Tag: Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cincinnati Bengals

NFL legend London Fletcher praises RB James Robinson after impressive career start

NFL legend London Fletcher had high praise for Jags RB James Robinson, who is impressing by the week.

Rookie running back James Robinson has been a pleasant surprise for the Jacksonville Jaguars and could be up for a big day Sunday with the Cincinnati Bengals in his sight. They will come into Week 4 ranked next to last in rush defense, allowing an average of 181.7 yards per game.

For that reason, NFL legend London Fletcher told the CBS Sports Network panel he’s excited to watch the young tailback and praised him by saying Robinson has amazing potential.

As mentioned in the video, many were puzzled by the Jags’ decision to move on from Leonard Fournette, but seeing Robinson in camp obviously gave them a huge deal of confidence. He proved them right out of the gate as he’s been the team’s most consistent player since Week 1.

Robinson has gotten off to such a good start he became the first undrafted player in NFL history to garner at least 300 scrimmage yards and multiple touchdowns through three career games. That was an achievement that helped him earned Rookie of the Month honors for September, but it feels as though he’s far from done.

Robinson will come into Sunday’s game with 43 carries for 210 rushing yards and three touchdowns. If he can accumulate 72 more yards from scrimmage, he’ll have the highest total by a Jaguar through their first four career games according to the Jags public relations department.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.

3 keys to a Jags victory vs. the Bengals

The Jags will have DJ Chark back against the Bengals, but it’s RB James Robinson who may need to lead the way Sunday if the team is to win.

For the second consecutive year, the Jacksonville Jaguars will face the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Unlike in their last few meetings, however, there will be a new signal-caller behind center in first overall pick Joe Burrow, who has been as advertised when kept upright.

Both teams should come into this game in desperation mode as a win would put the Jags at .500, while the Bengals would avoid sustaining the dreaded zero-win quarterly start that has crushed the playoff chances of many teams. For Doug Marrone, it would also slow down the hot seat discussions that would come from a loss and give Jags fans somewhat of a reason to have faith in registering a respectable season.

As always, there will be several keys Marrone and the Jags need to focus on if they are to win this afternoon, and here are the three we feel will be the most important when the Battle of the Felines kicks off in Cincy:

The defense can’t put the team at an early disadvantage

It’s not exactly shocking when looking at what they’ve lost, but the Jags defense simply hasn’t been good aside from Week 1. In the Jags’ last game, the unit was shredded by Ryan Fitzpatrick and then Ryan Tannehill the week before, neither of which are in the top-2 tiers of quarterbacks.

The unit’s play especially hurt the team during Thursday Night Football Week 3, allowing the Dolphins to score touchdowns in their first two drives. Of course, with the team being down 14-0, the gameplan had to be altered, and typically when that happens, teams struggle.

Simply put, Todd Wash’s unit can’t allow Burrow and company to get off to such a hot start because it could once again prove to be costly. The veteran coordinator will have the luxury of facing a struggling offensive line that has allowed Burrow to be hit frequently, so there is absolutely no excuse to get it done Week 4.

After a week in which the staff stressed fundamentals, it will be interesting to not only see how the Jags pass rush fares, but how their young corners respond, too. Tre Herndon has had a lackluster season and CJ Henderson will be coming off of a rough Week 3 showing where he allowed five catches on five targets for 62 yards and a touchdown. Simply put, the staff is hoping both can get their hands on more balls, and Burrow won’t be shy when it comes to testing them.

Get off to a fast start on offense

Sure the defense put them in a hole early, but that doesn’t excuse how lost the unit looked without DJ Chark Jr. Week 3. Due to his experience, many were hoping that receiver Chris Conley would step up last Thursday night against the Dolphins, but the drop issues he had in 2019 resurfaced. The remainder of the receivers on the staff were quiet as well and the offense finished Week 3 with more garbage time stats than anything else.

Luckily, Chark is back and it should be a tremendous help. He and quarterback Gardner Minshew II are one of the better deep bawl tandems in football and they need to show it Sunday. That may be easier said than done because the Bengals are actually sound against the pass, ranking third in the category, allowing an average of only 217.3 yards per game.

