Bengals 24, Jaguars 21: Game Balls

Who gets this week's game balls for the Jaguars' Week 4 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals? We examine the candidates and break them down below.

The Jacksonville Jaguars fell 24-21 to the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday night on a walk-off field goal. It's one of the closest and most heartbreaking losses in what is now a 19-game losing streak, stretching back to week two of the 2020 season. The Jaguars led the entire game, until the game-winning field goal from the Bengals. So despite the second-half collapse, there were still impressive performances in all three aspects of the game. 

With that in mind, Jaguar Report's John Shipley and Kassidy Hill award their game balls for the best Jags performances in the week four match. 

Offense 

Shipley: Trevor Lawrence got strong consideration here, but instead I am opting to go with second-year wide receiver Laviska Shenault. The Jaguars finally took the training wheels off of Shenault on Thursday, in large part out of necessity due to the ankle injury to DJ Chark. Shenault answered the challenge with a ferocity, though, having arguably his best game as a pro just a few weeks after his worst. Had the Jaguars not asked Dan Arnold to block Trey Hendrickson on third-down on the first drive, there is a chance Shenault catches a big gain down the seam and ends with an even better stat line than the six-catch, 99-yard performance he had.

Shenault not only caught that massive 52-yard bomb from Lawrence at the end of the first half, but he consistently won in man coverage reps on third/fourth-down. He was the only Jaguars player to even see more than three targets, showing both the increased usage and expansion of his role and the results of his ability to win his reps against the Bengals' cornerbacks and safeties.

Hill: I said this last week and I'll say it again until it ceases to be true; good things happen when James Robinson gets the ball. The coaching staff has been promising bigger and bigger loads for the workhorse, and on Thursday night he saw his most carries yet, taking the ball 18 times for a game-high 78 yards and two touchdowns. Frankly, nothing he did versus the Bengals was new. It was the same old James we’ve come to know the past year and a half; a hard and willing runner up the middle, vision to find lanes off tackles and speed to hit the edge and outrace defenders.

His two touchdown runs were perfect examples of his versatility. The first was up the gut for a hard six yards. The second a bounce outside and a dive to pick up the four-yard score that was obvious to everyone but the official staring down the goal line, but we digress.

Even with his performance mirroring many that we’ve seen from Robinson before, he gets another game ball because 1) it’s nice to see the coaches around him better utilizing him week to week. And 2) as Urban Meyer and staff have turned to him more and more, Robinson has proven last year wasn’t a fluke—a motivated player on a bad team—but instead he has the capability to be a top running back on an offensive minded team. 

Defense 

Shipley: Again, I am going to go with Dawuane Smoot. Smoot didn't record a sack, but he was the only Jaguars' defensive lineman to make a tangible impact as a pass-rusher. The Jaguars sacked Joe Burrow just once despite having a blitz-happy game plan, which is in part because the Jaguars failed to cover the Bengals with consistency and in part because the Jaguars' pass-rush wasn't hitting home. 

Smoot, however, had a solid day as a pass-rusher and did a good job of setting edges against the run, with most of the Bengals' off-tackle runs going away from him. Smoot recorded five of the Jaguars' 12 pressures and one of their three quarterback hits, with no other Jaguars defender recording multiple pressures. It was a mostly bad day for the Jaguars' defense in terms of individual performances, but Smoot had a performance worth recognizing for positive reasons. 

Hill: There was serious consideration to not give any defensive game balls after that complete and utter second half collapse, but that wouldn’t be fair to Shaquill Griffin who really did have a good game. He finished with four tackles, a defended pass and he gave up three receptions on six targets, which is more than one would hope, but only for 16 yards total. According to Pro Football Focus, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow only had a 56.3 passer rating when throwing Griffin’s way. The analytic site graded Griffin with a 80.6 overall in coverage for the game.

Part of being a CB1 is being able to track a receiver for an entire game. The Jaguars asked Griffin to do so during the Arizona Cardinals game, with DeAndre Hopkins. And we saw him play more man versus the Bengals as well. On play in particular, the Bengals were facing a third-and-two. Burrow threw a screen to receiver Mike Thomas and Griffin, tracking him pre-snap, met Thomas at the catch and laid him back short of the chains and forcing a punt.

There was going to be some transition for Griffin, coming in to this defense. He’s always been either a back-up corner or No. 2. The responsibilities of a CB1 require more discipline, both physically and mentally. He’s progressed each and every week, with the Bengals game being his best yet. 

Special Teams

Shipley: Logan Cooke. The Jaguars shouldn't have punted at the end of the game, but Cooke was a reliable big leg for the Jaguars all night, frequently pushing the Bengals back in terms of field position. Cooke saw three of his four punts land inside the 20-yard line while averaging 45.8 yards per punt -- including a booming 57-yarder. Cooke has been one of the NFL's best punters this year, and that continued all through Thursday Night Football.

Hill: It's a low bar when a made PAT is something to celebrate, but that's where the Jaguars were at kicker coming into this game. Josh Lambo has gotten in his head and that's the worst place to be for a kicker. So the Jaguars brought in third year kicker, Matthew Wright. While Jacksonville didn't attempt a field goal during the game, Wright made all three of his point after attempts. They were right down the middle, with no wobble and plenty of trajectory. Right now, the Jags special teams will take those little wins. Could we see Wright join the carousel that has been the Jags kicker situation the past season and a half? As long as he continues making routine kicks with ease, chances are the club keeps him around a while.

Honorable mention to Logan Cooke, who remains one of the most consistent punters in the game, and took over kickoff duties with Lambo sidelined.