After holding the Patriots to just 83 rushing yards in Week 3, the Jaguars’ front seven showed up in a big way in Cincinnati. They held the Bengals to 16 rushing yards in the first half, and Cincinnati finished with just 23 yards on the ground.
Behind a strong run defense and two interceptions, Jacksonville (3-1) bested the Bengals (2-2) 22-17 at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.
With their rushing game proving ineffective, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was forced to throw early and often. Though he tallied 428 passing yards, the Bengals were forced into pass-heavy situations, which the Jags blanketed well early on.
On offense, the Jaguars did just enough to hold a lead throughout. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence logged passes of 23 and 22 yards to Brenton Strange and Jakobi Meyers, respectively, in the first quarter, but penalties continued to plague the Jags.
After logging seven penalties for 56 yards in Week 3 against the Patriots, three penalties for 25 yards doomed Jacksonville’s first drive. But a 9-play, 45-yard push got the Jaguars into the range of kicker Cam Little, who knocked down a 55-yard field goal to open the scoring Sunday.
A 44-yard Bhayshul Tuten touchdown run was also nullified by a holding penalty on Ezra Cleveland in the second quarter, forcing Jacksonville to settle for a 28-yard field goal off the foot of Little.
The backfield duo of Tuten and Chris Rodriguez Jr. continued to prove effective, with both averaging more than four yards per carry. Tuten finished with 73 yards on 17 carries, while Rodriguez tallied 35 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
Travis Hunter continued to step up on defense as well. He nearly logged his second interception of the season, but a roughing-the-passer penalty on Arik Armstead erased the takeaway. That allowed Cincinnati to march down the field and tie the game 3-3 with a 29-yard Evan McPherson field goal. The 14-play, 67-yard drive stalled at the Jaguars’ 10-yard line as Jacksonville continued to display tenacious red-zone defense.
The Jags defense stood tall as halftime neared, and Jourdan Lewis grabbed his second interception of the season. His 45-yard return placed Jacksonville in the red zone in the final two minutes of the half. Another Tuten touchdown run was called back for a hold on Anton Harrison, but Lawrence found Brian Thomas Jr. for a 7-yard touchdown.
By the end of the first half, the Jaguars had tallied 10 penalties for 100 yards but found themselves leading 13-3. Jacksonville finished with 13 penalties for 125 yards in the win.
Cincinnati’s offense looked the part of a cohesive unit out of halftime, though, putting together a methodical 12-play, 67-yard drive capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki. Burrow’s touchdown pass pulled the Bengals within three, 13-10, but Jacksonville answered with a 54-yard field goal.
Burrow logged explosive completions of 29 and 26 yards as Cincinnati looked for its first lead, but Jacksonville’s defense continued to dominate in the red zone.
Foyesade Oluokun nabbed Jacksonville’s second interception of the game as the Bengals pushed into the red zone, and that’s when momentum shifted. The Jaguars added a field goal and a 25-yard Rodriguez rushing touchdown, extending their lead to 22-10 in the fourth quarter.
Burrow punched in a late 1-yard rushing touchdown to bring the Bengals within five, 22-17, but a Cincinnati defense that allowed 273 passing yards to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 saw Strange catch seven receptions for 95 yards, picking up multiple chunk-yardage gains.
Cincinnati got a final shot to pull out a win with just under two minutes remaining, but it came up one yard short of a first down in the red zone. The Bengals’ 7-play, 71-yard drive stalled out at the Jaguars' 21-yard line as Rayuan Lane III made a strong tackle short of the sticks at the 12. Lane also led Jacksonville’s defense with eight tackles in the win.
Next, the Jaguars head to London to face the Eagles and Texans in back-to-back weeks. Kickoff for the overseas matches is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is a senior sports journalism student in his sixth semester at The Alligator. He is currently a sports editor and football beat reporter for the Gators and the Jaguars. He previously served as a men's tennis and sports enterprise reporter, and he is pursuing a public relations minor.