Get James Robinson going early and often

While the Bengals passing defense looks to be a good one, they’ve struggled against the run. In fact, they will enter Week 4’s game next to last in the category, allowing an average of 181.7 yards per game.

That’s certainly not where a team wants to be with the Jags most consistent player of 2020 being running back James Robinson, who was named offensive rookie of September this week. With his phenomenal start to the season, he became the only undrafted player in NFL history to garner at least 300 scrimmage yards and multiple touchdowns through three career games.

When adding in the fact that the Bengals will be without Geno Atkins Sunday, it feels like it would only be right to lean on Robinson this week to get the Jags going. In return, it will not only keep Burrow off the field, but it would present opportunities for Chark and company to take advantage of the aforementioned Bengals passing defense.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.

Jaguars now 2.5-point underdogs in latest odds update vs. Bengals

There has been a slight shift in the spread and money line for the Jags and Bengals game with Joe Mixon now listed as questionable.

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t gotten respect on the sportsbook lately but there has been a slight change that might influence the betting scene.

According to BetMGM, the Jaguars have seen a slight increase in their spread as they are now 2.5-point underdogs in their matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. The shift represents a change from earlier in the week when the Jags opened as a 3.0-point favorite.

The Jaguars’ odds on the money line have also changed from +150 to +115, which is almost an even wager line.

A late week injury to Bengals starting running back Joe Mixon could be the reason for the change as he showed up on the Bengals’ injury report with a chest injury and is deemed questionable to play Sunday. Jacksonville will get Pro Bowl wide receiver D.J. Chark back after he missed last week’s game against the Miami Dolphins with a chest injury, which further helps the odds on the Jags side.

Jags will look to undrafted rookie Doug Costin, Daniel Ekuale for ‘flexibility’ at DT

After Timmy Jernigan wasn’t able to get going, the Jags are hoping for a spark from Doug Costin and Daniel Ekuale at DT Week 4.

The Jacksonville Jaguars started the week off by making adjustments to the interior of their defensive line, parting ways with veteran Timmy Jernigan. With him no longer on the team, coach Doug Marrone expects undrafted rookie Doug Costin to get more reps while Daniel Ekuale was also promoted off the practice squad to help out, too. In return, the Jags are hoping for more versatility in the interior as they’ve struggled to be effective at the defensive tackle position.

The Jags signed Jernigan on Aug. 17 in hopes that he could provide a spark for the team in the interior. Unfortunately, he could never get going for them, garnering just one tackle in three games and 54 snaps. That led to him ultimately ending his Jags tenure with a Pro Football Focus grade of 44.1.

Costin was a player who impressed in training camp and he’s seemingly put together some good regular season practices together. After coming from the University of Miami (Ohio) as an undrafted rookie this April, Costin was one of four undrafted free-agents to make the Jags’ final roster and Sunday will mark his first snaps.

Ekuale, on the other hand, is a player who does have some regular season experience after making the Cleveland Browns’ final 53-man roster last season. He played in seven games and registered four tackles, one of which were for a loss.

Jaguars enter Week 4 as 3-point underdogs for road matchup vs. Bengals

The Jags were favored last week over the Dolphins, but oddsmakers have them as road underdogs against the Bengals.

After a tough home loss against the Miami Dolphins, the Jacksonville Jaguars have apparently lost the respect of the sportsbooks.

According to BetMGM, the Jacksonville Jaguars are 3-point underdogs in their next matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Jags were actually favored by the same amount in their last game against the Dolphins, but lost by the score of 31-13 in TIAA Bank Stadium. The Bengals are coming off of a thrilling yet heartbreaking 23-23 tie against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Bengals and the Jaguars last met in 2019 with the Jags winning 27-17. Jacksonville holds an all-time record of 13-9 over Cincinnati. Both teams will come into the game with a combined 1-4-1 record.

The Jaguars are also a slight +150 underdog on the money line meaning that a $100 wager on the Jaguars to win would net $150. The over/under is set at 47.5 points with the Jaguars coming into the matchup scoring 23.3 points per game while the Bengals aren’t too far behind at 22.0 points per game.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Listen to the latest from Jags Wire’s own James Johnson and Phil Smith on their podcast “Bleav in the Jags.” Subscribe via Apple Podcasts and check out our archived episodes via Bleav Podcasts.