Rookie Jake Browning leads Bengals to overtime upset against Jaguars on the road
Jake Browning and the Cincinnati Bengals shocked the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night, defeating them in overtime, 34-31, to remain in the AFC playoff picture.
The Bengals move to 6-6 on the year, while the Jaguars fall to 8-4, though they still own the AFC South lead.
There’s no dancing around it: The Jaguars’ loss was made much worse after star quarterback Trevor Lawrence left the game with an ankle injury.
It came with 5 minutes and 43 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Jaguars left tackle Walker Little accidentally stepped on Lawrence's right ankle, causing him to immediately hit the ground. His ankle appeared to roll up even more as he fell.
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Lawrence needed help from two trainers to walk off the field and get to the locker room while the entire Jacksonville crowd sat silent.
Because of that, C.J. Beathard had to take over at quarterback, and he got the necessary yards on his first drive under center, going 53 yards on nine plays to set up a Brandon McManus field goal that tied the game at 31 apiece with 26 seconds left in the game, forcing overtime.
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However, when the Jaguars received the ball to begin extra time, Beathard couldn’t deliver a game-winning touchdown.
He did come close to setting Jacksonville up close to the goal line, finding Calvin Ridley 43 yards downfield, which would’ve put them at the two-yard line. However, a holding penalty brought the play back and the Jags ended up punting.
Browning, on the other hand, did exactly what the Bengals needed in crunch time.
He found Ja’Marr Chase on multiple occasions for the game-winning drive as the star receiver had himself a game down in Florida. He finished with 149 yards on 11 catches with a 76-yard touchdown catch to help the Bengals put up a surprising amount of points.
It was then up to Evan McPherson to kick a game-winning field goal from 48 yards out for the Bengals, and he put it right down the middle for the upset.
While McPherson missed a 57-yarder earlier in the game, McManus also missed a 48-yard field goal later, which is what ultimately forced overtime for both teams.
Browning, in just his second NFL start, threw for 354 yards on 32-of-37 through the air in an extremely efficient game under center.
Browning also relied on his running back Joe Mixon, who racked up two touchdowns and 68 yards on 19 carries, while hauling in six catches for 49 yards.
Before he left the game, Lawrence was also solid, going 22-for-29 for 258 yards with two touchdowns and a rushing score for Jacksonville. He found tight end Evan Engram, the team’s leader in receptions, for his first touchdown of the season, as well as rookie Parker Washington, who made an unreal catch in the back of the end zone in the second half.
Engram led the way with nine catches and 82 yards, while Zay Jones had 78 yards on five catches.
Another injury note came on the first offensive play of the game for the Jags, as Christian Kirk caught a 26-yard pass from Lawrence before leaving the game with a groin injury.