The Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars meet in Jacksonville for an AFC matchup on Monday Night Football. Cincinnati is coming off a loss to the Steelers in Week 12, while Jacksonville earned a huge divisional win over the Texans last week.
Game Information
Cincinnati Bengals (5-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (8-3)
Kickoff: Monday, 8:15 ET, ESPN or fuboTV
Location: EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
Point Spread: Jaguars -9.5 (-110)
Total: 39, Over -110, Under -110
Moneyline: Bengals +340, Jaguars -450
The line in this game opened at -6.5 in favor of the home team but money pouring in on the Jags has moved this line to -9.5 at most places. The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 8:15 p.m. ET from EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, FL.
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Cincinnati Bengals Lost without Burrow
With quarterback Joe Burrow sidelined for the remainder of the season, it seems as though the Bengals season is about to fully unravel. They’ve lost their last three games, including a 16-10 loss to the Steelers last weekend in Jake Browning’s first start as QB.
Browning wasn’t terrible, throwing for 227 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, but he was also sacked four times. The ground game, however, was awful. Joe Mixon led the team with eight carries for just 16 yards. Browning was the only other Bengals player to carry the ball, finishing with just nine yards. That’s just 25 total yards of offense on the ground.
Cincinnati also struggled on third down, finishing just 2-10. It also only found the red zone twice, converting just one possession into a touchdown. Without Burrow under center, we’re likely to see more of these types of numbers.
Defensively, the Bengals allowed the Steelers to amass 421 total yards, making it the first time all season that Pittsburgh outgained their opponent. Kenny Pickett threw for a season-high 278 yards, completing 72.7% of his passes, which is also a season-high. The Steelers only finished with 16 points, but that was more a product of its own poor red-zone play than anything the Bengals’ defense did.
Unfortunately for Cincinnati, things aren’t going to get any easier on either side of the ball this weekend.
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Jacksonville Jaguars Rule AFC South
The Jags are coming off a huge road win over the Texans last weekend, moving them to 8-3 on the season and keeping them in sole possession of the top spot in the AFC South.
Calvin Ridley is coming off back-to-back monster games with 103 receiving yards against the Titans and 89 receiving yards against the Texans. Christian Kirk also posted 89 yards last weekend and 104 in Week 10 against the 49ers. Jacksonville should be able to take advantage of Cincinnati’s secondary that’s allowing the most yards per reception (15.6) to opposing wide receivers. It’s also allowing 4.6 yards on the ground to opposing backs, which means Travis Etienne should be able to feast.
The Jags defense as a whole isn’t among the upper echelon in the NFL, ranking 20th in yards allowed (342.4) and 28th in passing yards allowed (255.0). However, their run defense ranks 4th, giving up just 87.4 yards per game. With Browning under center for the Bengals, I’d anticipate Cincinnati leaning on Mixon and the run game, but that’s going to play right into Jacksonville’s defense strengths.
Take Jaguars to Cover
I would back Jacksonville at anything up to -9.5. Between Browning managing the passing game and Mixon going up against a dominant run defense, I don’t see a path to success for Cincinnati’s offense. Meanwhile, Trevor Lawrence has been connecting with his receiving corps at will. That’s not going to change against this bad Bengals secondary. Jacksonville also makes for a great teaser leg this week.
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