Sad news for Jacksonville Jaguars: I want to leave..
Bengals 34, Jaguars 31: Trevor Lawrence’s injury causes Jacksonville to lose in overtime
Monday Night Football had the worst conceivable scenario for the Jaguars.
For the Jacksonville Jaguars, Monday Night Football’s return went about as badly as it could have.
The Jaguars lost 34–31 in overtime to the Cincinnati Bengals, allowing nearly 500 yards of offense. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was one of several important players to leave with injuries.
Roy Robertson-Harris’ facemask penalty gave the Bengals the ball close to midfield to start the game, but Josh Allen and Travon Walker’s fourth-down sack forced them off the field.
Christian Kirk caught a 26-yard pass from Jacksonville’s quarterback, setting them up at the Bengals’ 25-yard line. Kirk hurt himself during the play, and he hobbled to the locker room.
A Calvin Ridley end-around later, good for ten yards, put the Jaguars in position to face a fourth-and-one. Travis Etienne scored on a four-yard run, and Trevor Lawrence converted with a quarterback sneak.
The Bengals moved into Jacksonville territory thanks to back-to-back plays involving a 28-yard screen to Joe Mixon and a 15-yard gain by running back Chase Brown. However, the Jaguars forced a long range goal after K’Lavon Chaisson tackled Jake Browning for a seven-yard loss on a double-pass.
Similar to a week prior, the Jaguars gained possession of the ball at their own 47 when the 57-yard field goal went short and bounced off the crossbar. However, the drive swiftly came to an abrupt halt when the Jaguars failed to get a pass interference call on a deep pass to Ridley on first down.
When the Bengals did eventually launch their counterattack, Joe Mixon scored a six-yard touchdown to tie the score at 7-7 in the second quarter after Browning completed throws of 24, 25, and 17 yards.
However, Jacksonville wouldn’t keep the score that way for very long. After a 2nd-and-14, the Jaguars were able to move the ball into the red zone, where Evan Engram scored his first touchdown of the season on a 22-yard reception from Ridley.
But the Bengals’ 75-yard, 12-play drive culminated in a two-yard touchdown run by Mixon, his second of the game, as the defense’s problems persisted.
Before the half, Jacksonville had an opportunity to go up 14–14, but an incorrect snap that Lawrence dropped in the pocket resulted in an underthrown pass to Ridley and a punt.
The second half saw the Bengals come out swinging. Following an unsuccessful 3rd-and-1 attempt by Etienne, the Jaguars went 3-and-out. Browning then found Ja’Marr Chase for a 76-yard touchdown pass over Tyson Campbell, which left the Jaguars behind 21-14.
Nevertheless, Jacksonville responded with their own offensive assault, and rookie wide receiver Parker Washington scored his first touchdown of the season with a stunning 14-yard reception after big catches from Zay Jones on third down helped the Jaguars reach the red zone.
After a few plays, wide receiver Tyler Boyd of the Bengals was intercepted by Allen during another attempt at a double pass, giving the Jaguars their first defensive stop since the first quarter and a position at the Bengals’ nine-yard line.
The Jaguars needed all four downs to get it done, but in the end, they reached paydirt and regained the lead when Lawrence cleared the goal line on fourth-and-1 to score his third touchdown of the contest.
The offense then managed to shoot themselves in the foot close to their own end zone after the Jaguars forced their first punt of the game. After a near-muff by Washington, there was a false start and a delay of game flags on consecutive plays, which resulted in a punt and a change from third-and-3 to third-and-13.
About The Author
