The Jaguars play the woeful Bengals this week
By Kathy Clark
The Jaguars and Bengals meet in a must-win game for both teams. Cincinnati wants its first win of 2019. The Jaguars want to remain in the playoff hunt.
The Jaguars had a stressful week full of distractions and uncertainty due in large part to the Jalen Ramsey situation. Can they get back to football and defeat the winless Cincinnati Bengals?
According to the most current Sports Illustrated power rankings, the Jaguars offense did this team no favors last week, falling to 23rd, overall.
"“The first dud from Gardner Minshew II albeit against an excellent defense. With the honeymoon over, a win over the Bengals suddenly becomes quite important.”"
The Bengals are ranked 30th overall after one of the worst starts to a season in franchise history.
"Per the MMQB staff, “Not only are they losing all their games but the Bengals lose painfully. Only 2 of their defeats have been by more than one touchdown.”"
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While the Bengals walk into Paul Brown Stadium looking to end the 0-6 skid, the Jaguars aren’t much better with a 2-4 record. On paper, this looks like an easy win for the Jaguars, but Cincinnati hopes to turn their misfortunes around.
The top players for the Bengals are Andy Dalton, Tyler Eifert who is an injury-prone tight end, Joe Mixon, who needs more touches in the running game, and Tyler Boyd an emerging wide receiver. Their best player, wide receiver A.J. Green, is injured and hasn’t played this season.
According to Cincy Jungle, this may be the Bengals’ best chance to earn a win any time soon.
"“The Bengals get to head back home this week to host the Jaguars if we are going solely based on the opposing team’s record, this is the Bengals best shot at a win until after their bye week.“"
Cincinnati faces a defense that looked better against the New Orleans Saints last week, holding them to 13 points. The pass rush isn’t what it has been in the past, but it was able to harass quarterback Teddy Bridgewater most of the game. With an offensive line that is beaten up and may miss two starters, Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue and Josh Allen could all have big games on Sunday.
The winless Bengals will have a long list of players out for Sunday's game against Jacksonville. Starting cornerbacks William Jackson and Dre Kirkpatrick have been ruled out. Others who will be out: WR A.J. Green, DE Carl Lawson, G John Miller, LT Andre... https://t.co/n81JzdcrsX
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) October 18, 2019
While the Bengals have their problems, the Jaguars have to remain consistent this weekend. Now that a major distraction off the field is gone (we will not name names) this organization can get back to winning football games.
Here is the good news. Running back Leonard Fournette is having a good season and is becoming a leader on and off the field. Quarterback Gardner Minshew has played well for a rookie. The Jaguars defensive line is still solid. The team has a potential star in DJ Chark. Josh Oliver, the rookie tight end draft picked in the third round this past April, has practiced this week and will be on the field for the first time this season.
Next. Can the Jaguars offense bounce back on Sunday?. dark
The kicking game is one of the very best. Doug Marrone has earned the respect of many for the way he has handled the team this year. This team will head to Cincinnati and defeat them to improve to 3-4. This is a must-win game once again for Jacksonville, who hopes to keep its playoff hopes alive.