Jaguars (0-3) at Bengals (2-1)
Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET, Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati TV: NFL Network
Tipico Sportsbook line: Bengals by 7 1⁄2
Jaguars’ keys to victory: Jacksonville has to establish the run with RB James Robinson to protect QB Trevor Lawrence. Through the first three games, Lawrence, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, has been sacked five times and has thrown seven interceptions. The defense and CB Shaquill Griffin will need to limit deep shots by the Bengals, something at which Cincinnati has excelled. Limiting the deep balls means an ability to sit on the intermediate routes and the running game like Chicago did while beating the Bengals in Week 2.
Bengals’ keys to victory: A conservative attack doomed Cincinnati in Week 2, a perplexing event considering QB Joe Burrow and WR Ja’Marr Chase linked up for touchdowns of 40-plus yards in each of the team’s first two games. They had two more touchdowns together in a Week 3 win, which proved that threatening to go over the defense’s head more consistently should only open things up for one of the league’s most accurate intermediate passers, as well as RB Joe Mixon. Defensively, breakout LB Logan Wilson needs to guarantee the Jaguars’ rushing attack can’t carry the game.
Matchup to watch: Jaguars’ Griffin vs. Bengals’ Chase. Chase has torched a variety of names to start his career. He’s also exactly the type of explosive player the Jaguars signed Griffin to stop.
Who wins? The Bengals ride high into this one after an AFC North win over Pittsburgh. Look for the Bengals defense to fluster a rookie passer making his first prime-time start.
Bengals, 24-17