For the second consecutive week, the Jaguars logged two interceptions and showed a bend-but-don’t-break defense that forced opponents to leave the red zone without scoring.
Jacksonville’s ability to generate takeaways has been a strength, and the Jags have allowed just 23 points and 106 rushing yards over the last two weeks en route to a 3-1 start.
Here are four takeaways from Jacksonville’s 22-17 win over the Bengals on Sunday.
Brenton Strange has earned his extension
Tight end Brenton Strange earned himself a three-year, $48 million extension with $25 million guaranteed this offseason, and the decision to keep the 6-foot-4, 253-pound tight end in Jacksonville has proven fruitful through the first four weeks.
He finished 2025 with his most productive season yet despite playing just 12 games. He tallied 540 yards and three touchdowns on 46 catches in his third year with the Jags, and Strange is on pace for another breakout year as Jacksonville’s starting tight end.
"He does a lot for our team," quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. "He can block in the run game, in the pass game, and then obviously you see what he can do with the ball in his hands."
Against Cincinnati in Week 4, Strange paced the Jaguars in targets (8), receiving yards (95) and receptions (7), moving himself up on the stat sheet as Jacksonville’s No. 2 receiving option. With his 95-yard performance in Week 4, Strange passed receiver Jakobi Meyers’ mark of 13 catches for 165 yards. The fourth-year tight end now has 14 receptions for 167 yards and a touchdown.
Receiver Parker Washington still leads the team in yards (228) and receptions (16), but Strange closed that gap Sunday. He entered Cincinnati with seven catches for 72 yards and made the most of his opportunity to take advantage of a Bengals defense that’s struggled to defend against pass-catching tight ends. Strange also logged a season-long reception of 23 yards in the win.
With his steady production in the middle of the field complementing Washington, Meyers and Brian Thomas Jr., Strange has carved out his role as a cornerstone of Jacksonville’s versatile offense and earned his lucrative extension.
Penalties need to be cleaned up
Though the Jaguars are 2-0 in the last two weeks, they’ve struggled to limit costly penalties on both sides of the ball. On Sunday, Jacksonville totaled 13 penalties for 125 yards, with 10 of those penalties setting it back 100 yards in the first half alone.
"I've never been a part of anything like that before in my life," head coach Liam Coen said. "It was mental. I've just never quite seen something that much in the first half of a football game."
The Jags have been able to overcome the constant penalties, but it’s an area that warrants more attention after a slew of calls stunted Jacksonville’s offensive momentum Sunday. It helped that Cincinnati picked up 11 penalties for 108 yards, but the Jags can’t rely on sloppy play from opponents to prevail in late-game situations.
Jacksonville had multiple touchdowns and a Travis Hunter interception nullified by penalties in Week 4, and those mistakes will need to be cleaned up in the coming weeks as the Jags head to London to face the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans.
The Jaguars have seen their penalty yardage increase each week, jumping from 25 yards in Week 1 to 40 yards in Week 2, 54 in Week 3 and 125 in Week 4.
Secondary continues to struggle
Jacksonville leads the NFL with a turnover differential of six, but it has struggled to limit opponents’ passing yards. The Jags have held opposing quarterbacks to under 234 yards just once this season — Week 1 against the Browns (185) — and have seen opponents consistently exploit their secondary with chunk-yardage gains.
Though its strong run defense has contributed to an influx in pass attempts, Jacksonville has struggled to eliminate explosive plays downfield.
In Week 1, the Jags allowed a 46-yard touchdown strike from Deshaun Watson to Denzel Boston, and in Week 2, Broncos receiver Jaylen Waddle torched the Jacksonville defense, catching eight passes for 138 yards, including a long of 49.
Jacksonville fared better in Week 3, refusing to allow a struggling Patriots offense to find the endzone, but New England still logged explosive passing plays of 38 and 34 yards.
In its most recent contest, the Jags saw Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow throw for 428 yards. Though they allowed Burrow to throw for just one touchdown, he consistently connected with receivers downfield. Receiver Tee Higgins caught 11 passes for 157 yards, and Dohnte Meyers and Mitchell Tinsley each grabbed longs of 29.
Jacksonville has totaled six interceptions through four games, helping limit opposing production in the red zone, but its secondary still has much to clean up in the final 14 weeks of the season.
"We've got a deep, talented DB room, D-line room, linebacker room and we all know the standard that we're supposed to play with," linebacker Foyesade Oluokun said. "It's really about communication and anticipation. If we can communicate our coverages and what routes we're supposed to expect, everybody just being in the right spots and then arrive violently ... we're definitely embracing and celebrating those type of plays."
Red zone defense saves the day — again
The Jaguars’ strong red zone defense has been what’s kept them afloat through four weeks. They’ve logged multiple interceptions in the red zone and Jacksonville’s defense ranks second in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage, allowing opponents to find the end zone on just 28.57% of red zone trips. In 2025, opponents found the end zone on 62% of trips to the red zone against the Jags.
Jacksonville’s superb goal-line defense stems from its ability to stop the run — it allowed just 23 rushing yards against Cincinnati in Week 4 — and force turnovers.
"In times of crisis, your best players need to step up and make plays, and our defense just keeps doing it," Coen said. "To get them to rush for only 23 yards was critical for us."
In Week 3, the Patriots went 0 for 3 in the red zone, and the Jags held the Bengals to a 50% scoring rate in the red zone (2 of 4) in Week 4. Through its last two games, Jacksonville has tallied five takeaways and hasn’t allowed a rush of more than nine yards.
The Jaguars’ opponents are also 9 of 24 on third down over the last two weeks, and Jacksonville has allowed just 13.3 points per game through Week 4.
If the Jags can continue forcing opposing offenses to stall out in the red zone, they’re poised to continue their defensive success and make life easier for Lawrence and the rest of the Jacksonville offense.
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.
