What could’ve been a special night for the Jacksonville Jaguars was a disaster instead.
With a chance to take over the No. 1 seed in the AFC during their first Monday Night Football game in 12 years, the Jaguars fell flat in a 34-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Jacksonville’s defense couldn’t get a stop for most of the night and quarterback Trevor Lawrence was one of several players to get hurt.
Talk of chasing down the leaders in the AFC has been shelved and concern has instead shifted to holding off the rest of the AFC South. With five weeks left, the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans are just a game behind the Jaguars, although the tiebreakers belong to Jacksonville.
Are the Jaguars still a contender, or did Monday prove they’re a middling team? Here’s what the experts think of Jacksonville after the Week 13 debacle:
USA Today: 10th
Last week: 8th
Their streak of four consecutive prime-time wins came to an end. So, too, potentially did their status as an AFC contender – depending on the severity of QB Trevor Lawrence’s ankle injury.
No. 1 team: San Francisco 49ers
ESPN: 8th
Last week: 8th
Allen is having a career year (13.5 sacks) and has a chance to break the franchise’s single-season sack record (14.5 set in 2017 by Calais Campbell). Allen had 10.5 sacks as a rookie in 2019 but hasn’t had more than 7.5 in a season since. He is in a contract year, but nobody expected him to be in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
No. 1 team: San Francisco 49ers
The Athletic: 14th
Last week: 8th
Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft and one of 10 quarterbacks to throw for more than 3,000 yards this season, went down with what appeared to be a significant injury after his right ankle was stepped on by one of his offensive linemen. Lawrence slammed his helmet to the turf and then made a slow and painful walk to the locker room with lots of help. If Lawrence is done for the season, so are the Jaguars. Backup C.J. Beathard has a career passer rating of 80.3.
No. 1 team: San Francisco 49ers
Pro Football Talk: 8th
Last week: 6th
Can Trevor Lawrence make it back for back-to-back showdowns against the Browns and Ravens?
No. 1 team: San Francisco 49ers
CBS Sports: 8th
Last week: 7th
If Trevor Lawrence is out for any length of time, this team is done. The defense was awful against the Bengals.
No. 1 team: San Francisco 49ers
Yahoo Sports: 9th
Last week: 8th
What a horrible Monday night for the Jaguars. They were eyeing ending the night as the No. 1 seed with a win over the Bengals. Instead, they got upset by a big underdog at home and also lost Trevor Lawrence to an ankle injury. If that’s not enough, receiver Christian Kirk left the game in the first quarter with an injury too. Obviously, the news on Lawrence is more important than the loss (initial reports said it was a sprained ankle and coach Doug Pederson said the team is still evaluating Lawrence), but the entire night was a gut punch.
No. 1 team: San Francisco 49ers
Touchdown Wire: 8th
Last week: 6th
The loss to the Bengals doesn’t compare to the potential loss of Trevor Lawrence. Let’s all hope for the best for the Jaguars’ quarterback.
No. 1 team: San Francisco 49ers
Jaguars Wire: 9th
Last week: 6th
Monday was bad, but the sun still came up Tuesday for the Jaguars. They’re still 8-4 and have both an offense and a defense that have played really well at times this year. Getting healthy and getting those units to be good at the same time is the challenge down the stretch.
No. 1 team: San Francisco 49ers
