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Jacksonville (0-3) at Cincinnati (2-1)
Sooner or later, the Jaguars are sure to earn themselves a notch in the win column, at some point or other this season.
The question here in this game is whether or not they can do it against the rapidly improving Bengals, who have a real chance to improve to a very respectable 3-1 mark, and then to have a longer than normal break between this game and their next one to prepare for.
Cincy surely has been improving. They edged out the Vikings in week one, but fell just short to the Bears the next week.
Last weekend, however, came arguably the biggest sign that they are truly improving: they beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh. No team has better symbolized the futility of Bengals fortunes in recent decades better than Pittsburgh, who not only have a long history of tremendous success, but have enjoyed ultimate success in the NFL in the fairly recent past, winning two Super Bowls and qualifying for three from 2005-2010, bordering on being a dynasty.
With last weekend's win, the Bengals suddenly seemed to have earned themselves the kind of statement win signaling their readiness to become playoff contenders. With quarterback Joe Burrow showing signs of being the quarterback that Cincy hoped he would be, the Bengals are really rolling right now.
That would be a problem for the struggling Jaguars, who would love to be (and are working to be) where Cincy presently is. But here is another problem: the Bengals are not so good that they likely feel that they can overlook any opponent. Indeed, the Bengals have had losing seasons for many years in a row now, and in recent seasons, ranked as the worst team in terms of overall record in the league. That is why they "earned" the first pick in the draft, where they picked up Burrow.
The Jaguars had that kind of season last year. They won in week one, and then never won again. In fact, they have yet to win since, and their current losing streak of 18 straight game is climbing the ladder of longest losing streaks by any team in NFL history (I believe that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hold this record, having lost their first 26 straight games, although that may not be the case). Obviously, Jax would dearly love to end this dreadful streak.
However, on the road against an improving, and frankly, hot team like the Bengals feels like a little too much for them. That is why I have to go with the home team for the win in this one.
My pick: Cincinnati
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