Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Breaking Down the Jags' Game Plan

In Week 9, the Jacksonville Jaguars will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.

The Bengals feature a dynamic offense with playmakers up and down their roster. Out of all the Bengals playmakers, the one the Jaguars should be most concerned about is running back Giovani Bernard.

Bernard has 446 rushing yards and 179 receiving yards this season. He’s a dynamic threat who will test a Jaguars defense that has struggled to contain running backs all season.

On defense, the Bengals will deploy a unit that has forced nine interceptions and is plus-4 in turnover ratio so far this season. Meanwhile, the Jaguars offense has a minus-10 turnover ratio, and quarterback Blake Bortles has struggled with interceptions as of late.

This will be a tough matchup for the Jaguars, who will need to play their best football in order to make this a competitive game.

Let’s take a look at how head coach Gus Bradley should approach Week 9.

Offense

The Jaguars will not have the most talented team on the field Sunday. Therefore, they’ll need to strategize to exploit the Bengals’ biggest weakness: run defense.

The Bengals are currently allowing 140.7 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 29th in the NFL.

Fortunately for the Jaguars, newly appointed starter Denard Robinson has been on a tear. Robinson has posted back-to-back 100-yard games and has all the looks of a legitimate feature back.

See for yourself:

Courtesy NFL Game Rewind (Subscription Required)

Here you’ll see Robinson lined up in the shotgun formation. The defense is in a standard 4-3 formation with the linebackers playing forward in the box.

Courtesy NFL Game Rewind (Subscription Required)

After the snap, quarterback Blake Bortles hands the ball to Robinson on the draw play. Robinson accelerates so quickly that defensive end Dion Jordan—who is unblocked—can’t react fast enough to make an easy tackle.

Courtesy NFL Game Rewind (Subscription Required)

Robinson then takes the ball up the middle and finishes the run by running over two defenders before finally going down.

The bottom line is that the Jaguars' hopes rely on Robinson. Robinson has the combination of quickness and power to make some big plays and help the offense put big points on the board.

Defense

Stephen B. Morton/Associated Press

Defensively, the Jaguars' only concern should be stopping Bernard. Bernard has the capability to torch a Jaguars defense that is currently allowing 382.4 yards per game.

One player who could have a big game for the Jaguars is rookie linebacker Telvin Smith. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Smith has graded plus-5.6 and plus-2.1 respectively over the past two weeks. In that time, he’s amassed seven tackles, one sack and one interception. 

Smith has the speed (4.52-second 40-yard dash), athleticism and coverage ability to shadow Bernard throughout the game. A smart game plan for the coaching staff would be to assign Smith to Bernard all game in hopes of limiting his impact.

Conclusion

The Jaguars are in for one of their toughest matchups of the season. If they don’t strategize correctly, this game could easily be a blowout.

Let’s hope Gus Bradley has his team prepared.

*All stats courtesy NFL.com, unless otherwise noted. 

**All film courtesy NFL Game Rewind, subscription required.