Coming in on a three game losing streak, and without their starting QB, the 2023 season has quickly been slipping from the Bengals. Yet, they still entered week 13 right in the thick of the Wildcard hunt, based on their record. Facing a Jaguars team that is battling for the top seed in the AFC, the Bengals were understandably big underdogs. But needing a win to realistically remain in the hunt, both the coaches and players had to put their best foot forward to have a shot of winning without multiple starters.
Well, it was a tough start for the Bengals. They made it into Jacksonville territory on their opening drive, but Browning took a sack on 4th & 3 from the 44. On their second drive, McPherson missed a 57 yard field goal. In between those drives, meanwhile, the Jags were able to get off to a hot start. With a short field, Lawrence hit Kirk for 26 yards to immediately enter Cincinnati territory. Only a handful of plays later, Etienne ran it in for a 4 yard TD. 7-0 Jaguars.
The Bengals answered on their third drive, which started at their own 8 yardline after the Jaguars punted. A 17 yard pass to Ja’Marr Chase on 3rd down is really what jump started the entire offence, as things just looked different from that point onwards. Browning found Trenton Irwin for 25 on the next play, and then Tanner Hudson for 24 just two plays after that. The trend of chunk plays continued, with Tee Higgins making a 14 yard catch to put the Bengals at the 6 yard line. From there, Joe Mixon ran it in for the TD to tie the game. 7-7.
Jacksonville answered right back on their next drive. Much of this drive consisted of shorter pickups, with the big ones being around 10 yards. But eventually, Ridley was able to make a catch for 21 yards. On the next play, Lawrence found the TE, Engram, for a 22 yard TD. 14-7 Jaguars.
Cincinnati, on their next drive, were able to string together a few nice plays to start it off, with Higgins, Mitchell Wilcox, and Mixon combining for 30 yards on those three plays. Later on, Browning hit Tyler Boyd for 10 yards on 3rd & 5 inside Jacksonville territory, before an 11 yard completion to Drew Sample set them up with 1st & goal at the Jaguars 5 yard line. A couple of plays later, Mixon ran it in for his 2nd TD of the game. 14-14. This was the score at the half.
After the Jaguars punted on their opening drive of the 2nd half, the Bengals wasted no time taking the lead. This is because Ja’Marr Chase was able to get loose deep down the left sideline to make a catch, before drawing off and running into the end zone. It was a 76 yard TD, capping off a 3 play, 84 yard drive. 21-14 Bengals.
The Jaguars matched Cincinnati’s 84 yard TD drive with an 84 yard TD drive of their own. But theirs was 12 plays, compared to the Bengals’ 3 play drive. Zay Jones made a 23 yard catch early in the drive, and then a 16 yarder on 3rd & 7 a little later. They continued to march down, with pretty modest pickups. But then Lawrence completed another long pass, this one 18 yards to Washington. He then found Washington again a few plays later for a 14 yard TD. 21-21.
Things took a bad turn for the Bengals at this point. Their next drive consisted of just one play – a trick play that ended in disaster. Browning threw a backwards pass to Tyler Boyd, who then looked to make a pass. But when nothing opened up, Boyd seemed to panic, and he attempted an ill-advised cross-field pass for Joe Mixon. Unfortunately, the pass was right to Josh Allen, who made the easy interception and returned it to the Bengals 9 yard line. The Jaguars needed all four downs to score, but they did punch it in on 4th & goal from the 1, via a Trevor Lawrence QB sneak. 28-21 Jaguars.
The TD fest took a break for a couple of drives, before picking up again in the 4th quarter. It was Cincinnati at work, looking to tie the game again. Chase, Mixon, and Boyd each had pickups of 10+ yards, as they made their way into Jacksonville territory. After a drop by Chase, Zac Taylor elected to keep the offence on the field on 4th & 3 at the Jaguars 10 yard line. Browning once again looked in Chase’s direction, and this time, he made the catch, and picked up the 1st down. On 2nd & goal from the 1, Jake Browning ran the QB sneak and was able to get into the end zone. 28-28.
After the Jaguars missed a 48 yard field goal, the Bengals went down and got one of their own. It was a 54 yarder by McPherson, giving the Bengals a late 31-28 lead. However, with close to 2 and a half minutes left, the Jaguars, now led by CJ Beathard after Trevor Lawrence was injured, were able to take advantage of soft play calling on by the Bengals, and again got into field goal range. McManus was successful this time, hitting from 40 yards out to tie the game at 31. Still level at the end of regulation, OT was needed.
Cincinnati’s defence was able to force a punt after the Jags won the toss and got the ball first. The offence wasted no time pushing the ball down the field, as Browning found Chase for 17 yards on the first play. An 11 yarder to Higgins later moved the chains on 3rd & 10, a play that would prove to be huge. The Bengals continued to work their way deeper into Jacksonville territory, before the drive finally stalled out at the 30 yard line. They sent Evan McPherson out for the chance to win the game. The attempt was from 48 yards out, and the young kicker drained it, giving the Bengals a walk off win on Monday Night Football. 34-31 final.
The Bengals are now back to .500, with their record sitting at 6-6. They return home to face the 7-5 Indianapolis Colts next week, who happen to hold the final Wildcard position at the moment. Cincinnati will look to keep the momentum going, as they try to stay in the race for the playoffs.
Homescreen Image Via: Erik Drost (CC)