Jaguars Report Card: Grades From Win Over Bengals Include Good News For Liam Coen

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars earned more passing grades with their latest win, to little surprise.

The Jaguars took care of business against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4, winning a 22-17 ballgame that did not feel as close as the final score indicated. As a result, the Jaguars are once again getting a stellar post-game report card. Here is how we graded each position group after the latest Jaguars win.

QB

What more needs to be seen out of Trevor Lawrence moving forward? He was as efficient as he has ever been against the Bengals, throwing just five incompletions, two of which were drops from Parker Washington. Lawrence was aggressive even when under pressure, continued to test the middle of the field, and managed to keep the Jaguars on the field despite several obnoxiously long 3rd downs due to penalties. Lawrence has played top-level football in 14 of the 16 quarters the Jaguars have played, and this week's win over the Bengals was yet another example. Lawrence seems like he is playing as confidently as he ever has, and improved accuracy and decision-making have followed as a result.

Grade: A-

Week 4: Trevor Lawrence Passing Chart

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— Daniel Griffis (@DanDGriffis) October 4, 2026

RB

It was another impressive outing from Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten, who had two different touchdowns taken off the board by overzealous officials -- including a 44-yard run that would have been by far the longest of his NFL career. He broke tackles at an efficient rate and once again looked like a core piece of what the Jaguars do on offense, Meanwhile, Chris Rodriguez Jr. has continued to ascend thanks to some stellar third-down rushing a fourth-quarter touchdown run that ensured the Jaguars would leave with a victory. There were more negative runs than usual, but it was a good day for the backfield.

Grade: A-

WR

There were some good moments from the Jaguars' wide receiver room, such as Brian Thomas' touchdown and Josh Cameron's production on limited routes. But ultimately the receivers were not as big of a part of the game plan this week, and Parker Washington had an odd game with two drops on three targets despite normally being amongst the most sure-handed receivers in the NFL. The receivers did play a big role in the running game, though, which deserves recognition. But at the end of the day, this was likely the least productive day we will see from the Jaguars' receivers this season.

Grade: B-

TE

Brenton Strange had an elite outing for the Jaguars, setting a career high in receiving yards with 95 yards on seven catches. Had the Jaguars and Trevor Lawrence managed to hit Strange on a second-half pass down the middle, Strange would have likely added 30+ yards and a touchdown on the day. Strange had not been a big part of the passing game before Sunday, but he certainly left his mark on Sunday. Nate Boerkircher also had a 15-yard catch for the longest gain of his career thus far, making it a good day for the tight end room.

Grade: A

OL

Out of the Jaguars' four offensive line performances this season, it felt like this was the second-worst one. According to NextGenStats, Trevor Lawrence was pressured on eight dropbacks, with four resulting in sacks against the Bengals; his 50.0% pressure to sack rate is his highest with Liam Coen as his head coach. The offensive line had some mental mistakes, penalties, and a few too many pressures given up to think this was a good performance from the unit as a whole. They did some good things in the running game, but they were certainly tested.

Grade: C

DL

This was the best game the Jaguars' defensive front has played this season. They were once again dominant against the run and proved to be one of the best run defenses in the entire NFL, while they also recorded 11 quarterback hits on Burrow. The Jaguars did their best work when they rushed four against Burrow, and they got strong performances from Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker, Arik Armstead, and Dennis Gardeck when they did so.

Grade: A

LB

The Jaguars linebackers have arguably been the most impressive part of the defense. Ventell Miller and Foyesade Oluokun were once again hammers against the run, while Oluokun made arguably the most important defensive play of the game with a red-zone interception of Joe Burrow when the Bengals were driving. Oluokun has been terrific for the Jaguars in coverage this season, and this marked his second interception in the Jaguars' red-zone to prevent points. For a position group that had questions entering the season, the linebackers have been fantastic.

Grade: A

DB

Anytime a team drops back 50+ times, you are going to give up completions. That is simply how the game of football works, and that shouldn't cloud the kind of day the Jaguars' secondary had. Yes, Joe Burrow checked down and screened his way toward 400+ passing yards, but the Jaguars saw Jourdan Lewis record his second interception of the year, Travis Hunter had an elite performance, and Jarrian Jones largely held his own against Tee Higgins. A few missed tackles drop the Jaguars below an A, but the Jaguars played well in the secondary.

Jourdan Lewis intercepts Joe Burrow and takes it inside the red zone

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— NFL (@NFL) October 4, 2026

Grade: B+

STs

The Jaguars special teams had some quality moments on Sunday, with Cam Little making all three of his field goals, including 54- and 55-yard kicks. It was a nice day of consistency for Little, who at times has struggled with that aspect of his game. The Jaguars do get dinged here for two reasons: a holding call on a kick return at the start of the game that would have put the Jaguars at midfiled, as well as the Jaguars' inability to pin the Bengals at their own one-yard line on a fourth-quarter punt where they had to knock the ball back at the goal line but failed to do so.

Grade: B+

Coaching

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen put together another stellar game plan with his staff. The Jaguars easily identified the Bengals' linebackers and safeties as their weak links in coverage and proceeded to attack the middle of the field all game long. Defensively, Anthony Campanile had a smart plan to slow down Joe Burrow and allow him to take his checkdowns and screen passes in a bid to limit explosive plays. It was a nicely done performance from the coaching staff, in large part because it felt like the Bengals played exactly how the Jaguars wanted them to.

"Really in a lot of ways, the game played out so many ways the way we wanted it to, the way that we went into the game trying to play that game," Coen said Monday. "I think if we score one more touchdown, then we probably would’ve been be a lot more at ease with things. If maybe one of those doesn't get called back or we finished in the fourth minute, whatever it is. I think you feel even better about, okay, our plan going in, how we wanted to play the game was in a lot of ways how it did play out."

Grade: A

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