It feels so much better to go into Week 2 1-0 than 0-1. Regardless of how the Bengals’ offense played in the second half in Cleveland on Sunday, a win is a win. Now, the Bengals have plenty of room for improvement and are still 1-0 heading into Sunday’s Week 2 matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jaguars are also 1-0 entering Sunday’s game, with a 26-10 home win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. Their head coach, Liam Coen, was one of just two head coaches to win his debut with his new team in Week 1.
Coen is one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL. The Jaguars made a questionable decision to hire him as their head coach, but through one week, we’re seeing why Coen has been successful everywhere he’s been as an offensive coach.
The Bengals and Jaguars had played two great games over the last four seasons. Joe Burrow played a near-perfect second half against Jacksonville in Week 4 of the 2021 season, leading the Bengals back from a 14-0 deficit to a 24-21 win on Evan McPherson’s game-winning field goal. With Burrow sidelined with a wrist injury for the Week 13 matchup in 2023, Jake Browning completed 32 of his 37 passes for 354 yards in the Bengals’ 34-31 overtime win that came on a 48-yard game-winning field goal from McPherson.
Sunday’s game could be another great game between these two teams. It’s only the second matchup between Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence in their respective NFL careers. Both quarterbacks are former No. 1 overall picks and national champions in college. Burrow’s LSU Tigers beat Lawrence’s Clemson Tigers in the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship, a game that gave birth to Smokin’ Joe and amplified his personality.
Let’s take a closer look at Lawrence and four other key players to watch on the Jaguars ahead of Sunday’s game.
Quarterback: # 16 Trevor Lawrence (5th Season) — 6-6, 220 lbs. Clemson
Lawrence is one of the most interesting and mysterious quarterbacks in the NFL. He’s had some highs and lows through his first four seasons, but there’s no doubt he can play the quarterback position at a high level. He had back-to-back 4,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023, the former season when he led the Jaguars to the AFC South title and a 27-point comeback win in the Wild Card against the Los Angeles Chargers. Not to mention, he and the Jaguars had the Kansas City Chiefs on the ropes in the Divisional round.
Before anyone says that last season proved who Lawrence really is, let me remind you that he missed seven games and that the Jaguars were a mess the entire season. Now, enter a new head coach, offensive coordinator, general manager, and executive vice president, and the culture has completely reset in Jacksonville.
Lawrence is closing in on 14,000 passing yards in his career, and he has 10 games with 300+ passing yards. This shouldn’t be shocking. Lawrence was an absolute gunslinger in college at Clemson, throwing for over 10,000 yards and 90 touchdowns in leading Clemson to the 2018 national championship.
Again, fans may remember Lawrence for his subpar 2024 season. However, it’s important to note that he is fifth in the AFC in completions and passing yards since 2021. He’s third overall in the NFL with 12 games, completing 75 percent of his passes since 2022. Lawrence is one of four quarterbacks to have an active streak of 50+ games completing at least one pass of 20+ yards.
He will look to push the ball down the field, especially with the receivers he has to throw the ball to.
Four Players to Watch on the Jaguars
1. #1: Running Back Travis Etienne Jr. — 5-10, 215 lbs. Clemson
Etienne played with Lawrence at Clemson, and the two of them were both drafted in the first round of the 2021 Draft.
He missed his rookie season in 2021 with an injury, but he has picked up right where he left off in college with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023. Etienne has only missed two games over the last three seasons, and he’s off to a great start in 2025 with 143 rushing yards on 16 carries.
The ACC career leader in rushing yards, total touchdowns, rushing touchdowns, and points scored, Etienne was a two-time ACC Offensive Player of the Year and holds the record for most career games scoring a touchdown with 46.
Travis’s brother, Trevor, played for Georgia in 2024 on the Bulldogs’ SEC Championship team and was drafted in the fourth round by the Carolina Panthers this past April.
2. #7: Wide Receiver Brian Thomas Jr. — 6-2, 209 lbs. LSU
Thomas is coming off a monster rookie season, catching 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns. All three of those numbers are Jaguars rookie records.
