JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Jamesy from Jacksonville
In my opinion, this was the most impressive win of the Jaguars' season thus far. The ability to win gritty, ugly games like this one is what separates playoff teams from Super Bowl contenders.
The Jaguars beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 22-17, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sunday – and if it wasn't their most impressive victory of the season to date, it was perhaps the most important. And it sure showed a lot about this team. While the Jaguars needed a late red-zone stand to clinch the victory, remember: In these "late-score" games, you want to create as many difficult scenarios for the opponent as possible. The Jaguars created a difficult situation for the Bengals by taking a 12-point fourth-quarter lead – a significant advantage that ensured the Bengals were going to do a lot of difficult things right to win. The Jaguars nearly clinched victory with a pass from quarterback Trevor Lawrence to wide receiver Parker Washington, but Washington stepped out of bounds and the Jaguars punted. The Bengals then had to score a touchdown rather than a field goal to win on their late drive, again adding strain on their chances. The Bengals eventually faced fourth-and-10 at the Jaguars 21 – another difficult situation – and fell a yard short. Making teams really work to beat you is what sound teams do because most teams usually can't do enough good things constantly enough to beat a sound team. That, from this view, is part of what made Sunday important for this team.
Oscar from Palm Coast, FL
John, can you help me understand Head Coach Liam Coen's decision after Cincinnati was called for too many men on the field? We were apparently willing to let kicker Cam Little try from around 64 yards, then the penalty moved us five yards closer and suddenly we punted. Considering Little had already drilled kicks from 54 and 55 with plenty of leg, why wouldn't the penalty make us MORE likely to attempt the field goal instead of less?
The Jaguars were never going to try the 64-yard attempt late un Sunday's fourth quarter. They discussed the 59-yard attempt, a discussion Coen said included Little. It was collectively decided that a 59-yarder toward that end of the stadium – traditionally the more difficult end in which to kick – was a low-percentage play. The decision was then made to punt and try to pin the Bengals deep in their territory.
Vance from Hilo, HA
Aloha. Longtime fan, first-time caller. When are the penalties going to stop? Taunting has to stop. False starts have to stop. Perhaps more discipline from head coaches. I know those penalties won't do any good when it comes playoff time: 13 for 125 is bad.
The Jaguars entered Sunday as the NFL's least-penalized team. They were penalized 13 times for 125 yards on a day when their opponent was penalized 11 times for 108 yards. This feels more like a "something else" issue than a "Jaguars-aren't-disciplined issue."
Mike from Ponte Vedra, FL
They need to get wide receiver Parker Washington paid, because it looked like his contract might have been on his mind yesterday. With the one reception he got, he tried so hard to prove his worth that he made a huge mistake that put the Bengals in a much better situation for their final drive. He gave the Bengals 40 seconds by going out of bounds; he simply can't go near the sideline on that play. Then after he had gone past the first-down marker (not knowing he had stepped out), why didn't he get down to end the game? Was he trying to pad stats?
Me thinks we might be reading a lot into a little.
Jordan from Mandarin
That's the type of win I wanted to see from this team. I know they can blow teams out, but in the playoffs they will be in tight games that require real toughness. Things constantly went wrong Sunday, but they found a way to win.
You always prefer blowout victories because blowouts leave nothing to chance. But was it a good sign for the Jaguars to win a tough game against a tough team in a tough venue by making a big stop at the end? No doubt.
Jeremy from Gilbert, AZ
Jags leadership claims they will be bold when the opportunity is there. Liam Coen and Lawrence continue to show that when it is crunch time they get conservative and skittish. The last three or four drives were runs on first downs when play action would have been the killer-instinct play. "You play to win the game!" You don't play to not lose but that's what they try to do too often and it doesn't always work out.
The Jaguars beat the Bengals Sunday and are 3-1 in first place in the AFC South. They have won 11 of 12 regular-season games and appear at this point to be one of the best teams in the league.
Woody from Dunlap
Can you explain why one Joe Burrow pass (the one that Travis Hunter intercepted) was deemed a roughing-the-passer infraction? Burrow was running full speed and had both feet off the ground when he released the ball. One of our defenders had already begun making a dive for Burrow's legs, and our other defender was about to wrap his arms around Burrow. It appeared that neither defender had any way to "slam on the brakes" to totally avoid making contact with Burrow, and it appeared that defensive tackle Arik Armstead made a genuine effort to minimize any hard contact with Burrow, and largely succeeded in that effort.
Hit the quarterback in the head and you get penalized. That's it. That's the meal.
Mark from Jacksonville
I am grateful for the win. Winning in the NFL is hard and winning on the road against a good team with a good quarterback is even harder. I am not disappointed in the win. But why did the defense, which had held the Bengals to 10 points and limited big plays for the first 54 minutes, allow 142 yards so quickly and easily on the final two drives? It appeared to me that the Bengals were marching down the field at will and chunking big play after big play with full success on seemingly every play on their last two drives of the game until that final stand culminating with the turnover on downs. It was maddening.
The Jaguars late Sunday were down two of their top three safeties with Caleb Ransaw and Eric Murray out with injuries. They also were playing without starting cornerback Montaric Brown and reserve cornerback Christian Braswell. The Bengals were in two-minute offense, with Burrow having identified some of the issues in the secondary and the Bengals' very good offense moved effectively in a circumstance when offenses typically move between the 20-yard lines. The Jaguars at that point had to find a way to make a play, get the Bengals' offense off the field one time and "live to fight another day." Mission accomplished.
Pete from Jax Beach
A real high IQ play by Meyers when he flicked the ball out of bounds. Could have had a turnover there and I was just really impressed how absolutely cool – as you – he was on that play.
You're referencing Jaguars wide receiver Jakobi Meyers flicking the ball out of bounds after a fumble by Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange. That ensured possession whereas if Meyers had tried to recover it, perhaps he would have misplayed the bouncing, odd-shaped ball and the Bengals could have recovered.
Chris from Mandarin
That was a Strange game in the best way, so way to go for the good guys. After four games, I think the running game is more consistent than last season. The defense continues to make timely plays on critical downs, and Trevor Lawrence continues to succeed against pressure. It feels good to take the 14-13 all-time series lead against the Bengals and to finally see Trevor get one over on Joe Burrow.
A bunch of good points here. Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange caught a season-high seven passes for 95 yards Sunday and reminded observers of his importance to this team. And the run game absolutely from this view is more consistent than last season. The defense's timely plays mattered a lot, and I thought Lawrence played with good composure and made a lot of good decisions. There was a lot of solid stuff the Jaguars Sunday, including a lot of stuff that might not be that noticeable at first glance.
Hill from Chandler, AZ
It was never going to be easy. What a win. The boys did what they needed to do to get the W. Huge. We're 3-1 going to London against two struggling teams. Exciting times.
The Jaguars had a lot of bad seasons for a long, long time. Fans suffered accordingly. This is the fun stuff.
