The Cincinnati Bengals sneaked out of Thursday night with a 24-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Cincinnati Bengals were coming off their biggest win in quite some time after beating the rival Pittsburgh Steelers this past Sunday. They had what looked to be a favorable matchup on Thursday night against the winless Jacksonville Jaguars, but it turned out to be more of a challenge than many anticipated.
Yet, it was the Bengals who bounced back in the second half and walked out of Paul Brown Stadium with a 24-21 win following a 35-yard field goal by Evan McPherson.
The Bengals can give an assist to Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, who opted to pass on an easy field goal on fourth-and-goal at the end of the first half to go for a touchdown. That did not pan out, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence was stopped on a goal-line run for no gain.
Twitter users did not let Meyer forget about that decision.
What’s crazy is that if the bengals hit this field goal this game would probably be tied if Urban Meyer took the field goal before the half
— Just A Fan Club (@JTKELLZ92) October 1, 2021
Urban Meyer opting not to go for the field goal at the end of the half cost them.
— N I N I (@NeoSoul87) October 1, 2021
Never forget that Urban Meyer chose to go for it on 4th and 1 instead of kicking a field goal at the end of the first half despite being up by 14 and cost Jacksonville the game #JAXvsCIN
— Danny Ruga 🔴⚪⚫ (@Ruga1993) October 1, 2021
urban meyer coulda kicked a field goal earlier in the game lmao
— jit🧞♂️ (@ajit_selv) October 1, 2021
Urban Meyer, you kick the field goal and go up 3 scores man 🙈
— Matt (@WukTang) October 1, 2021
And Urban Meyer, that’s why you always take the points. Would’ve been a 3 possession game if you just kicked the field goal at the end of the 1st half.
— OakleyHusky (@kmorr2586) October 1, 2021
Longest NFL losing streak
With this game in the books, the Jaguars now have lost 20-consecutive games. For those wondering, this is not the longest losing streak in NFL history. That distinction belongs to the Chicago Cardinals, who lost 29-straight games from 1942 until 1945.
Thursday Night Football: Bengals vs Jaguars stats
The Bengals offense could not get anything going in the first half, where they trailed the Jaguars 14-0. But in the second half, the 2020 first-overall pick helped wake up the fans in Cincinnati.
Burrow completed 25-of-32 pass attempts for 348 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to tight end C.J. Uzomah. This is not the first time that Burrow has defeated Lawrence. Burrow’s LSU Tigers defeated Lawrence’s Clemson Tigers 42-25 in the CFP National Championship Game back in 2020.
Running back Joe Mixon was responsible for Cincinnati’s third touchdown in the second half, coming on a one-yard run. Overall, Mixon rushed for 67 yards on 16 carries.
Lawrence threw for 204 yards, zero touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 17-of-24 of his throws. Jacksonville’s starting quarterback was a threat on the run, as he scored a touchdown and rushed for 36 yards on eight carries.
Jaguars running back James Robinson had a huge game, as he ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 18 attempts.
The Bengals will look to improve their record to 4-1 in a huge Week 5 matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The Jaguars seek to earn their first win of the season and end their losing streak next week when they play the rival Tennessee Titans.
