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• John Short

  

  • 358 posts
   

  March 14, 2024 6:45 AM EDT

  For the final game of an already wild Week 13, the play host to the on "Monday Night Football."What should have been a showdown between two of the game's brightest young quarterbacks is instead not that, thanks to season-ending injury a couple weeks back. will still be under center for Jacksonville and Cincinnati's skill-position corps is healthier than it has been in recent weeks, but football fans will unfortunately not get to see the showcase they were meant to have this evening.Of course, the games still count, and the Jaguars in particular remain in contention. Cincinnati can still theoretically make a playoff push, but is likely more positioned to potentially play spoiler down the stretch. And that matters, too.So, can the Jaguars keep pace near the top of the AFC playoff picture, or will the Bengals deal their hopes a blow? We'll find out soon enough. Before we break down the matchup, here's a look at how you can watch the game. Date:Monday, Dec. 4|Time:8:15 p.m. ETLocation:EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville)TV:ABC/ESPN| Stream on fubo ()Follow:Odds David Justice Jersey : Jaguars -10, O/U 40 ()It was more than a bit sad to watch Cincinnati's offense sans Joe Burrow last week. completed 19 of 26 pa ses for 227 yards, one touchdown, and one interceptions, but two of his longest completions of the game were the result of dropped interceptions that turned into big gains to . His touchdown to s to , meanwhile, was a naked boot thrown at the line of scrimmage, with nobody near the receiver as he ran 11 yards for the score.In other words, the Bengals actually had extremely little in the way of succe s moving the ball against the ; and while their pa s offense posted pretty good numbers with Browning averaging 8.7 yards per attempt, those numbers are a bit of a mirage. Getting back from injury will help some, but he's been inconsistent even at his best (and healthiest) this season, and Browning's track record as a pa ser is not encouraging. It doesn't help that Jacksonville's defense has been a borderline top-10 unit against the pa s so far this season, checking in 11th in FTN's DVOA and 10th in opponent's EPA/dropback, per TruMedia. The Jags have gotten pre sure at about a league average rate (35.2% of dropbacks), and their zone-heavy coverage schemes (79% zone) have done a good job of limiting explosive plays. With the Bengals relatively unlikely to matriculate the ball downfield by having Browning repeatedly complete pa ses underneath, they're going to need to break some big plays to remain in the game. And that is unfortunately a strength for Jacksonville's defense.The Cincinnati run game was already a relative weakne s even with Burrow under center, and the Bengals are even le s likely to find running room with him on the Tom Glavine Jersey sideline. This is a team that has averaged just 1.00 yards before contact per carry so far this season, per Tru Media, the third-worst mark in the league. With opponents increasingly likely to crowd the box and still not much of a tackle-breaker, it's going to be tough sledding for this group. Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's Brandon McCarthy Jersey . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. While the Bengals offense is now likely unrecognizable, the defense has actually been the more disappointing unit this season overall. A lot of turnover on the back end has led to uncharacteristic breakdowns, and Lou Anarumo hasn't been able to get the same type of performances against elite units that we have gotten used to over the past several seasons. The Bengals check in 31st in yards allowed, 19th in points allowed, 26th in DVOA, and 24th in opponent's EPA/play.All of that is likely welcome news to a Jaguars offense that has similarly failed to live up to expectations. After taking a ma sive step forward in the first year of the Doug Pederson era, Jacksonville has either stalled or taken a step backward in most areas of offensive performance this season. Freddie Freeman Jersey The Jags are just 13th in both yards and points so far, as well as 17th in DVOA and 21st in EPA/play.The pa sing offense has been inconsistent at best, with Lawrence often unable to get on the same page as any receiver other than . has popped up for big games here and there, including in each of the past two weeks, but he hasn't been the true No. 1 ceiling-raiser many expected coming into the year. The Jags are coming off two of their better offensive performances of the year, though, piling up 834 yards and 58 points against the and over the past two weeks. It helps that they combined to turn the ball over just once in that pair of contests, after not going back-to-back games without a multi-turnover contest through the season's first 10 weeks.Still, it has to be concerning for Jacksonville that the explosive runs have almost entirely dried up in recent weeks, with just 4.4% of the team's carries gaining 12 or more yards since Week 8. The Jaguars were already toward the bottom third of the league before that, but and Co. have been stuck running in mud for a while now. The offensive line hasn't held up its end of the bargain in the blocking department, but the Jags have also run into loaded boxes more often in Chipper Jones Jersey recent weeks than they did earlier in the year. Etienne enters this game banged up and could cede some work to , but Cincinnati has been dreadful against the run all year and this could be a spot for Jacksonville to finally get its run game back on track.Prediction: Jaguars 24, Bengals 6Cincinnati is just undermanned at the moment, and likely will not be able to hang with even a relatively disappointing Jaguars unit. Lawrence and Co. will maintain traction in the AFC race, and the Bengals will fall further back into the pack. I like my prediction but do yourself a favor and check out SportsLine proven model. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over the total and it also says one side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time. .And if you're wondering who all of our experts are picking for the game, here are their predictions. Pete Prisco Will Brinson Jared Dubin Ryan Wilson John Breech Tyler Sullivan Dave Richard Jamey Eisenberg Bengals at Jaguars -8.5