Bengals and Joe Burrow can thank Urban Meyer for escaping TNF with a win

The Cincinnati Bengals sneaked out of Thursday night with a 24-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Cincinnati Bengals were coming off their biggest win in quite some time after beating the rival Pittsburgh Steelers this past Sunday. They had what looked to be a favorable matchup on Thursday night against the winless Jacksonville Jaguars, but it turned out to be more of a challenge than many anticipated.

Yet, it was the Bengals who bounced back in the second half and walked out of Paul Brown Stadium with a 24-21 win following a 35-yard field goal by Evan McPherson.

The Bengals can give an assist to Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer, who opted to pass on an easy field goal on fourth-and-goal at the end of the first half to go for a touchdown. That did not pan out, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence was stopped on a goal-line run for no gain.

Twitter users did not let Meyer forget about that decision.

https://twitter.com/Ruga1993/status/1443778019080822784

https://twitter.com/ajit_selv/status/1443778296420864007

https://twitter.com/WukTang/status/1443778193773707264

Longest NFL losing streak

With this game in the books, the Jaguars now have lost 20-consecutive games. For those wondering, this is not the longest losing streak in NFL history. That distinction belongs to the Chicago Cardinals, who lost 29-straight games from 1942 until 1945.

Thursday Night Football: Bengals vs Jaguars stats

The Bengals offense could not get anything going in the first half, where they trailed the Jaguars 14-0. But in the second half, the 2020 first-overall pick helped wake up the fans in Cincinnati.

Burrow completed 25-of-32 pass attempts for 348 yards and two touchdowns, both of which went to tight end C.J. Uzomah. This is not the first time that Burrow has defeated Lawrence. Burrow’s LSU Tigers defeated Lawrence’s Clemson Tigers 42-25 in the CFP National Championship Game back in 2020.

Running back Joe Mixon was responsible for Cincinnati’s third touchdown in the second half, coming on a one-yard run. Overall, Mixon rushed for 67 yards on 16 carries.

Lawrence threw for 204 yards, zero touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 17-of-24 of his throws. Jacksonville’s starting quarterback was a threat on the run, as he scored a touchdown and rushed for 36 yards on eight carries.

Jaguars running back James Robinson had a huge game, as he ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns on 18 attempts.

The Bengals will look to improve their record to 4-1 in a huge Week 5 matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. The Jaguars seek to earn their first win of the season and end their losing streak next week when they play the rival Tennessee Titans.