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Cincinnati 24, Jacksonville 21
Well, it was a whole lot closer and more suspenseful than I had imagined this game would be, admittedly. At some points, the Jaguars really looked like they could and even would win it.
However, the Bengals took a big step towards contention not just in winning and improving to 3-1 on the season, but in winning a game when they clearly were not playing their best as a team.
Jax kept getting the lead, and seemingly threatened to pull off an upset that would have earned them their first win of the season and snap their 18 game losing streak that dates back to September of last season. Instead, they kept allowing the Bengals to score and tie the game. Ultimately, in the end, the Bengals were in a position to kick a field goal on the game's final play to steal the win.
Joe Burrow was a big factor in helping lift Cincinnati in this one as he continues to improve in only his second season. He completed 25 of 32 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was Tyler Boyd, who had nine receptions for 118 yards. On the ground, Bengals running back Joe Mixon collected 67 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
The stats were rather even between the two teams in terms of time of possession and first downs gained, as well as turnovers (neither team committed any). However, the Bengals had a decisive advantage in terms of yards gained, getting 421 yards to 340 for the Jaguars.
It was not a bad effort for Jacksonville. Trevor Lawrence looked positively explosive early, leading his team on two touchdown drives to take an early 14-0 lead. On the day, he completed 17 of 24 passes for 204 yards, and he ran one in for a touchdown. Running back James Robinson picked up 78 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. And the Jaguars held a surprising 21-14 fourth quarter lead on the home team as the midway point of the fourth quarter was approahcing.
That, however, was when the Bengals really got hot. They scored 10 unanswered points in the final nine minutes to narrowly escape in this one, and had the Jaguars their 19th straight loss.
Cincinnati is alone in first place in the AFC North for now, as they get to relax and watch the other teams in their division go to war this weekend. However, they will have a tough challenge in their next game, when they host the Green bay Packers. As for the Jaguars, they will get their next chance to snap the losing streak when they get to host the Titans on October 10th.
My pick: Accurate
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