This was a much different win for the Jaguars than last week.
Every win can’t be a blowout. Some weeks, it’s going to come down to the wire. That’s just how this league works.
The biggest story of Sunday’s game, a 22-17 win over the Bengals, was the penalties. It felt like there was a flag on almost every other play. Both teams finished with more than 100 yards in penalties, with the Jaguars racking up 125.
Normally, that many penalty yards aren’t a recipe for winning. But maybe it is against Cincy.
The last time the Jaguars won a game with more than 100 yards in penalties was in 2019.
Against the Bengals.
Weird coincidence, maybe. But a win is a win.
And the Jaguars finished this one.
Blowouts are great, but making the plays you need to make in the fourth quarter of a tight game tells you something about a team, too. For the first time in a while, the offense wasn’t able to run through Parker Washington the way it has in recent weeks, and that wasn’t a problem.
Brenton Strange stepped up and made some clutch catches. Josh Cameron made plays. Brian Thomas Jr. came through with a touchdown catch.
The offense found other answers when one of its biggest weapons wasn’t as involved.
On defense, the biggest play of the day may have come from a guy who entered the game as a third-string safety.
Rayuan Lane made the play of the game, getting the stop on fourth down to seal the win. Lane was only playing because Eric Murray and Caleb Ransaw both went down with injuries earlier in the game.
In the biggest moment of the day, a second-year player who had never started an NFL game stepped up and made a play.
That’s the sign of a good team.
Four weeks are now in the books, and the Jaguars are sitting at 3-1. That’s a good place to be.
There’s still a lot of football left, with a long trip to London on deck. But right now, the Jaguars look like a team that’s ready to make some real noise in the AFC.
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