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Jaguars lose Trevor Lawrence to ankle injury, fall to Bengals 34-31 in overtime on MNF
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- Jaguars lose Trevor Lawrence to ankle injury, fall to Bengals 34-31 in overtime on MNF
The Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) entered Monday night with aspirations of being the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but are now faced with uncertainty.
Favored by 10 in the lead-up to the game with Cincinnati , the Jaguars lost to the Bengals 34-31 in overtime.
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In the fourth quarter, QB Trevor Lawrence was forced from the game due to an ankle injury.
"Yeah, it sucks, unfortunately," Jaguars tight end Evan Engram said after the game.
The Jaguars QB was seen in a walking boot in the team's postgame locker room.
On Tuesday, Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson indicated that Lawrence's injury was a high ankle sprain, but he would not put a timetable on his return. The injury was not as bad as it looked initially, Pederson said.
"It's just a right high ankle sprain," said Pederson. "Everything's stable, everything looks good and we'll see where he is here in a couple of days."
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) is helped off the field after an apparent ankle injury that had him leave the game during the fourth quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Monday, Dec. 4, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-31 in overtime. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
In the end, Bengals kicker Evan McPherson hit a 48-yard field goal to win the game with just under 2 minutes remaining in overtime.
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Though the Jaguars' offense had plenty of success throughout the night, they could not overcome inefficiency by the team's defense along with injuries on both sides of the football.
Jacksonville finished with 376 yards of offense, including 305 passing yards. On the ground, however, the Jaguars weren't as efficient, rushing for just 71 yards (2.8 yards per rush play).
It was the first Monday Night Football game Jacksonville has played since 2011. Entering Monday night's matchup, the Jaguars were positioned to take the No. 1 seed in the AFC thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs ' loss to the Green Bay Packers .
Game recap: Jaguars vs. Bengals Monday Night Football
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After missing four out of the last five games due to a hamstring injury, Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell returned to play as did defensive lineman DaVon Hamilton after the big man missed the last two games as a healthy scratch. Second-round rookie tight end Brenton Strange missed his first career game due to a foot injury he suffered during practice this week.
As a result, tight end Josh Pederson was elevated from the practice squad to the active game-day roster. Josh Pederson is Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson's son.
Trevor Lawrence leaves game with ankle injury
Trevor Lawrence is assisted off the field after he was injured during the fourth quarter.
With just over four minutes remaining in regulation, Lawrence dropped back to pass before being stepped on by OL Walker Little , going down with his right ankle twisted and finally sacked by Bengals DL Trey Hendrickson .
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Lawrence was helped into the locker room with a heavy limp and was officially ruled "questionable" with about three minutes remaining in the contest.
Lawrence injured his left knee in Week 6 against the Indianapolis Colts but has played in every game since then with a left knee brace.
Lawrence did not return to the contest Monday night. He finished the game having completed 22-of-29 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
Christian Kirk leaves game due to groin injury
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Christian Kirk (13) lies on the turf after an apparent injury that knocked him out of the game during the first quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Monday, Dec. 4, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Jaguars receiver Christian Kirk was lost with a groin injury just one offensive snap into the game. Kirk went down after hauling in a 26-yard pass from Lawrence.
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Kirk has gone 11-straight games with at least one 20-plus yard reception, tied for the longest streak in Jaguars history.
He did not return to the game.
Kirk has caught 56 passes for 761 yards and three touchdowns this season.
On Tuesday, Pederson indicated that it was likely Kirk will have surgery on what he described as a "core muscle" injury.
Jaguars defense allows Bengals to post best offensive day of season
Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon (28) celebrates a rushing touchdown with teammates in the first half of a Week 13 NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.
Entering Monday night's matchup, the Bengals averaged just 75.8 yards per carry on the ground.
By the start of the fourth quarter, they were already at 101 rushing yards thanks to rookie running back Chase Brown 's 63 yards on seven carries, including a long of 31 by that time in the game.
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Joe Mixon led the way with 68 yards in 19 carries with two touchdowns.
After the game, Pederson maligned the team's run defense for why they couldn't get into a rhythm defensively. The Jaguars gave up 156 yards on the ground, the most they've given up this season.
