The Jacksonville Jaguars headed into halftime up 13-10 on the Cincinnati Bengals, but after that, the wheels simply fell off for coach Doug Marrone and company. That especially was the case for the defense who couldn’t get a stop and was ravaged with injuries.
Led by first overall pick Joe Burrow and star running back Joe Mixon, the Bengals offense got rolling with a full head of steam. Mixon in particular had himself a day, finishing the day with 25 carries for 151 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He also had a great day as a pass-catcher, garnering six catches for 30 yards and a touchdown.
As for Burrow, he had a first overall pick type of performance, going 25-of-36 for 300 yards, one touchdown, and a pick. The previously struggling Bengals offensive line kept him upright, and as a result, he picked the Jags’ defense apart.
Speaking of the Jags’ defense, many will look at this game and say Todd Wash’s lack of ability to manufacture a pass rush was inexcusable. Just to give fans an indicator of how bad his situation was, Burrow was sacked eight times and was hit 18 Week 3, but came into Week 4 and was kept relatively clean. That ultimately propelled the Bengals’ offense to a day where they would post 505 total yards — a season-high for the Jags in terms of yards allowed.
To make matters worse, it felt like key members of the defense were dropping like flies with unfortunate injuries. Myles Jack (ankle), D.J. Hayden (hamstring), and CJ Henderson (shoulder) all left the game and weren’t able to return. As a result, the Jags had to insert backup linebacker Dakota Allen, and cornerback Sidney Jones while Tre Herndon kicked in to nickel. Of course, this will be something to monitor throughout the week, especially with the unit struggling.
As for the standouts of the game, running back James Robinson once again, garnering 107 total yards on the day. D.J. Chark led the way in receiving with eight catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns while Laviska Shenault Jr. wasn’t far behind with five catches for 86 yards.
Regardless of the positives, though, this loss is one that hurts the Jags tremendously as they’ve dropped two consecutive games to two bottom tier rosters. Now at 1-3, they will enter the second quarter of the season with a battle against the winless Houston Texans who definitely shouldn’t rule out the potential of Week 5 giving them their first win.