What we learned from the Bengals’ win over the Jaguars on Monday night

Full box score

1. Jake Browning Become a hero. Washington’s former prominent university was forced out of action two weeks ago when Joe Burrow He suffered a season-ending wrist injury. Browning hasn’t looked great, but he showed signs of progress in a loss to Pittsburgh last week. On Monday night, Browning thrived. He completed 32 of 37 passes for 354 yards and one touchdown — a 76-yard strike to Jamar Chase To give the Bengals a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter — and he performed as if he had been a 10-year starter. Browning ran Zac Taylor’s offense with remarkable efficiency, avoiding pitfalls and delivering on-target passes to eight different receivers on the night. He didn’t fumble and fall for 354 yards. Browning earned credit for every one of his accomplishments, and the Bengals’ upset win was Browning’s first as a starter since his days as a Husky. If anyone deserves the game ball, it’s the most underrated quarterback heading into Monday night.
2. The Jaguars are suffering a loss, perhaps more. Jacksonville found itself in an unexpected battle with the Dogs on Monday night, as it struggled to stop the run and failed to unsettle Browning. Instead of getting a win against a Bengals team without Burrow, the Jaguars had to scratch and claw just to stay in the game. In the midst of this battle, the worst happened: Trevor Lawrence He was out with an ankle injury that was severe enough for the star quarterback to call for help and slowly make his way to the locker room. C.J. Beathard The Jaguars played well enough to move the Jaguars into field goal range, but once Lawrence went down, the air was sucked out of EverBank Stadium. Now, as they deal with the sting of a prime-time loss, Jags fans will have to wait and see how seriously Lawrence’s sprained ankle was, and whether they’ll fall into the nightmare of finishing the season without their quarterback.
3. Zac Taylor plans to create a masterpiece. Taylor entered Week 13 knowing he wouldn’t be able to ask Browning to jog down the field and switch to Burrow, and he trained that way. Taylor did a great job of planning for the quarterback’s strengths, focusing on running early to ease Jacksonville’s pass rush and buy Browning time to work. While the run was working, the play-action pass became a viable path to success, and suited Browning’s skillset perfectly. Taylor often called for Browning to ditch run fakes and find open targets flowing to the right, opening up a Bengals offense that most expected to continue through the night. This balance helped build Browning’s confidence and allow him to settle in, giving the Bengals opportunities to target their corps of talented receivers down the field while mixing in some punishing snaps. Joe Mixon He carries. When Browning dropped to pass and hit Chase early in the third quarter for a touchdown, it was as if Taylor inserted a skeleton key into the lock, turning it and revealing the full potential of his offense. Jacksonville had to search frantically for answers, and even when the Jaguars made Taylor pay for being too nice with a play call by intercepting a pass thrown by Tyler Boyd, the Bengals didn’t back down. If anyone needed proof of Taylor’s coaching ability, Monday night’s tape will put the argument to rest.
4. Jacksonville opens the door to AFC South chaos. The Jaguars had a prime opportunity to maintain their lead in the surprisingly competitive division by beating a Bengals team playing without their franchise quarterback on Monday night. Instead, they left the way open for the Texans and Colts to reinsert themselves into the race for the AFC South title. With their loss in Week 13, Jacksonville watched its division lead shrink to one game with five games left to play. Suddenly, the AFC South is a fascinating division with a collection of scrappy teams that could produce a number of different outcomes, especially if Lawrence is out for an extended period. There is still a lot to be resolved, but Jacksonville could end up mourning this loss by the end of the season.
5. Bengal finds hope. Cincinnati’s dreams of making the postseason effectively evaporated when Burrow suffered a season-ending injury and the Ravens escaped with two wins two weeks ago. Bengals fans had no more reason to believe they might be able to salvage the 2023 campaign when they lost to the Steelers at home last week. But Browning’s remarkable night suddenly gave them reason to believe they could compete in every remaining game, and perhaps even sneak into the suddenly tight AFC race in the wild-card standings. There’s no guarantee that Browning will repeat that kind of performance on a weekly basis, but all the Bengals need is proof that he can do it once. Now, they will enter Week 14 brimming with confidence, which could be a dangerous reality for anyone who comes up against them — including their fellow opponent in Indianapolis next week.

Next generation game stats: Jake Browning completed each of his seven pass attempts for 10 air yards on Monday night (7 of 7 for 170 yards and one touchdown), the most completions on the field without an incompletion over the past two seasons.

NFL Research: Jake Browning became the 10th player in the Super Bowl era to throw for 350+ yards and a completion percentage of at least 85% in a regular season game.