It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t perfect. And for much of the Jacksonville fanbase, it may have been downright frustrating to watch. But Jacksonville Jaguars fans and players are walking into Victory Monday at 3-1 and atop the AFC South, following a road victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here’s everything you need to know from Jacksonville’s Week 4 22-17 road victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Favorite Highlight:
Whether it counted or not, Duval remembers that Travis Hunter picked off Joe Burrow in
this one.
Bhayshul Tuten’s second quarter 44-yard touchdown looked to be a thing of beauty, however, one of many first half penalties negated this one also.
In Case You Missed It
The early quarter of the game was easily directed by penalties, with both offenses struggling to land in the end zone over the first 28 minutes of the day. Jacksonville was called for 100-yards of first-half penalties on ten flags, negating two touchdowns and a Travis Hunter interception. With under two minutes remaining in the half, the game’s first turnover, a Jourdan Lewis interception, kicked off the scoring.
Lewis’s interception of Joe Burrow, assisted by a Josh Hines-Allen quarterback hit and a Dennis Gardeck tipped pass, set Jacksonville up inside the Bengals’ red zone. Lawrence connected with Brian Thomas Jr. just four plays later for the game’s first touchdown.
Halftime Stats:
- Halftime Score: 13-3 Jacksonville
- Third Down Defense: 1/5 Jacksonville, 2/5 Cincinnati
- Defensive Sacks: 1 to 1
- Turnovers forced: 1 to 0 Jacksonville
- Rushing yards: 52 to 16 Jacksonville
- Passing yards: 129 to 130 Cincinnati
- Redzone: 0/1 Jacksonville, 1/2 Cincinnati
- Penalties: 10 for 100-yards for Jacksonville, 6 for 49-yards Cincinnati
- Points off turnovers: 7-0 Jacksonville
QB Trevor Lawrence ended the half with 9/12 for 136-yards (11.3 avg) with a touchdown and no turnovers (139.6 passer rating). RB Bhayshul Tuten had 9 carries for 39-yards (4.3 YPC) and tight end Brenton Strange led the team in receiving with 49-yards on three catches (16.3 YPR).
Following the half, the Cincinnati offense awoke, immediately putting together a 12-play, 67-yard, 6:16 touchdown drive with 30 yards on the drive from Bengals’ receiver Tee Higgins. The drive cut Jacksonville’s halftime lead to three. After Jacksonville added a field goal, Joe Burrow looked to be leading the Bengals down the field for a go-ahead fourth-quarter touchdown when his second mistake of the day occurred. Linebacker Foye Oluokun stepped in front of Burrow’s first down, red zone attempt for Jacksonville’s second interception of the day.
Following back-to-back fourth-quarter punts, Chris Rodriguez made it a two-score game with a 25-yard fourth-quarter scamper.
The Cincinnati offense refused to go away, quickly driving down the field on a 3:07, 9-play, 71-yard touchdown drive to create heart palpitations all throughout Duval County. What seemed fully “in the bag” with 6:35 remaining in the game was now just a five-point game with 3:28 remaining. On the following drive, Jacksonville was one Parker Washington footstep from closing the game out on offense, as the veteran receiver just stepped out on his third-down reception, allowing Cincinnati an opportunity to take the lead on offense.
The game drama continued as Cincinnati quickly moved into scoring range when faced with a game-defining fourth and 10, as Rayaun Lane sealed the game with a highlight tackle of Chase Brown to end the game, one yard short.
Biggest play(s) of the game:
According to rbsdm.com, the biggest play of the game by Expected Points Added (EPA) and Win Probability (-16%) was Jourdan Lewis’ second-quarter interception (-6.2 EPA).
Post-game notables:
1. Penalties Define The Day
Jacksonville’s early day started off inconsistently, with an explosive 55-yard opening kick return by running back Ameer Abdullah called back due to a holding penalty, followed by a first-down holding penalty on Emmanuel Pregnon, and an Anton Harrison false start before third down. That was just the opening drive. The day didn’t get better for much of the first half, as Jacksonville ended the half credited with ten accepted penalties. In total, Jacksonville had 13 penalties for 125 yards.
