CINCINNATI — Travis Hunter knocked down the ball, and no flags were called.
The Jacksonville Jaguars' secondary was tested plenty against the Cincinnati Bengals in their 22-17 victory on Oct. 4 at Paycor Stadium.
More often than not, the Jaguars came away as winners.
The Jaguars entered Sunday's matchup against the Bengals seeking revenge after last year's heartbreaker.
They got that and more, dominating the Bengals on defense despite giving up 100 penalty yards in the first half. That was the most any team had been called for since the Dallas Cowboys in Week 13 of the 2023 season.
Jaguars defense sets tone, flies around ball vs. Bengals
Jacksonville's defense set the tone Sunday against Cincinnati, slowing the Bengals' offense down in key situations.
The team entered the week with two red zone turnovers
and secured another on Sunday after linebacker Foye Oluokun stepped in front of a Joe Burrow pass as they looked to make a play in the end zone.
Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis came down with another interception in the contest.
Jaguars backtrack on discipline, flags fly in Cincy
Jacksonville entered Sunday's matchup against Cincinnati with the third-fewest penalties accepted (15) in the league.
They flipped it around Sunday, racking up 10 penalties for 100 yards in the first half. Two holding calls knocked out two different potential touchdowns for Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten, a three-yard score and a 44-yard score earlier in the first half.
Another flag nullified an interception, which led to Cincinnati's only points of the first half: a field goal by kicker Evan McPherson.
Jacksonville recovered, however, scoring a touchdown near the end of the first half after nickelback Lewis picked off Burrow after defensive end Josh Hines-Allen rushed his pass.
Despite numerous mistakes, Jacksonville held Cincy without a first-half touchdown and is the first team to do so in each of their first four games since the 2022 49ers.
Brian Thomas Jr. comes through with first-half touchdown
After being shut out of the end zone for the first three weeks of the season, third-year receiver Brian Thomas Jr. came through on a wide-open seven-yard touchdown snag at the end of the first half against the Bengals.
The score gave Jacksonville a 13-3 lead heading into halftime.
Thomas entered the matchup with seven catches for 88 yards and apparently had No. 3 wide receiver duties, split with rookie Josh Cameron in Week 3 against the Patriots.
Ja'Marr Chase ruled out early; Tee Higgins has success
With about 12 minutes left in the second quarter, Bengals wideout Ja'Marr Chase caught a pass before being hit by linebacker Ventrell Miller. Cornerback Jarrian Jones was also called for a facemask penalty on the play just before the hit.
Chase was evaluated for a concussion and subsequently ruled out as the second half began.
Chase finished with three catches on three targets for 27 yards.
Bengals WR Tee Higgins replaced Chase as the team's top target, catching seven passes for 77 yards entering the fourth quarter.
Higgins ended the game with 11 catches for 157 yards.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @Demetrius82 or on BlueskyatDemetrius.
If you're a subscriber, thank you. If not, please consider subscribing to support local journalism in Northeast Florida.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars defense comes through with takeaways in 22-17 win over Bengals
