JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – We are moving on now to Week 13 of the season and the Jaguars are coming back home for a prime-time Monday night football matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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This will be the Jaguars first appearance on Monday Night Football in more than a decade. Jacksonville’s last appearance on Monday Night Football was at home against the San Diego Chargers on Dec. 5, 2011.
Jacksonville is feeling good about where it is right now. The team is 8-3 and coming off of a massive win last week in Houston against the Texans (24-21) to take a two-game lead in the AFC South.
At the beginning of the season, this looked like a potential matchup between two of the best teams in the AFC, led by two of the best young quarterbacks in the league.
However, the matchup lost some of its hype after Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a season-ending wrist injury in the Bengals loss to Baltimore in Week 11.
On Tuesday, Cincinnati released a statement saying that Burrow’s wrist surgery was successful.
“The procedure went as planned and he is expected to make a complete recovery. Joe will return to Cincinnati this week to be with the team and begin the recovery and rehab process,” the Bengals said.
Cincinnati is currently led by head coach Zac Taylor. Taylor was hired back in 2018 and even took the team to the Super Bowl two seasons ago, losing to the Los Angeles Rams 23-20.
Taylor also has a family connection to the Jaguars; he is the older brother of Jaguars offensive coordinator Press Taylor.
Monday night’s game will mark the fifth time the brothers have gone against each other, but it will be the first time both brothers are the offensive play-callers for their teams.
The Bengals didn’t get off to the start they hoped for this season going just 1-3 in their first four games.
Cincinnati is currently last in its division with a record of 5-6 and coming off of a loss to the Steelers 16-10.
Backup quarterback Jack Browning got his first start last week, completing 19 of 26 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown. He also had one interception which ended up being the deciding factor in the game.
Browning said there were some ups and some downs but that it was definitely not his best game.
Even though Burrow is out for the season, he still wants to help his team. Last week against the Steelers, Burrow wore an earpiece that allowed him to listen in on play calls.
Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan says having him around is definitely beneficial for Browning.
“He wants to be available,” Callahan. “He’s been great all week in the meeting room. Just being there for conversation points and what he sees and how he sees it is always helpful to have.”
One of the Bengals biggest issues from last week was their inability to convert on third down, converting only twice on 10 attempts.
“I think any time you get behind the sticks — especially in this division with all the really good defenses and really good pass rushers — it’s going to be difficult,” Browning said. “As far as an assessment on the overall first-down efficiency, I’d be lying if I had any real assessment on that, but in general that’s going to really make it difficult.”
One player Jacksonville will need to keep their eye on is the Bengals top wide receiver and of the best young wideouts in the league in Ja’Marr Chase.
Chase is already the franchise’s career single-game leader in receiving yards with 266, the single-season leader in receiving yards with 1,455 and the single-game receptions leader with 15.
Through 11 games this season, Chase has caught 75 passes for 914 yards and six touchdowns.
Last week, Chase caught just four balls for 81 yards and Browning looks to continue building that chemistry the rest of the season.
“Yeah, I think any time Ja’Marr is one-on-one, I’m going to go give him a chance,” Browning said. “I think that’s what you want from your primary receiver, and I thought he did well and made some plays. Any time he’s one-on-one, I’m going to give him a shot.”
Another offensive player the Jaguars will need to keep their eye on is veteran running back Joe Mixon.
Even though the Bengals rushing attack is technically last in the NFL with 75.8 yards per game, Mixon can still hurt you.
Taylor says the team would have run the ball more last week against the Steelers, but they only had 41 plays. And while the run game has lacked production, Taylor wants everyone to know that it is not all on Mixon.
“Don’t make this about one person. It’s not like there were missed opportunities there from what I could see,” Taylor said. “He continues to run hard and he’s given us what we needed this season.”
Callahan also talked about the importance of consistency when it comes to the team’s rushing attack.
“It’s hard to continue to hand it off if you do it once or twice and there’s nothing,” Callahan said. “But then you’ll pop one for 10 or 12 yards. So, consistency would be the biggest factor in that.”
Browning knows the team has had problems running the football but says his main area of focus moving forward is being better in the passing game.
Callahan spoke about Browning’s learning curve and the different challenges each team brings to the game.
“We’re learning as we go with Jake a little bit,” Callahan said. “It’s still also very week to week. Pittsburgh was a very different challenge than Baltimore presented. And Jacksonville is a different challenge than each of those two teams. Everybody plays different schemes and structures. It’s always kind of a very week-to-week thing.”
One thing that could help the Bengals in this matchup is the potential return of their No. 2 wideout Tee Higgins.
Higgins has missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury but could be good to go against Jacksonville. On Thursday, Higgins told the media he felt “100%” and the plan is for him to play on Monday.
Having Higgins back would provide a big boost for the offense, Browning doesn’t want to take anything away from the other guys in the receiver’s room, but he says Higgins is just a different kind of player.
“There’s just something that Tee brings to the table,” Browning said. “Being as big, as fast and having the experience Tee does, where it is always nice to have him and Ja’Marr on the outside.”
The Bengals will have their work cut out for them this week, facing a Jacksonville defense that is playing lights out right now.
The Jaguars currently rank ninth in the league in rush defense and 23rd-best in pass defense. While the numbers may not indicate it, the Jaguars are making the right play at the right time.
On Thursday, Browning spoke to the media about the challenges the Jaguars defense presents.
“I think it really starts with their front four kind of like last week. It seems like every good defense has a good front four,” Browning said. “They do a good job of making their coverages look the same and running out post snap to different coverages. Bringing random pressures here or there and do a good job of like I said making everything look the same.”
Browning was also asked about his head coach’s presence on the sideline, and how that helps him stay cool and calm.
“Zac is very steady,” Browning said. “I think there is never really like crazy ups or downs. I never feel like he is super tense on the sideline. I think when you are the quarterback, if there is any of that in your head coach you will be able to feel it a little bit and I never get that feeling from him.”
When it comes to the defensive side of the ball, the Bengals focus will be on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Lawrence is playing at a high level right now, in the last two games Lawrence completed 47 out of 70 passes for 626 yards and six touchdowns.
Taylor knows the challenge a quarterback like Lawrence brings to the matchup.
“He can move around in the pocket and extend plays that way or he is willing to go get plays with his legs,” Taylor said. “He can win around the edge and outrun you know defensive ends and backers. Big guy too, so he has got a big presence back there. He’s got a strong arm; he can make all the throws. There are some pretty remarkable throws he has made on tape. So, he is certainly a very challenging quarterback to defend against.”
Taylor remembers playing Lawrence when he was a rookie back in 2021 in a Thursday night matchup.
“Trevor is very athletic as well,” Taylor said. “I remember feeling that first-hand when we played them here on that Thursday night, you could really feel his presence on the perimeter. You know as he extends plays and really challenged you that way. So that’s another element you have to defend as well.”
The Bengals won that game 24-21, but the Jaguars hope to secure a different outcome this Monday underneath the lights in a primetime showdown at “The Bank.”