and JaMarr Chase became one of the biggest after taking a concussion in the first half of Sundays meeting. Chase was ruled out for the rest of the game after catching three passes for 27 yards, a reminder of how quickly a matchup can turn when one of the leagues most dangerous receivers is forced to the sideline.
For Jacksonville, the immediate focus is on what comes next for the Bengals offense and whether Chase can get through concussion protocol in time for Week 5 against Miami. His availability matters not just because of his production, but because of how much the Bengals lean on him when the games start to tighten up. The next few days will determine whether that injury stays a one-game interruption or lingers into another important AFC matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Lawrence Faces An Early AFC Test Jaguars Fans Will Feel
The Jaguars head into Week 4 with a good early read on where they stand, and Sundays trip to Cincinnati figures to say plenty more. Jacksonville and the Bengals both sit at 2-1, which gives this matchup a little more weight than your usual September road game, especially with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET at Paycor Stadium and a national CBS audience watching Trevor Lawrence get another AFC measuring stick.
Lawrence has been steady enough to keep Jacksonville in the mix, but Joe Burrow and the Bengals bring the kind of quarterback test that can expose what still needs cleaning up on both sides of the ball. The numbers around each offense and defense point to two teams trying to separate from the pack, and for the Jaguars, this is the sort of early conference game that can shape how seriously the rest of the league takes them. [Read more 🡒]
Tee Higgins Injury Leaves Bengals Facing One Big Offensive Concern
Tee Higgins night ended early against the Jaguars after the Cincinnati wide receiver suffered an adductor injury late in the game and tried, unsuccessfully, to return. For a Bengals offense that leans heavily on its top pass catchers, any issue with Higgins is worth watching closely, especially when it comes on the heels of a physical matchup and leaves another layer of uncertainty in the passing game.
Cincinnati has not offered a recovery timeline, and the next step is further evaluation to determine just how long Higgins might be sidelined. For Jacksonville, the injury was one of the more notable late-game developments from a contest that already carried its share of contact and consequences, and it now puts the Bengals in wait-and-see mode with a key receiver whose availability can shape how that offense looks in the coming weeks. [Read more 🡒]