JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has beaten every AFC opponent except one during his professional career: Cincinnati.
Lawrence is 0-3 against the Bengals, with each loss being more gut-wrenching than the previous one. He gets a chance to end the skid Sunday on the road.
“We got to make it turn,” Lawrence said Wednesday. “We got to go win it. It’s definitely something that, when you’re going into the game, you think about. You’re not sitting there thinking about it every second of the day and all week. But I’ve thought about it. It’s a team that we haven’t beat.”
Lawrence’s first game against Cincinnati came on the road as a rookie in 2021. He played turnover-free football for the first time in four NFL games but failed to make enough plays down the stretch. Jacksonville squandered a 14-0 lead and lost on a last-second field goal.
Making the trip more memorable: Then-coach Urban Meyer opted to stay behind and found trouble at his restaurant in nearby Columbus, Ohio.
Two years later, the Jaguars lost on another field goal. This one came in overtime at home on a Monday night — with Jake Browning starting for the Bengals. Lawrence sprained his right ankle late in the game and was unavailable for OT.
The teams played at Cincinnati last season in Week 2, and Jacksonville knocked quarterback Joe Burrow out of the game in the second quarter. Browning rallied the Bengals to victory with a 1-yard run in the final minute.
A regrettable moment for the Jaguars came when coach Liam Coen yelled at Lawrence from the sideline and slapped his chest after the QB overthrew a receiver late. Lawrence waved his hand at the coach in a clear brush-off.
“I would say that what you guys saw wasn’t too far off the experience,” Lawrence said. “That’s just being honest. There is that competitiveness and the back and forth. Not all the time. Obviously, it’s a healthy amount. There is some passion between both of us.
“We’re both just trying to get it right and right the ship and move forward and get better. I think that is a real thing, and I don’t honestly care too much that it got out last year. Obviously, you lose the game and it’s a way bigger deal than if you win the game; people are freaking out about it because we lost.”
That was Jacksonville’s fourth consecutive loss to Cincinnati. The Jaguars’ last win against the Bengals came in 2019.
“All those things you think about and then move on and put your energy towards something that actually does something for you, which is preparing and getting ready to go put together a great plan to win the game,” Lawrence said. “And that’s what we’re going to do.”
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