JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars let their prime-time moment — and potentially a lot more — slip away on Monday night.
Playing in their first Monday Night Football game in 12 years, Jacksonville lost quarterback Trevor Lawrence to an ankle injury and that turned into a 34-31 overtime loss to the Joe Burrow-less Bengals at EverBank Stadium on an all-around forgettable night for the Jaguars.
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A win would have vaulted the Jaguars over the Dolphins and Ravens for the top seed in the AFC through tiebreakers. Instead, Jacksonville (8-4) let a massive opportunity slip away as Jake Browning and receiver JaMarr Chase shredded the Jaguars in prime time. Evan McPherson booted a 48-yard field goal to clinch it with just under two minutes to play in overtime, a loss that will cast more doubt on the Jaguars as a legitimate playoff challenger.
But the Jaguars have a growing list of issues beyond just national perception. It starts with Lawrence, the Jaguars franchise quarterback who had seemed to find his stride entering the Cincinnati game.
The lasting image in Jacksonville’s first Monday night appearance since Dec. 5, 2011, was the sight of Lawrence, writhing on the turf in pain that left the crowd hushed. Lawrence’s right ankle was caught under Walker Little’s foot and it bent awkwardly on a third-down sack with just under six minutes to play, the biggest among a rash of injuries for Jacksonville.
Lawrence tried to get up and walk but went down to the grass, slammed his hand to the turf and tossed his helmet away. C.J. Beathard came on in relief of Lawrence and engineered a game-tying drive, but saw a penalty wipe out a shot at a win in overtime. Lawrence didn’t return. The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the initial diagnosis is an ankle sprain. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson didn’t provide any details on Lawrence after the game. But considering Lawrence was walking gingerly and had crutches as an aid, it’s a real possibility that he could miss his first start Sunday at Cleveland.
“Yeah, I don’t have any information yet on Trevor. We’re still evaluating him. He’ll have more tests and things done here tonight and tomorrow. I’ll probably have a better update for you tomorrow on that,” Pederson said. “Yeah, we had position players go down. But, look, that’s part of the game. It happens. It’s unfortunate. Next guy up has to be ready to go and play. I thought the guys that filled in were just that. They were ready to go.”
A loss to a full-strength Cincinnati team led by an MVP candidate in Burrow would be easier to stomach, but it was Browning who picked Jacksonville apart. The Jaguars were a 10-point favorite, but had no answer for a Bengals offense that slapped them around most of the night.
Browning, playing in just his fourth NFL game, finished 32 of 37 for 354 yards, a passing touchdown and a rushing score. Factor in a ragged performance by the defense (the Bengals had 491 yards), another uneven showing by the offense and the injury to Lawrence and it was an unforgettable night for all the wrong reasons.
“Yeah, your first instinct is it just sucks for Trevor,” Beathard said. “You see him on the ground hurting, that kind of sucks. Takes your breath away on the sidelines of all the guys when you see your starting quarterback hurting like that. Quickly flips into going into two-minute drive to try to tie the game or win the game. You don’t have much time for the nerves to kick in. Just kind of got to go.”
The plays in OT
Jacksonville had a prime opportunity to snatch a win from Cincinnati in overtime.
Beathard dialed up a beautiful throw to Calvin Ridley in the extra period, a fade into heavy coverage that Ridley reeled in for a grab of 43 yards to the Cincinnati 2. That field position should have set Jacksonville up with four downs to get 6 feet for the winning touchdown. But rookie right tackle Anton Harrison was flagged for a hold, wiping out the gain and forcing Jacksonville into third-and-17. It punted, then watched Browning cap his career day by engineering the win. On a night of tough plays, the holding call was the feather in the cap.
“It sucks. You make the play, Calvin makes a great play down there,” Beathard said of the game-deciding flag. “You’re excited, celebrating inside the five. You turn around, see a flag. It is what it is.”
What happened in the fourth?
