JACKSONVILLE – Senior writer John Oehser examines five storylines from the Jaguars’ 22-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in a 2026 Week 4 game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sunday

1.Timely turnovers. The Jaguars continued as one of the NFL's top rushing defenses Sunday, holding the Bengals to 23 yards in that area. Just as key: They intercepted Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow twice – with cornerback Jourdan Lewis' 45-yard interception return to the Bengals 18 setting up a 7-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a 13-3 lead late in the second quarter and linebacker Foyesade Oluokun intercepting Burrow at the Jaguars 10 to preserve a 16-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. Oluokun's interception marked the Jaguars' third red-zone interception in as many games, and the Jaguars now have eight takeaways in four games this season after registering 31 last season. "It's an identity piece," Coen said of the takeaways. "It's a pillar of our defense. It's something that they practice over and over and over again on a daily basis: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It's every single day. The players take it personally. They take it seriously and they know it's an edge for us. They know it's something that can help us win football games and I'd like to believe it's part of our DNA at this point."

2.Penalties. The Jaguars were penalized 13 times for 125 yards Sunday, with 10 for 100 coming in the second half. Three key plays were negated by penalties in the first two quarters, including two touchdown runs by running back Bhayshul Tuten and an interception by cornerback Travis Hunter. "That was just mental," Coen said. "I've just never seen quite seen something that much." Added tight end Brenton Strange, "Every time you have a penalty it's kind of a drive-killer, but I felt like we were able to bounce back and keep the ball in our hands." The Bengals were penalized 11 times for 108 yards Sunday. "It was pretty insane, just the whole day," Lawrence said. "Both teams, it was insane how many penalties were out there. There's stuff we have to clean up. We have to be sharper. But for us to just keep playing the next play on both sides of the ball, I think this was a good example of that."

3.Winning in Cincy. Sunday's victory marked the Jaguars' first against the Bengals since 2019 and ended the Bengals' four-game winning streak in the series. The Jaguars were 0-3 against the Bengals with Trevor Lawrence starting at quarterback, with all three losses decided in the final :18 or overtime. The Bengals beat the Jaguars, 31-27, in Cincinnati in Week 2 last season – a game the Jaguars led until :18 remained. "It felt good," Lawrence said of Sunday. "If you look at all different games we've played, they all went about like today went. It was a big win for our team. It feels good to beat those guys, but it just feels good because it was the next one. It was good to get another win, keep it rolling to win a tough game in a tough environment."

4.Big catch for BTJ. Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. caught two passes for 17 yards Sunday, including a 7-yard touchdown from Lawrence that gave the Jaguars a 10-point lead with 1:23 remaining in the first half. Thomas had played a season-low snaps in a victory over the New England Patriots in Week 3, with Coen praising Thomas late this past week for having a strong week of practice. "Everybody's going to try to continue to create a narrative any time it isn't Star Day for somebody," Coen said. "Everybody's going to try to create a narrative. All we have been is consistent with our messaging to BT, and to everybody else, to this locker room. All he continues to do is stay the course and he showed up in a major way for us today." Added Lawrence, "I have so much faith in that guy. There's so much more still that he brings to the table that we have to bring out. As a quarterback, that's my job and our job as an offense."

5.Big-time game for Hunter. Coen following Sunday's game had big-time praise for second-year cornerback Travis Hunter. The No. 2 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, Hunter played full time on defense Sunday and played nearly all snaps with cornerbacks Montaric Brown and Christian Braswell out with hamstring and knee injuries, respectively. Hunter, who had a first-half interception negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty on defensive tackle Arik Armstead, also registered two passes defensed and four tackles. "He played his ass off today," Coen said of Hunter, who was called for a questionable late-game interference penalty that led to the winning touchdown in a 31-27 loss at Cincinnati in Week 2 last season. "He had the pick that gets called back. He had a ton of PBUs. He had a huge tackle. I just thought Trav balled today. We knew with Buster (Brown) being down and Braswell being down he was going to play every single snap of the game. We had some things for him on offense. We just didn't feel like putting him out there because we we're, 'If he gets hurt on offense, we're in a real bad spot.' We didn't want to put ourselves at risk there and I was very proud of the way Travis played defensively today."