Ja’Marr Chase is the best wide receiver in the NFL. Thomas joined him in several statistical achievements in 2024. He and Chase are two of four rookies since the Merger in 1970 to have 1,200+ receiving yards and 10+ touchdowns. The other two? Odell Beckham Jr. and Randy Moss. In addition, he and Chase each had 11 games of 75+ receiving yards in 2024. That trailed only Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Thomas concluded his rookie season with 100+ receiving yards in three of his last four games.
At LSU, Thomas led the country with 17 receiving touchdowns in 2023 and had 24 in his three seasons with the Tigers.
3. #12: Wide Receiver/Cornerback Travis Hunter — 6-1, 185 lbs. Colorado
No secrets here. Hunter is great for a reason. It’s more than just the hype and attention he got playing for Deion Sanders and Colorado.
In two seasons at Colorado, Hunter played 2,625 snaps. How good was his 2024 season? He won the Heisman Trophy, the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Walter Camp Award, the Fred Biletnikoff Award, and the Paul Hornung Award. Hunter was a unanimous All-American, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and Honorable Mention Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
As a receiver, Hunter had 96 receptions, 1,258 yards, and 15 touchdowns in 2024. Hunter’s 15 touchdowns set a single-season school record. On defense, Hunter had four interceptions, 11 pass breakups, a forced fumble, and 36 tackles.
Hunter holds the Georgia state record with 48 receiving touchdowns.
4. # 41: Edge Rusher Josh Hines-Allen — 6-5, 255 lbs. Kentucky
Hines-Allen is only two seasons removed from having 17.5 sacks in 2023. Trey Hendrickson had that same total in 2023, but few remember Hines-Allen doing it. The two-time Pro Bowler is only three sacks away from becoming the all-time sacks leader in Jaguars history.
He may not scare you like Myles Garrett does, but Hines-Allen can get to the quarterback with 53 sacks through his first six seasons. In fact, Hines-Allen joins Hendrickson, Garrett, and T.J. Watt as one of only four players with 32.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles since 2022.
In college at Kentucky, Hines-Allen was a menace. He had 31.5 sacks in four seasons, including an SEC record 17 sacks in 2018. That season, Allen was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and earned consensus First-Team All-American honors.
Hines-Allen’s sister, Myisha, is currently a forward for the Dallas Wings.
Head Coach: Liam Coen (1st season) – 39 years old
A bright, young offensive mind, Coen comes to Jacksonville after a wildly successful season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator in 2024. Tampa Bay was the only offense to rank in the top five in yards per game, scoring, passing yards per game, and rushing yards per game. The Buccaneers were the first team in NFL history to average five+ yards per carry and have a completion percentage of over 70 percent. In addition, the Buccanners were the only team with three games of 500+ yards, and one of two teams, along with the Baltimore Ravens, that had 10 games of 400+ yards. Baker Mayfield became one of 10 quarterbacks in NFL history with 4,500+ passing yards and 40+ touchdowns in a single season.
Prior to Tampa Bay, Coen served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Kentucky in 2021 and 2023, during which the Wildcats’ offense scored 50+ touchdowns in both seasons.
In 2022, Coen served as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams. That came after serving as the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2020 and the assistant wide receivers coach from 2018 to 2019. Coen coached with Zac Taylor in that 2018 season, helping Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks each accumulate over 1,200 receiving yards.
As a quarterback at UMass, Coen holds program records for completions, attempts, completion percentage, passing yards, yards per attempt, passing touchdowns, and passer rating.
Offensive Coordinator: Grant Udinski (1st season) – 29 years old
A fast riser in the NFL coaching ranks, Udinski comes to Jacksonville after three seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. With the Vikings, Udinski was the assistant offensive coordinator and assistant quarterbacks coach in 2024.