Jacksonville was driving for the go-ahead points when the injury happened and it left the EverBank crowd awash in silence. Lawrence has had injury scares during his time in the league, but nothing that’s kept him out extended time or even looked that severe. But how Lawrence reacted and how he was helped off the field looked serious. And that lingered well after the crowd had left the stadium.
Brandon McManus came on to attempt a 48-yard field goal on the ensuing play but pulled it right. Cincinnati followed by scratching out a 54-yard field goal by McPherson with 2 minutes, 33 seconds to play to go in front 31-28. Beathard fumbled on his first snap, a ball rookie Parker Washington recovered, but he responded by leading an eight-play march that led to a game-tying 40-yard field goal by McManus.
Bengals tough
Even without Burrow, who left during a Week 11 game against the Ravens and later had season-ending wrist surgery, Cincinnati carved up Jacksonville under Browning. The Bengals largely kept things simple for Browning most of the game, short dump passes and nothing too far downfield. He nickel and dimed his way to a near-perfect opening half (17 for 19) and set up a pair of short touchdown runs for Joe Mixon for a 14-all game at the break.
Defensive issues plagued Jacksonville. Pederson said the crowd noise was an issue that should have forced Jacksonville to shore up defensive assignments among players, but they weren’t consistent enough in doing that.
“The crowd was great today,” he said. “That’s what you want. It does kind of put your defense in a little bit of a bind because of that, right? No different than the offense going into an environment that’s very loud. I wouldn’t say they’re issues. You’ve just got to over-communicate.”
Browning’s best throw came on Cincinnati’s opening drive of the second half, a third-and-2 look from his own 24. Browning found Chase in one-on-one coverage with Tyson Campbell on the outside and put it right on Chase’s fingertips. Campbell couldn’t stay with him on the play and Chase took it untouched for a 76-yard touchdown and a 21-14 lead.
Chase dominated Campbell in their matchup, catching 11 passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. Cincinnati strafed Jacksonville on the ground, too, averaging 5 yards per carry and gaining 156 yards on 31 rushes.
“We didn’t stop the run. That’s the strength of our defense, is stopping the run. We just didn’t do that,” Pederson said. “We failed there. We got too many explosive plays we gave up. Obviously offensively when you can’t run the ball, then when the running game for them is going, you see what happens, right? That’s where the explosiveness comes from. We had moments on offense where we got some explosives. Theirs all stem from being able to run the ball successfully.”
Offense lags again
Jacksonville was laboring on offense throughout the first half and into the second. After Browning’s touchdown strike to Chase, Cincinnati had outgained the Jaguars by nearly a two-to-one margin (316 to 159). Lawrence and Jacksonville finally got things moving on the ensuing drive and defense came up big after that.
Josh Allen continued his pursuit of a massive new contract and potential Defensive Player of the Year honors with another big game. Knotted 21-all midway through the third quarter, Allen jumped in front of a Browning pass and picked it off. That set up a 1-yard touchdown vault by Lawrence on a fourth-and-1 play for a 28-21 lead.
Injuries sting
While the Lawrence injury was the headliner, it was a difficult night all around. Receiver Christian Kirk had a 26-yard grab on Jacksonville’s first offensive play but suffered an injured groin on the play and didn’t return. Cornerback Tre Herndon suffered a concussion and didn’t return. Kirk’s absence was felt, especially with Ridley out of sync early. That set the table for rookie Washington’s breakout game.
The Penn State product, who spent most of the season on injured reserve, had touched the ball just twice this season on punt returns before the third quarter. On a second-and-13, Lawrence found Washington for an 18-yard strike. Three plays later on a third-and-long, Lawrence found Washington in the back of the end zone and behind his man. Washington went up high for one of Jacksonville’s best catches of the season and landed in bounds.
If Kirk is out any duration, the emergence of Washington is a must. Washington had six catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Left tackle Little and defensive lineman Folorunso Fatukasi also left with injuries in the game, part of a rough night for Jacksonville on the health front.