Jacksonville Jaguars @ Cincinnati Bengals
Trevor Lawrence finally gets 1st win over Bengals as Jaguars hold on for 22-17 victory
CINCINNATI -- — The Jaguars didn't have a nightmare finish in Cincinnati for the second straight year.
Jacksonville's defense made two key stops in the red zone — including stopping Bengals running back Chase Brown 1 yard shy of a first down with 50 seconds remaining — and Trevor Lawrence passed for 227 yards and a touchdown as the Jaguars held off the Bengals 22-17 on Sunday.
Being able to hold on for a tight victory marked a milestone for Liam Coen's team. Jacksonville lost to the Bengals 31-27 in Week 2 last year on Jake Browning's 1-yard sneak with 18 seconds remaining.
The Jags had another tough Week 2 this season at Denver, when the Broncos rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
“You look at the last time we were in this locker room, we weren’t able to close out a game where we weren’t able to get it done offensively and the defense had to hold strong and we end up (in) a game of inches,” Coen said. “Proud of the growth and the group for sticking with it and overcoming a lot of bad stuff, a lot of self-inflicted wounds.”
Lawrence completed 18 of 23 passes to beat the Bengals for the first time in four attempts. The sixth-year quarterback, the top pick in the 2021 NFL draft, has at least one win over every AFC opponent.
It was Lawrence's first victory over Bengals counterpart Joe Burrow in four matchups, dating to the 2020 College Football Playoff title game between Clemson and LSU.
“It felt good. You look at all the different games we’ve played and they all went about like today went, except we were on the other end of it,” Lawrence said. “You’re going to have to win games like this throughout the season where you maybe don’t play your best and it’s not pretty, but find a way.”
Brian Thomas Jr. and Chris Rodriguez scored touchdowns for the Jaguars and Cam Little kicked three field goals.
Burrow passed for 428 yards for the Bengals, who lost All-Pro wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase to a concussion in the second quarter. Tee Higgins had 11 receptions for 151 yards before he went down with a groin injury in the fourth quarter.
Burrow, who completed 39 of 54 passes and had his eighth 400-yard game, also threw two interceptions — one that Jacksonville converted into a touchdown and the other when the Bengals were in the red zone.
“We know we had some chances. We've got to find a way to not turn the ball over there, specifically the one in the red zone. That's the one I'm the most upset about. I got pressured and was trying to get rid of it and didn't see (the defender),” said Burrow, who had a TD pass to Mike Gesicki along with a QB sneak for a score, both in the second half.
Rodriguez ran 25 yards off left guard to put the Jaguars ahead 22-10 with 6:25 remaining. The 2-point conversion failed.
The Bengals answered three minutes later with a nine-play touchdown drive, capped by Burrow’s 1-yard sneak.
Parker Washington appeared to put it away for the Jaguars on third-and-10 when he caught a screen pass from Lawrence and went 39 yards to the Bengals 16. But replays showed Washington stepped out of bounds at the Bengals 48.
After a punt, the Bengals got the ball at their own 17 with 1:44 remaining. Burrow completed three straight passes and moved Cincinnati to the Jaguars 21, but then misfired on three straight passes.
On fourth-and-10, Burrow found Brown in the flat. Brown beat linebacker Foyesade Oluokun but safety Rayuan Lane III stopped him 1 yard short at the 12.
Cincinnati has dropped two straight after winning its first two for the second straight year, which did not make coach Zac Taylor happy. The eighth-year coach could be heard from the adjoining interview room ripping into his team in the locker room.
“I believe in these guys. Really disappointed that we lost. We’re not that kind of a team this year that’s going to take consolation in losses. I think we lost tough games to some really good teams,” Taylor said.
Jacksonville had a 6-3 advantage before Jourdan Lewis picked off Burrow's pass intended for Dohnte Meyers and returned it 45 yards up the left sideline to the Bengals 18.
It was the ninth straight game in which the Jaguars have recorded an interception, a franchise record and the NFL's longest active streak.
Four plays later, Lawrence found Thomas wide open in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown to make it 13-3 with 1:23 remaining in the first half.
Referee Alex Moore's crew called 24 penalties for 244 yards. That crew came in with the fourth-most penalties called during the first three weeks after leading the league last season. The first half saw 16 penalties for 149 yards.
“I’ve just never quite seen something that much the first half of the football game,” Coen said.
Jaguars: Safety Caleb Ransaw went out with a knee injury in the first quarter and did not return. Safety Eric Murray was ruled out in the second half because of a concussion.
Jaguars: Face the Philadelphia Eagles in London next Sunday.
Bengals: At Miami next Sunday.
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