JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars don’t expect to get much credit for their 3-1 start. They prefer it that way.
They overwhelmed Cleveland, embarrassed New England and handled Cincinnati on the road — beating three teams that are .500 or better after four games. The lone loss: The Jags led Denver 13-3 in the third quarter before fading in mile-high altitude.
Yet much of the talk was about the struggles of Browns quarterback Deshaun
Watson and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and the Bengals playing most of the game without All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Jacksonville’s defense, meanwhile, has been mostly overlooked. That surely will change if the unit keeps playing like this.
The Jaguars have allowed 53 points, the second fewest in the NFL and the second fewest in franchise history through four games. They’ve been so stout against the run — they haven’t allowed a 75-yard rusher in 21 consecutive games — that the Bengals essentially abandoned the ground game early in Jacksonville's 22-17 victory Sunday.
The Jags also rank second in the league with eight takeaways, including three in the red zone.
“I’d like to believe it’s a part of our DNA at this point,” coach Liam Coen said.
It started last season under first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, whose unit found its rhythm in early November and allowed an average of 14.5 points during an eight-game winning streak.
The Jaguars returned 10 defensive starters this season, creating a lot of continuity. It has shown up in every win, none bigger than stopping the Bengals on a fourth-and-10 play in the final minute. Third-string safety Rayuan Lane tackled Chase Brown a yard short of the first-down marker.
“To be able to come down to the last drive and finish the game playing complementary football, the defense not breaking at the end, that’s huge for us,” defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said.
Jacksonville ran for 111 yards against the Bengals, topping the century mark for the third time in four weeks. Second-year running back Bhayshul Tuten has been solid, topping 65 yards in every game while averaging 4.6 yards a carry. And backup Chris Rodriguez Jr. delivered one of the key plays against Cincy when he broke through the line of scrimmage for a 25-yard TD run with six minutes to play.
Penalties were a problem for the first time all season. Jacksonville was flagged 13 times for 125 yards against the Bengals. Cincy was penalized 11 times for 108 yards, making for a choppy game at times, especially in the first half.
“It’s wild. I’ve never been a part of anything like that before in my life,” Coen said. “I’m not going to say anything that will get me fined. But that was just mental.”
Travis Hunter played every defensive snap for the first time in his two-year career, and Coen said he “balled out.” Hunter finished with four tackles and two pass breakups.
“He played his (butt) off,” Coen said. “We had some things for him on offense that we didn’t feel like putting him out there because, if he gets hurt on offense, we’re in a real bad spot. We didn’t want to put ourselves at risk there.”
Parker Washington finished with one reception for 7 yards, although the play initially gained 39 yards before replays showed he stepped out of bounds. Washington also gained 3 yards on a run. Still, it his worst outing in terms of total yards since being held without a catch at San Francisco in Week 4 of last season.
S Eric Murray (concussion) and his backup, Caleb Ransaw (knee), left the game, adding to a lengthy injury report for the secondary. CBs Montaric Brown (hamstring) and Christian Braswell (knee) missed the game, and Jarrian Jones played through a sore hip.
9 – Number of times the Jaguars have started a season 3-1 or better. This is the third time they have done it in consecutive years.
Jaguars travel to London for back-to-back “home” games against Philadelphia and Houston.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
