Jaguars vs. Bengals: Complete Week 9 Preview for Cincinnati
A week removed from what can only be classified as a season-saving win, the first-place Cincinnati Bengals must now avoid a letdown in Week 9 against a struggling Jacksonville Jaguars team.
Andy Dalton and the Bengals were able to avoid falling to last place in the AFC North a week ago with a win over the Baltimore Ravens, meaning they now control their own destiny at 4-2-1 after a clean sweep of their divisional foe.
That said, the Bengals are often characterized as a team that plays down to the competition, and Jacksonville quietly has the talent to pull off a road upset.
The Jaguars may be 1-7, but the defense is quietly very disruptive and the offense is led by an erratic but explosive rookie quarterback in Blake Bortles who finally has a strong run game behind him.
Sunday amounts to a contest a contender would win without looking ahead to a visit from Cleveland the week after. Within, let's preview what it will take for the Bengals to do just that, along with the important details surrounding the matchup.
Week 8 Recap
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It was not pretty, but it sure beats a tie and getting shut out in one of the worst losses in modern Cincinnati Bengals history.
Marvin Lewis' team returned to form a week ago with the Baltimore Ravens in town. Andy Dalton threw for 266 yards and an interception, but rushed for two scores. Giovani Bernard was ineffective with 16 carries for 45 yards, but also managed a score on the ground.
In the absence of A.J. Green, Mohamed Sanu once again came up big with five catches for 125 yards.
Defensively, even the line appeared to step up its play with Geno Atkins in the middle. Joe Flacco was sacked just once, but was pressured countless other times, leading to a pair of interceptions.
There were issues, of course, as Dalton caught a case of the turnover bug late and was sure to be the scapegoat after his team fell behind by four points with about as many minutes left in regulation.
Then Dalton surprised many with a game-winning drive to put down the Ravens in what many can only hope is a sign of things to come. Holding Baltimore to 294 total yards and a 5-of-13 mark on third downs while getting a game-winning drive might just be what the team needed.
News and Notes
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Linebackers Under the Spotlight Again
One quote from Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther says it all, per ESPN.com's Coley Harvey: "I told somebody [Wednesday], 'It's been a hell of a first year.'"
Indeed. The latest blow to his defense? Vontaze Burfict will miss the team's next two games after a minor knee operation.
This once again places an inordinate amount of pressure on a hodgepodge of names in the linebacking corps, as Burfict's absence earlier in the season led to disastrous results. Still, Guenther sounds confident in his group.
"We have a lot of guys that are versatile in their roles," Guenther said. "Vinny's been a guy who's played a lot of different spots. We've got some young guys that are playing some roles."
Rookie Quarterbacks Are Serious Business
Last week was a breath of fresh air for observers who had spent two weeks watching the Bengals get beat deep and attempt downright sloppy tackles.
Those issues mostly disappeared against Baltimore, and it is something safety Reggie Nelson and the rest of the secondary want to keep alive as they take the threat of Jacksonville Jaguars rookie quarterback Blake Bortles very seriously.
“They’re doing a lot of good stuff,” Nelson says, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “They putting their quarterback in position where he can make plays and they are doing a good job running the ball and not making too many mistakes. He makes some here and there. We got to execute as a defense and take advantage.”
Bortles has done a lot right this year, as he's completed 63.5 percent of his passes for 1,384 yards. He also has a strong 191 yards on the ground. The issue, though, is his six touchdowns to 12 interceptions. As ESPN Stats & Info notes, the opportunities will certainly be there for Nelson and Co.:
"Blake Bortles leads the NFL with 4 interceptions returned for TD this season
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 26, 2014"
Every rookie quarterback can have his day if defenses do not take the situation seriously. By the sounds of it, that will not be an issue Sunday.
Expectations for Andy Dalton
Believe it or not, Andy Dalton is becoming quite clutch under center.
Turnovers stick in the minds of many, but keep in mind that he now has eight fourth-quarter comebacks and 12 game-winning drives, including the one last week against Baltimore after some erratic turnovers.
For offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, the comeback was expected of his quarterback, A.J. Green or not.
