In spite of some strong performances, the Jacksonville Jaguars came up short against a Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals. The offense moved the ball, and—at least in the first half—the defense made stops. Still, the Jags are now 1-1, which is about the place most analysts might have projected. They came into the season with a lot of hope and untested talent—and a lot of tested talent looking to prove they belonged.
And while talking heads have been doing their thing for months, fans weren't quite sure what to expect. The Jags' performance in Week 1—despite its faults—led to an impressive showing and a dominant performance. Week 2? The same issues crept up, but this time the play on the field wasn't enough to overcome them and walk away with the win. With that in mind, here are some winners and losers from the game.
** But before we get started ** I should point out we're going to do things a little differently this time. I've decided to highlight position groups over players, since many of the struggles and successes were across multiple players instead of a single, stellar performance (though there were still some of those).
Jaguars winner No. 1: The running backs
This should probably extend to the O-line, so honorable mention for the big guys up front. While the running game didn't produce the same numbers they did during a dominant Week 1, the three backs combined for 24 rushes and 126 yards. That's a solid 5.25 yards per carry. Travis Etienne Jr. was the steady workhorse, and rookie Bhayshul Tuten runs with power and physicality. As B&T's Cassandra Chesser observes, the Jags don't miss Tank Bigsby.
Jaguars winner No. 2: The secondary
You can almost highlight the entire defense here, but let's stick to one since we can't all be winners. And maybe choosing the secondary when they gave up over 300 yards is a bold choice. Still, they picked off backup quarterback Jake Browning twice (linebacker Devin Lloyd added a third) and kept him to a sub-70 QBR. Yes, Ja'Marr Chase ran circles on them, but he tends to do that. They played well enough to win against a stellar Bengals offense.
Now, let's turn our attention to the losers.
Related: Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence milestone rings hollow amid struggles
Jaguars loser No. 1: The wide receivers
I should probably pause to talk about quarterback Trevor Lawrence first, since he did throw two picks. You can argue he deserves to be in the loser column, but I dropped him here last week, and I'm a benevolent guy. Besides, you can argue his second interception wasn't his fault—Brian Thomas Jr. kind of gave up on the play (6:30 mark).
Which brings me to the receiving corps. I do feel bad lumping them all together here, since third-year veteran Parker Washington had himself a day with five receptions on only five targets for 76 yards—43 of which came after the catch.
But Dyami Brown dropped a touchdown, and Thomas dropped a catchable pass that might have iced the game. Another wild statistic: Thomas had four catches on 12 targets. Maybe some of that is on Lawrence, but it can't all be. The former Pro Bowler is definitely having something of a sophomore slump.
Jaguars loser No. 2: The fans
Yep, that's us, guys. You know why we're losers? Because some of you were watching the game and thinking the same thing as me: The Jags are at it again. Penalties, drops, interceptions... whatever they can do to mess it up. They had a chance to finish the game multiple times, but they let Browning hit plays he shouldn't have. Want to know something else that hurts? The last time the Jags played the Bengals, Burrow was out, Browning threw for 354 yards, and we lost 34-31.
So here we are, in the losers column, because we're only two games in, and some of us are thinking, "Here we go again." And you know what? I paid for NFL Sunday Ticket, so I'm going to watch the Jags every week, even if it kills me. And it just might.
Related: Jarrian Jones leaves Bengals game (but Jaguars have perfect replacement)
Final thoughts
The season isn't over, and there's more to love than there is to hate. The Jaguars are in good hands with new head coach Liam Coen. Clean up the penalties, stop throwing the ball to the other team, and tighten up the defense a bit, and we've got a great team. The pieces are there, my fellow Jags fans, so don't toss your jerseys... just yet.
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