The Jacksonville Jaguars are starting to make it a habit.
A week after dismantling the defending AFC champion New England Patriots 35-6, Jacksonville entered Paycor Stadium and left with another victory over an AFC contender, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 22-17 to move to 3-1 on the season.
It’s not particularly pretty. Trevor Lawrence threw for 227 yards and a touchdown, the Jaguars managed just 111 rushing yards, and they committed an extraordinary 13 penalties for 125 yards. Joe Burrow threw for 428 yards, nearly twice Lawrence’s total, but Jacksonville controlled the game enough to win it.
The Jaguars are looking for different ways to win, and Sunday’s victory offers another three reasons to believe this team could be more dangerous than many expected when the season began. Here are three reasons why the Jags added another W to the win column in Week 4:
Jacksonville brought that kind of physical frontier chaos
There’s physical play, and then there’s whatever the Jaguars do in Cincinnati.
Jacksonville entered the game having been penalized just 15 times in its first three games. He then committed 10 penalties for 100 yards before halftime alone, eventually finishing with 13 penalties for 125 yards. Two of Bhayshul Tuten’s touchdown runs were erased by penalties, while a roughing-the-passer penalty on Arik Armstead erased a possible interception by Travis Hunter.
This is hardly disciplined football. It is, however, extremely physical football.
Armstead’s hit on Joe Burrow in the first quarter was penalized for helmet-to-helmet contact, while Jarrian Jones was flagged for touching Ja’Marr Chase’s facemask on a four-yard reception early in the second quarter. Chase went down awkwardly, then was hit by Ventrell Miller and sent off with a concussion. He finished with three catches for 26 yards.
There is an important difference here. The Jaguars shouldn’t be celebrated for hurting an opponent, and some of their offense flirted with crossing the line. The point is that Jacksonville made the Bengals uncomfortable from the opening whistle. This is not a defense of sitting back and hoping Burrow makes a mistake. This is a defense that attacks, tackles and challenges Cincinnati’s offense on nearly every possession.
Hunter was involved in the action throughout, finishing with four tackles and a pass defended, while Jourdan Lewis provided the first of Jacksonville’s two interceptions. The Jaguars entered the game tied for third in the NFL in takeaways and trailed Cincinnati with eight games to four.
Perhaps the most impressive part is that Jacksonville has overcome its own mistakes. Giving up 100 yards in penalties before halftime would normally be a disaster. Instead, the Jaguars entered the locker room ahead 13-3. Cincinnati had its chances, but Jacksonville repeatedly disrupted the drive, forced negative plays and made the Bengals work for everyone.
That physical edge produced decisive moments. Foye Oluokun intercepted Burrow early in the fourth quarter with Cincinnati threatening to preserve a 16-10 lead, and the Jaguars defense stopped the Bengals on fourth down on the last significant possession of the game.
This is not a defense that simply puts up numbers against bad teams. It has allowed three or fewer points in the first half of all four games this season, a start matched only by the 2019 Patriots in the last few years. Jacksonville has also intercepted a pass in nine consecutive games, the longest streak in franchise history.
The Jaguars may need to clean up the penalties. But there’s something important about having a defense that plays on this kind of edge.
Trevor Lawrence doesn’t have a favorite target – and that’s the point
There was one moment in Sunday’s game that summed up Jacksonville’s offense nicely. Parker Washington, who entered the afternoon as the Jaguars’ leading receiver, finished the game with just one catch.
That’s going to be a big problem for many NFL offenses. It’s not for Jacksonville.
Instead, Brenton Strange was a big part of the passing attack, Jakobi Meyers made key plays, Josh Cameron had a 29-yard reception and Brian Thomas Jr. the touchdown that gave Jacksonville its halftime lead. Seven different Jaguars caught passes during the game, with Lawrence completing 18 of 23 attempts for 227 yards and a touchdown without throwing an interception.
This distribution is not an accident. In the first three games, Washington established himself as Lawrence’s most productive receiver with 15 catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Meyers had 10 catches for 132 yards and two scores, while Strange and Thomas Jr. each had seven receptions. Bhayshul Tuten, Josh Cameron, Ameer Abdullah, LeQuint Allen Jr., Nate Boerkircher, Travis Hunter and Quintin Morris have also recorded receptions.
And then Washington effectively disappeared from the Cincinnati box score. But whether that was in the Bengals gameplanning for the receiver, or just an off-day for Parker, Jacksonville just moved on.
That’s what makes Liam Coen’s offense so interesting. There is no obvious volume receiver that a defense can take down and expect the entire passing game to collapse. The Jaguars can attack underneath with their tight ends, get Meyers involved in intermediate routes, take a shot at Thomas Jr., use Washington from the slot and get their backs involved in the passing game.
The odd, in particular, becomes an increasingly important piece. His 23-yard reception on third-and-18 was one of the first of the game, and the tight end ended up being one of Lawrence’s most productive targets. The result is an offense that doesn’t need a 10-catch performance from its biggest name every Sunday.
That’s important in a 17-game season. Defensive coordinators could spend an entire week trying to get rid of Washington or Thomas Jr. from the game, only for Meyers, Strange or one of those behind to take advantage of the space that creates elsewhere.
It also takes some pressure off Lawrence. He doesn’t have to force the ball to his best receiver just because that player is his best receiver. He can take what the defense gives him, and the Jaguars have enough diversity around him to make that approach work.
That’s exactly what happened in Cincinnati. Expect a similar story when the Jags head to London to face the Eagles and Texans in the next two weeks.
Maybe the Jaguars are the best team in the AFC?
It seems ridiculous. And this is not why they won. But it might also be time to at least ask – are the Jaguars REALLY good?
Jacksonville is 3-1 after beating the Browns, losing narrowly to Denver, destroying New England and now beating Cincinnati on the road. The Jaguars have won their last two games by a combined 57-23 and have now beaten two teams with legitimate AFC ambitions in consecutive weeks. They have also won 11 of their last 12 regular-season games dating back to last season.
More importantly, they do this without relying on a specific formula. Against New England, the Jaguars dominated from start to finish. Against Cincinnati, they won a tighter, more chaotic game. Lawrence has been good rather than spectacular, as the defense continues to keep opponents from scoring early.
Jacksonville’s defense comes out, especially early in games as mentioned earlier. Anthony Campanile’s unit has eight takeaways, and its offense has enough variety to survive an opponent who successfully steals a player. None of that automatically makes the Jaguars the best team in the conference, but it is confidence-building. However, despite the strong start to 2026, there are still clear questions.
The penalty count against Cincinnati was absurd. The Jaguars allowed Burrow to throw for 428 yards, and they can’t give up 125 yards of field position every week and expect to survive. There will be better offensive lines, better rushing attacks and quarterbacks who punish mistakes more consistently.
But that’s why the question is worth asking. The Jaguars aren’t sitting at 3-1 because everything went perfect. They are 3-1 because when the games get tough, they find different ways to win them. And that may be the most significant development of all.
Jacksonville doesn’t need Lawrence to throw for 350 yards. It didn’t require Washington to catch eight passes. It doesn’t take a defense to make five sacks. It doesn’t need fair play. It just needs enough players to make enough plays, and be better man for man than their opponent.
On Sunday, that meant a physical defense that produced two interceptions, Lawrence taking care of the football, Thomas Jr. making the most of his opportunities, Strange contributing in the middle of the field and Chris Rodriguez Jr. broke off a 25-yard touchdown run to give the Jaguars some breathing room in the fourth quarter.
That’s not the profile of the best team in the AFC. But after four weeks, this is certainly the profile of a team that deserves to be part of the conversation.