NFL
By Jalen Willingham
The Cincinnati Bengals will go on the road to play the Jacksonville Jaguars in week 13 of the 2023 NFL season for Monday Night Football. Cincinnati comes into Duval with a 15-game losing streak in road prime-time games.
When: Monday, December 4, 2023
Where: EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida
Network: ABC/ESPN
Offense
Running the exact same offense with your backup quarterback that you run with your franchise quarterback is malpractice. That is what the Bengals did with Jake Browning while facing their very own division rival Pittsburgh Steelers with T.J. Watt having a field day. I’ve said it many times already. Play-calling has been the death of this offense and the Bengals need to desperately run the football more. Joe Mixon and rookie Chase Brown have to be more involved in the game.
Play-calling isn’t the only thing that needs to be improved. If the Bengals want any shot of winning, Jake Browning also needs to get rid of the dam ball faster. The Jaguars best pass rusher has been outside linebacker Josh Allen who comes in with 12 sacks on the year. Jacksonville is 6-0 when Allen has at least 0.5+ sacks. Second-year edge rusher Travon Walker has also come along as well. Allen and Walker are the only edge rush duo who both have at least 30 pressures each.
If the Bengals are going to continue to pass for the majority of the game with a backup, Browning has to be ready to feel the heat. Unless he enjoys getting hit, which I hope he doesn’t, Brownings reads have to be better going forward.
A key matchup to watch will be how Jaguars cornerbacks Darious Williams and Monetary Brown fair against Ja’Marr Chase. Williams leads the NFL with 16 passes defensed. The good news is that Tee Higgins will be back to take the much-needed pressure off of Chase
Defense
Giving up over 400 yards to a lackluster Steelers offense was such an ugly sight to see. I doubt it will be any better facing Jacksonville. Cincinnati needs to keep the points low while also creating more opportunities for their own offense to score. The Jaguars are top ten in rushing attempts. Expect the Bengals to have another long day against running back Travis Etienne.
Cincinnati will once again be without cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt. A key matchup to watch will be rookie DJ Turner against Calvin Ridley. Don’t sleep on Christian Kirk either. Both receivers are on pace for over 1,000 yards receiving by the end of the season. The Bengals are one of the worst in the league when it comes to guarding tight ends. They are allowing a rating or 114 when tight ends are targeted. Trevor Lawrence may look towards Evan Engram even more as a result.
The Jaguars lost starting offensive tackle Cam Robinson for the next month. A big matchup that can go in favor of the Bengals will be Jacksonville’s backup Walker Litter facing Trey Hendrickson. I can definitely, see Hendrickson putting a lot of pressure on Lawrence throughout the game. Someone else on the defensive line needs to step up though.
Prediction
Jaguars win 28-13
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