The upcoming Monday Night Football game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals will feature a battle of coaching brothers. The Bengals, led by head coach Zac Taylor, have lost three consecutive games and are currently at the bottom of the AFC North division. Meanwhile, the Jaguars, coached by Doug Pederson, have won seven of their last eight games and are sitting at the top of the AFC South.
The Jaguars boast the NFL’s fourth-ranked run defense, allowing only 87.4 yards per game. Their offense is led by star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is coming off a 364-yard passing performance. On the other hand, the Bengals are hoping to bounce back from their recent losses with quarterback Kyle Browning, who completed 19 of 26 passes for 227 yards and one touchdown in his first career start last Sunday against the Steelers.
Browning had to make his first start without Tee Higgins, one of the top receivers in the NFL, who missed his third straight game due to a hamstring injury. However, Higgins returned to practice in a limited capacity on Thursday and is hopeful to start alongside fellow star receiver Ja’Marr Chase on Monday night.
Our projection for the score
Browning had to make his first start without Tee Higgins, one of the top receivers in the NFL, who missed his third straight game due to a hamstring injury. However, Higgins returned to practice in a limited capacity on Thursday and is hopeful to start alongside fellow star receiver Ja’Marr Chase on Monday night.
The Jaguars are playing their first Monday night game since 2011, and they have won 8 out of their 15 Monday night games. The Bengals, on the other hand, have played 33 Monday night games and have won 15 of them. Zac Taylor’s younger brother, Press, serves as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator and has earned his position through hard work and dedication.It’ll be a battle of coaching brothers when the Jacksonville Jaguars host a rare Monday night game against the slumping Cincinnati Bengals.
Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor brings his Bengals (5-6) into Jacksonville having lost three straight and falling into the cellar of the AFC North after winning the division the last two seasons.
Jacksonville (8-3) is coached by Doug Pederson, and Taylor’s younger brother Press serves as the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator of the unit that has star quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
“He’s somebody I’m very proud of,” Zac Taylor said of Press. “I’ve watched his journey. He’s earned everything he’s ever gotten. He’s worked really hard for it. He’s really smart and takes care of people.”
The Jaguars are playing their first Monday night game since Dec. 5, 2011, a 38-14 home loss to the San Diego Chargers. The Jaguars played two Monday night games that season, beating the visiting Baltimore Ravens 12-7 for a split.
The Jaguars are 8-7 all-time on Monday night.
Jacksonville has won seven of its last eight games and sits atop the AFC South. The Jags have the NFL’s fourth-ranked run defense (87.4 yards allowed per game), while Lawrence leads the offense and is coming off a 364-yard passing performance
In his first career start last Sunday against the Steelers in Cincinnati, Browning completed 19 of 26 passes for 227 yards and one touchdown and a costly third-quarter interception. The Bengals held a 7-3 lead at the half and were driving for another score to open the third quarter when his pass for Ja’Marr Chase was intercepted.
“I thought he handled some things really well for us,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “It’s a tough task to play a divisional game versus a good defense in your first game. There’s going to be plenty of things he can learn from.”
Browning had to make his first start last week without Tee Higgins, who missed his third straight game with a hamstring injury. Higgins returned to practice in a limited capacity on Thursday and is hopeful to start alongside fellow star receiver Chase on Monday night.
“Tee’s one of the top receivers in the NFL,” said Browning, who was a full participant Thursday despite being listed for a right wrist issue. “I don’t think can put into words how important he is to this offense.
“I think Andrei (Iosivas) has continued to play really well. Trenton Irwin has proven he can do it, but there’s just something that Tee brings to the table being as big, as fast and having the experience he does, where it’s always nice to have him and Ja’Marr on the outside.”
PREDICTION
The line on Point Spread opened at -6.5 for Jaguars as favorites, and through the week moved to -10, or perhaps even -10.5. Our score projection may suggest Jaguars covering it easy, but there is plenty of value in +10.5 on Bengals, and we going with points on underdog.
Game Total OVER 41 is our selection for the game. It’s just hard to imagine another low-scoring affair on MNF