The Bengals tried to take a little weight off of Jake Browning a couple of times by deploying some trickery in the quarterback’s second NFL start on Monday, but neither play unfolded like they hoped.
A pass from wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase back to Browning lost seven yards in the first half and a third-quarter try with wide receiver Tyler Boyd had even worse results. Boyd appeared to hold the ball longer than he was supposed to after getting the ball on a reverse and then threw the ball right to Jaguars edge rusher Josh Allen to give the Jags the ball inside the Cincinnati 10-yard-line.
Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence scored on a one-yard-run on fourth down to break a 21-21 tie and Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said after the game that “it’s a play we’ve had explosive plays on several times over the years.”
“It’s tough when your receiver’s not used to throwing the ball, took a little longer than we normally anticipate,” Taylor said. “That’s just part of making a call like that. You gotta live with that. He doesn’t practice quarterback, he doesn’t go through every situation. We usually — when we call that play in practice, we give a pretty vanilla look, pretty easy look to get the rep. It was a little tougher than anticipated and Josh made a good play.”
Taylor said that the play “could have broken our back” while praising the team for bouncing back after the sudden change deep in their own end. He would have faced a lot more scrutiny if that rebound had not ended with Evan McPherson’s field goal making them 34-31 winners.
The Jaguars were flagged for an unusual penalty on Monday night, when a water boy ran onto the field when that wasn’t permitted, causing the officials to charge Jacksonville with a timeout. Afterward, head coach Doug Pederson took responsibility.
Pederson said that tight end Evan Engram had signaled to the sideline that he needed water, and the water boy unthinkingly went to give it to him. Pederson blamed himself, saying it’s on the head coach to ensure that everyone on the sideline staff complies with the rules.
“Evan was asking for some water after a play that he made, and — just ran onto the field,” Pederson said. “It’s just unfortunate. Obviously it’s my responsibility. It’s an unsportsmanlike and they take a timeout away.”
This incident was a very different one than the fracas between 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw and Eagles chief security officer Dom DiSandro on Sunday, but both incidents point to the importance of head coaches getting control over their sidelines. The head coach is responsible for his sideline, and for everyone working for the team who’s standing on that sideline.
The Jaguars will remember Monday night for Trevor Lawrence’s ankle injury and a missed opportunity to keep pace with the leaders in the AFC playoff race, but the Bengals will remember the game much differently.
In Cincinnati, it will be the night that quarterback Jake Browning breathed new life into their own playoff hopes. Browning was 32-of-37 for 354 yards while throwing one touchdown and running for another in a 34-31 overtime win. It was a big improvement from their 16-10 loss to the Steelers in Browning’s first NFL start last week and head coach Zac Taylor said at his postgame press conference that “a great week of practice” left him feeling confident about what Browning would do in Jacksonville.
“He just lit the world on fire,” Taylor said. “At halftime I wasn’t sure we had an incompletion, if the ball had hit the ground yet. I just throught he managed the game beautifully well. He was aggressive with some of his throws, did a great job making plays with his feet. . . . Just really proud of Jake and the job he did.”
The win moves the Bengals to 6-6, which is just outside the top seven in the AFC but Browning’s outing makes the playoffs feel a lot more possible than they did immediately after Joe Burrow’s wrist injury. If he can lead them to a win against the Colts in Week 14, that path will look even more realistic in Cincinnati.
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase began his celebration before he crossed the goal line on his 76-yard touchdown catch on Monday night, turning all the way around and looking at the Jaguars defenders who were hopelessly chasing him. Afterward, he said he wanted to be disrespectful.
Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, who threw the pass, said Chase told him that afterward.
“I saw him turning around near the goal line, and I was thinking, ‘Why is he turning around?’ He said it was because he was being disrespectful,” Browning said.
Chase confirmed to reporters after the game that he knew going in that his mindset was going to be showing a lack of respect to the Jaguars.
“I said I was gonna do some asshole shit — excuse my profanity,” Chase said. “I was going to be a jerk today. . . . I just felt like being an evil person today.”
Chase said the Jaguars got what was coming to them by thinking a cornerback could cover him man-to-man.
“Straight man. No help,” Chase said of the Jaguars’ coverage.
Chase caught 11 of the 12 passes thrown to him on Monday night, gaining 149 yards and scoring that big touchdown, and he said the Bengals wanted to show that they’re still contenders even without Joe Burrow.
“We still can play Cincinnati football,” Chase said. “We showed that today.”
After exiting Monday night’s game in the fourth quarter and not returning, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence could miss more than that.
Per multiple reports, Lawrence has a sprained ankle. Which means that initial testing showed no broken bones. He’ll have more testing on Tuesday.
Coach Doug Pederson provided no specific information during his post-game press conference. He confirmed that more testing will happen tomorrow.
Asked about his level of concern regarding Lawrence’s injury, Pederson said, “I don’t know until I talk to the doctors, honestly.”
The type of sprain will be critical to his potential absence, along with the extent of any ligament damage. Earlier this year, he suffered a knee injury but missed no games.
There is some good news, under the circumstances. Via Cameron Wolfe of NFL Media, Lawrence was “in the locker room with teammates telling them about his ankle injury.” Wolfe adds that "[a] couple left him smiling after update and he seems in good spirits.” Per Wolfe, there is no wrap on the ankle and Lawrence was standing on his own.
Lawrence was able to walk, slowly and with considerable assistance, from the field to the locker room. It’s still unclear why a cart didn’t take him inside.
The 8-4 Jaguars host the 7-5 Browns on Sunday. The following week, Jacksonville visits Baltimore on Sunday Night Football. The Jaguars finish with the Buccaneers, Panthers, and Titans.
Tonight’s loss opens the door for both the 7-5 Texans and 7-5 Colts to make a run at the division title and home playoff game that would go with it.
UPDATE 12:27 a.m. ET: Wolfe adds that Lawrence “is now using his crutches and trainers just gave him a walking boot to put on his right ankle & exit the locker room,” and that Lawrence “can stand on his ankle but clearly not trying to put a lot of pressure to walk on it.”