The Vikings’ offense in 2024 was sensational, especially considering J.J. McCarthy tore his ACL in the preseason. Sam Darnold came in and produced the best season of his career, finishing fifth in the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns and sixth in passer rating. His 13 games with a 100+ passer rating tie Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson for the second-most games in a single season. Darnold led the NFL in completions of 20+ yards and 25+ yards.
Udinski entered the NFL as a coaching assistant with the Carolina Panthers from 2020 to 2021, following a 2019 stint as a graduate assistant at Baylor.
Defensive Coordinator: Anthony Campanile (1st season) – 43 years old
Campanile is in his first season as an NFL defensive coordinator and sixth season in the NFL overall. He comes to Jacksonville after spending 2024 as the Green Bay Packers’ linebackers coach and run game coordinator. The Packers’ defense in 2024 held opponents to less than 100 yards per game, their first time allowing fewer than 100 rushing yards per game since 2016.
Prior to joining Green Bay, Campanile served as the linebackers coach for the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins ranked in the top 10 in sacks, rushing defense, takeaways, third-down defense, and forced fumbles over that span.
At the college level, Campanile coached at Michigan, Boston College, and Rutgers. He played safety and linebacker at Rutgers from 2001 to 2004.
Special Teams Coordinator: Heath Farwell (4th season) – 43 years old
The Jaguars’ special teams had produced at least one Pro Bowler in each of Farwell’s first three seasons as special teams coordinator. Last season, kicker Cam Little set rookie franchise records with 27 field goals made and 108 points. His 93.1 field goal percentage is the highest for a single season in franchise history.
Campanile was the special teams coordinator with the Buffalo Bills from 2019-2021, after serving as an assistant special teams coach with the Carolina Panthers (2018) and the Seattle Seahawks (2016-2017).
As a player, Farwell played nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. Farwell as a special teams captain with the Seahawks when they won Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013.
Keys to the Game
1. Stop the run
Liam Coen’s offense, contrary to what some might think, has a heavy emphasis on running the football. Even last year in Tampa Bay, with all of their receivers and Baker Mayfield throwing for 41 touchdowns, running back Bucky Irving still rushed for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns.
Travis Etienne Jr. rushed for 143 yards on 16 carries last week, so that’s a clear indicator that the Jaguars want to build their offense around their ability to run the ball. If the Bengals can stop the run, which they did a good job of doing last week at Cleveland, that will force Trevor Lawrence to beat the Bengals with his arm. You’ll take those chances if you’re the Bengals defense.
2. Play with a sense of urgency on offense
This can be taken in multiple ways. For starters, the Bengals’ offense appeared balanced and crisp in the first half before faltering in the second half. Second, there is still conversation about the Bengals getting off to a slow start offensively. Coming out and swinging the ball around the field will quiet those concerns both internally and externally. Finally, the Jaguars’ offense is good. They can apply pressure with their ability to score. The Bengals need to score early and often so they’re not playing catch-up in their home opener.
3. Generate pressure early
While the Bengals did a good job of generating pressure in the second half in Cleveland, they can’t wait until then to do that on Sunday against a better offense in the Jaguars. The Bengals need to get after Trevor Lawrence early Sunday. That will put them behind schedule and help the Bengals’ secondary in coverage against Brian Thomas Jr. and Travis Hunter.
4. Create turnovers
The Bengals’ defense is better than it was last season. I’m confident saying that even though we’re one game into the season. A reason why is their ability to force turnovers. The secondary had both interceptions last week. If they’re able to force turnovers, that will resemble the defenses of 2021 and 2022. The Bengals’ defense doesn’t have to be a defense that completely shuts down opponents. That’s why forcing turnovers is so crucial to being better on defense.
Score Prediction: Bengals 30, Jaguars 23
These two offenses are going to come to play on Sunday. In each of the last two games between the Jaguars and Bengals, both offenses were really good. Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense will be really good this season. They had their bad half on Sunday in Cleveland and still managed to win. It’s easier to get better offensively with an ugly win under your belt, and that’s what will happen with the Bengals on Sunday. The rust is off. This offense will air the ball out and complement it with a strong running game, resulting in a high-scoring win.
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