“That was water off a duck’s back. He was ready to go make the next play. That’s why he’s who he is,” said Jackson, per Hobson. “That’s why he’s one of the leaders of this football team and our quarterback. You have to shake that off and go play, and he demonstrated that against a good defensive football team.”
Dalton will need to keep this trend alive when faced with a stout pass rush Sunday, not to mention the status of Green once again being up in the air. As long as the Jaguars are treated as an equal threat to that of the Ravens, the trend should remain intact.
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury Status |
| Giovani Bernard | RB | Questionable |
| Vontaze Burfict | LB | Out |
| A.J. Green | WR | Questionable |
The potential loss of A.J. Green once again hurts, but Mohamed Sanu has played well in his place. The concerns about the absence of Vontaze Burfict are very alive, but most concerning of all on this short list?
Giovani Bernard's status. Not just in a short-term sense, either. Bernard is a smaller back who has been getting rather high usage rates all season long, so it is right to wonder how well he can continue to hold up in the coming weeks if the same workload continues.
*All injury reports are from ESPN.com. This slide will be updated when the official report is released.
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X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
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Denard Robinson vs. Cincinnati Bengals Linebackers
It is no secret that the Cincinnati Bengals struggle mightily against the run this season, ranking No. 29 overall with an average of 140.7 yards allowed per game on the ground. This is only intensified with the absence of Vontaze Burfict.
The struggles and injuries come at a bad time, as the Jacksonville Jaguars have finally found a strong rushing attack thanks to Denard Robinson.
Robinson exploded as the starter two weeks ago and took 22 carries for 127 yards and a score against Cleveland on a 5.8 per-carry average. He followed that up with another 18 carries for 108 yards on a 6.0 average last week.
On the road, the Jaguars can be expected to ride that train once more to help protect a rookie quarterback. Whether the hobbled Bengals linebackers can meet the task head on will play a major factor in the outcome of the game.
Andrew Whitworth vs. Jaguars' Rushers
Many of the things Jacksonville does well get swept under the radar because of the team's record.
The defense's ability to rush is not something that should get ignored.
In fact, the Jaguars have a minimum of two sacks in each of their first eight games and the team's 25 total is the second-most in team history in that span.
The names are not well-known, but they should be. Chris Clemons has four sacks. So does Ryan Davis. Andre Branch has three. So does Sen'Derrick Marks. Paul Posluszny has two. So too do Telvin Smith and Abry Jones.
If it is not clear enough, the Jaguars can hurt offenses from a number of areas, so left tackle Andrew Whitworth and the rest of his line will need a strong performance Sunday rather than the up-and-down play that has plagued the unit all season long.
X-Factor of the Week: Geno Atkins
Geno Atkins returned in the minds of many last week by recording his first full sack of the season since his year-ending injury last season.
As Richard Skinner of Cincinnati.com notes, Atkins was quite the force last week:
"Sack and now a forced fumble today by Geno Atkins. #Bengals need him to continue making progress and become a force again
— Richard Skinner (@nkyskinner) October 26, 2014"
Atkins will need to continue to return to his usual self, as those around him only thrive when he plays at his best. This is especially the case against the Jaguars, as Robinson can otherwise hurt the team on the ground and the secondary can only spend so much time in coverage before surrendering a big play.
Watch No. 97 closely Sunday.
Prediction
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The Jacksonville Jaguars are not a team to take lightly, especially as the team seems to improve each week as the rebuild under Gus Bradley continues.
That said, it is hard to see how the Cincinnati Bengals drop this one, barring an epic collapse while playing down to the competition.
If Andy Dalton can continue to take care of the football and hit his receivers on quick-hitting plays to negate the potent Jaguars rush, the offense should have few issues moving the ball up and down the field on lengthy drives.
In that same vein, as long as Geno Atkins and the defense can provide consistent pressure, rookie Blake Bortles will make mistakes rather than hit budding talents such as Allen Robinson on the outside for big gains.
Cincinnati did well at the start of the season to take care of inferior opposition before the collapse. After last week's stellar performance, it is right to expect more of the same.
Prediction: Bengals 27, Jaguars 14
Note: Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
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