"We didn't stop the run. That's the strength of our defense, is stopping the run," said Pederson, alluding to the fact that the Jaguars entered Monday's matchup as the fifth-best run-stopping team in the league. "We just didn't do that. We failed there. We got too many explosive plays we gave up."
Bengals quarterback Jake Browning had completed 21-of-24 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown by the start of the fourth quarter, too. Browning's touchdown toss came after Bengals receiver Ja'Marr Chase beat the Jags deep down the field for a 76-yard score.
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The Bengals entered the game having totaled 400 yards as a high this season. They finished Monday night's game against Jacksonville with 491.
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi (94) and linebacker Dawuane Smoot (91) pressure Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jake Browning (6) during the fourth quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Monday, Dec. 4, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-31 in overtime. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
The 491 total yards were the most given up by a Doug Pederson-coached Jaguars team. Their previous high allowed was 486 yards given up to the Chiefs during the regular season last year.
Browning finished the game with 354 yards passing after completing 32-of-37 passes along with the TD toss.
Part of the issues defensively stemmed from the team's inability to communicate effectively with each other. On multiple occasions throughout the contest, the Jaguars' defense could be seen trying to communicate hand signals and other forms of communication with the rest of the unit.
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At times, it appeared to the observer that there was some miscommunication. Pederson said he did not feel as though there were issues, the team just has to "over-communicate." Some of that is because of how loud a home crowd can be.
"If you're on the field and the crowd, as loud as they are, when we're on defense, we have to reiterate communication," said Pederson. "That's all it is. It's just double-checking with everybody. It's not communication issues, it's just being able to communicate the calls effectively."
Pederson said he thought it was a "great crowd" at EverBank Stadium, but said sometimes a lot of talk has to go back and forth because of it.
"That's what you want," he said. "It does kind of put your defense in a little bit of a bind because of that, right? No different than the offense going into an environment that's very loud."
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Jaguars offense starts strong thanks to Travis Etienne , Evan Engram scores
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) scores a touchdown during the first quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Monday, Dec. 4, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
With a hot start needed, the Jaguars' offense showed up tonight against the Bengals.
After getting the ball back from Cincinnati with fantastic field position at the Jacksonville 49, the Jaguars marched 51 yards on their first drive of the game to strike first with a four-yard touchdown run by running back Travis Etienne.
It was the third-year running back's eighth touchdown of the year.
On the team's third possession of the game, they returned to the end zone thanks to a 22-yard catch and run by tight end Evan Engram into the end zone. It was Engram's first score of the year, giving Jacksonville a 14-7 lead with a few minutes until the end of the first half.
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Jacksonville went to halftime tied at 14-14 with Cincinnati.
Josh Allen picks off Tyler Boyd , helps Jags take second-half lead
Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen (41) points to a familiar face before a regular season NFL football matchup Monday, Dec. 4, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
It was just what the doctor ordered for Jacksonville.
On the first play of Cincinnati's first drive of the second half, Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen picked off receiver Tyler Boyd after the Bengals ran a double-pass trick play from Browning to Boyd, back to running back Joe Mixon.
The ball went right into Allen's hands.
He was tackled at the Bengals' nine-yard line. The Jaguars scored just four plays later thanks to a Lawrence QB sneak, putting Jacksonville ahead 28-21.
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With the rushing score, Lawrence became the first player in Jaguars history with a rushing and passing TD in three consecutive games.
Allen finished with 1.5 sacks along with the interception.
Allen now has 13.5 sacks this season, one away from a franchise record of 14.5 sacks set by former Jaguars DL Calais Campbell . Allen is just one of two Jaguars in franchise history to post 13 or more sacks in a single season.
Jaguars injuries pile up
Along with both Lawrence (ankle) and Kirk (core muscle), Jaguars players suffered multiple injuries throughout their contest against the Bengals.
OL Walker Little (hamstring), DL Foley Fatukasi (toe contusion), CB Tre Herndon (concussion protocol) and safety Andre Cisco (shoulder) were all hurt during the game.
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Cisco returned to the game and said in postgame that he was fine. Cornerback Gregory Junior also left the game due to cramps. Rookie safety Antonio Johnson replaced him.
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Demetrius82 .
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence suffers ankle injury; Bengals win 34-31 in OT