- LT Anton Harrison (2) – False Start & Offensive Holding (negating Tuten 3-yard TD)
- LG Emmanuel Pregnon – Offensive Holding
- C Robert Hainsey – Offensive Holding vs Dexter Lawrence
- RG Ezra Cleveland – Offensive Holding (negates 44-yard Tuten TD)
- TE Quintin Morris – Holding (on kickoff)
- TE Nate Boerkircher – Offensive Pass Interference (blocking early downfield)
- RB LeQuint Allen – Illegal Shift
- DT Arik Armstead – Roughing the Passer (negates Hunter interception)
- DE Travon Walker (2) – Offsides & Taunting
- DE Bryan Thomas Jr – **Declined Penalty for Offsides**
- CB Jarrian Jones – Facemask
- QB Trevor Lawrence – Delay of Game (purposeful)
2. A James Gladstone Highlight Reel
Sundays’ matchup featured many Jacksonville Jaguar role players making key plays while in unexpected roles. Dennis Gardeck caused a first-half Jourdan Lewis interception; Ventrell Miller (again) had an incredible day against the run, Branson Combs flashed on multiple special teams coverage snaps, but most notably, Rayaun Lane III, the Jaguars’ 2025 sixth-round draft pick received significant playing time against the Bengals, with Eric Murray and Caleb Ransaw both sidelined with in-game injuries. Lane led the team with eight tackles, six solo, and a pass breakup, while sealing the game with a fourth down game-winning hit.
3. Offensive Line Struggles Continue?
In a matchup against defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, one of the biggest matchups of the day entering the game was how the Jacksonville offensive line would be able to protect Trevor Lawrence. The answer: still a work in progress, with Cincinnati securing four sacks on the day and the interior offensive line often struggling to handle power rushes.
- LT Anton Harrison
- 1st down sack surrendered to DC Myles Murphy
- Beat by Boye Mafe for a pressure to force a Kris Jenkins sack
- LG Emmanuel Pregnon
- Beat by Dexter Lawrence on opening snap for a QB pressure/deflection
- C Robert Hainsey
- Beat by Dexter Lawrence for a pressure on Boye Mafe sack
- RT Cole Van Lanen
- Beat on opening snap for a QB hit
Game balls:
- Special Teams: K Cam Little: 3/3 with a long of 55-yards and 1/1 on extra points
- Defense: S Ray Lane: 8 tackles, 6 solo, and a pass defensed
- Offense: TE Brenton Strange: 7 catches for 95-yards on 8 targets (13.6 avg)
View the full box score here
Notable statistical gaps:
- First downs: 26 to 19 Cincinnati
- Third Defense: 5/12 Jacksonville, 5/11 Cincinnati
- Defensive Sacks: 4 to 2 Cincinnati
- Rushing yards: 111 to 23 Jacksonville
- Passing yards: 414 to 212 Cincinnati
- Redzone: 1/2 Jacksonville (50%), 2/4 Cincinnati (50%)
- Penalties: 13 to 11 Jacksonville
- Turnovers forced: 2 to 0 Jacksonville
- Points off turnovers: 7 to 0 Jacksonville
Pre-Game Inactives
For the Jaguars, cornerback Montaric Brown was the largest pregame inactive from Sunday, following a week of limited participation while recovering from a hamstring injury. Additionally, depth cornerback Christian Braswell was also inactive with a knee injury after being limited all week. The team also noted the following pregame inactives:
- WR CJ Williams
- S Jalen Huskey
- LB Jack Kiser
- OL Daniel Daalele
- DE Wesley Williams
For Cincinnati, the injury report was notable: Bengals starting safety Bryan Cook was inactive with an ankle injury, and his backup, Kyle Dugger, was also out. With starting slot cornerback Jalen Davis placed on Injured Reserve on Tuesday and backup slot cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor already on IR, the Bengals’ secondary came into the matchup limited.
- S Bryan Cook
- S Kyle Dugger
- LB Swayze Bozeman
- OL Myles Hinton
- WR Colbie Young
- DT BJ Hill
- DT Landon Robinson
In-Game Injuries
As a note, the following Jacksonville players left Sunday’s game due to injury:
- S Caleb Ransaw left the game with a knee injury
- S Eric Murray left the game with a concussion
Relive The Matchup:
Recap each of the big plays from tonight’s game in our live blog!
What are your thoughts from tonight’s game, Jaguars fans? Who surprised you most or disappointed you with their play tonight? Let us know in the comments!
