JACKSONVILLE – Correspondent John Shipley examines five key plays from the Jaguars’ 22-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in a 2026 Week 4 game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sunday

1.Strange takes over. Tight end Brenton Strange played a big role for the Jaguars Sunday, particularly early. With the game tied 0-0 in the first quarter, Strange turned third-and-18 from the Jaguars 11 into a key first down with a 23-yard, tackle-breaking catch and run from quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Strange then caught a 14-yard pass on third down, setting up kicker Cam Little's 55-yard field goal that gave the Jaguars a 3-0 lead with 2:18 remaining in the first quarter. "He does a lot for our team," Lawrence said of Strange, who finished Sunday with a season-high seven receptions for a season-high 95 yards. "He can block in the run game and in the pass game, and you see what he can do with the ball in his hands. He's a matchup [issue]. Today was the most he has been involved this season, but that's our offense. It's not everyone's day every Sunday. That's the hard part about there's only one football. The ball finds who's open and that's the good thing about our guys. They're pretty selfless and they know the ball's going to find who's open."

2.Penalties, penalties, penalties. The Jaguars had several key plays impacted by penalties Sunday, particularly in the first half. It started on the game's first play, with an Ameer Abdullah kick return to the Bengals 49 negated by a holding penalty. A roughing-the-passer penalty negated a Travis Hunter interception off Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow that Hunter returned 30 yards to the Bengals 36-yard line. A holding penalty negated running back Bhayshul Tuten's electric 44-yard touchdown run and the Jaguars settled for a 28-yard field goal by Little for a 6-3 lead. The Jaguars were penalized 13 times for 125 yards, including 10 for 100 in the first half. "Gritty not pretty," linebacker Foyesade Oluokun said. "Whatever it looks like, spot the ball and keep playing. Penalties happen in the game. We have to clean that up ourselves. But penalties happen. Nothing to hang our head about, we get another opportunity to go out there and make the right play. Offense did a good job of that, defense did a good job of that."

3.Rush, cover – and a key pressure. The Jaguars on Sunday continued their trend of intercepting a pass in each game this season, and the first was particularly critical. With the Jaguars leading 6-3 late in the second quarter, cornerback Jourdan Lewis intercepted Burrow and returned it 45 yards to the Bengals 18-yard line – with Lawrence's 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. four plays later giving the Jaguars a 13-3 lead with 1:23 remaining in the first half. Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen made a massive impact on the interception by bull-rushing Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. into Burrow's lap to disrupt the pass. "Rush and coverage working together," Hines-Allen called it. "The guys gave me enough time to get back there and I was just in the flow and did what I'm supposed to do. I looked up and saw we were running this way (toward the end zone). I'm excited for Jourdan. I didn't end up with the sack, but we got the win and I think I made some critical plays to help. That's what it's all about."

4.Red-zone takeaways … again. The Jaguars have had a knack for creating takeaways this season, especially in the red zone. The Jaguars had six takeaways in the first three weeks of the season and had at least one takeaway in the red zone in each of the first three games. Oluokun turned in a key play in the red zone in the fourth quarter Sunday, stepping in front of a first-down pass from Burrow at the Jaguars 10 to preserve a 16-10 lead in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. "Catch the ones they throw you," Oluokun said with a smile. "You know the 'beaters.' They know what you're in and you know what they're going to do to attack you. I had my eyes back. I don't think Burrow expected me to be there, obviously. He threw me the ball and I took advantage of it. That's just playing team defense."

5.Closing it out. The Jaguars needed big plays late Sunday, and got them on both sides of the ball. One came on a 25-yard touchdown run by running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. for a 22-10 lead with 6:35 remaining, a run set up by stellar blocks from left tackle Anton Harrison, center Robert Hainsey and rookie left guard Emmanuel Pregnon for the Jaguars' biggest running play of the season. "That was huge," Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen said. "Cincy did a nice job for the most part against our run in a lot of ways. It was kind of grimy. We had to earn a lot of our yards that we did gain. That was a huge one for us to break that thing open a little bit, give us a little breathing room."  Cincinnati scored on the ensuing drive, then drove to the Jaguars 21 with a chance to win. The Jaguars forced three incomplete passes, with Burrow throwing short to running back Chase Brown on fourth-and-10. Backup safety Rayuan Lane tackled Brown for a 9-yard gain to secure the Jaguars' victory. "That's us playing off each other and understanding what's on the line," Oluokun said. "They trusted their guys to make a play and our guys made a play instead. No panic, just go out and execute all through the game."