JACKSONVILLE - The Jacksonville Jaguars held off the Cincinnati Bengals 22-17 at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati to improve to 3-1 on the 2026 season, taking sole possession of the AFC South lead and extending their winning streak to two consecutive AFC games.
Head Coach Liam Coen, speaking to reporters Monday, credited the team’s resilience in a game marked by double-digit penalties, negated touchdowns and turnovers, and a depleted secondary. “To walk out of that stadium yesterday, with a similar situation and getting it done, that’s growth,” Coen said.
The Jaguars never trailed, leading 22-10 early in the fourth quarter before the Bengals, who fell to 2-2, mounted a late push. The game ended when second-year safety Rayuan Lane III stopped Bengals running back Chase Brown on a 9-yard reception on fourth-and-10 from the Jaguars 21 with 50 seconds remaining. Jacksonville had punted with 1:44 left, protecting the final margin. “If we score one more touchdown, then we probably would have been a lot more at ease with things,” Coen said.
The Jaguars defense held Cincinnati to just 23 yards rushing and forced two key turnovers: a second-quarter interception by cornerback Jourdan Lewis that set up the game’s first touchdown, and a fourth-quarter interception by linebacker Foyesade Oluokun at the Jaguars 10 that sealed the outcome. The pass rush registered a season-high 11 quarterback hits and sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow twice - compared to 13 total quarterback hits across the previous three games combined. “I thought Arik Armstead played one of his best games of the season so far,” Coen said of the defensive lineman, who joined Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker in pressuring Burrow throughout the afternoon.
Safety Antonio Johnson, speaking Monday, made clear the defense intends to keep that standard. “We are going to go into each week and look at it as an imposing defense, and we are going to impose our will,” Johnson said. “I feel like if you don’t respect us, then we are going to make you respect us.”
The victory came despite Jacksonville playing without starting cornerback Montaric Brown and reserve cornerback Christian Braswell, and losing safeties Eric Murray (concussion) and Caleb Ransaw (knee) to in-game injuries.
The Jaguars will practice in Jacksonville Wednesday and Thursday before flying to London for a Friday practice ahead of Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The following Sunday, Jacksonville will host the Houston Texans at Wembley Stadium in the second of back-to-back London appearances. “It’s a big week of mental toughness: A lot going on with the travel and the preparations,” Coen said.