Jacksonville's turnaround from also-ran to AFC South champion was one of last year's best stories. Its road trip to Cincinnati in Week 5 is an early test of whether that leap was real.
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SUN OCT 4 · 1:00 PM ET
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Jaguars
Bengals
Best BetJaguars +114
Jacksonville comes in as the plus-money side despite being the reigning division champ, and that price feels generous given how last season actually ended for both clubs. Lawrence gets a second year in Coen's system while Cincinnati is still projecting how its retooled defense fits together in live snaps. Take the value on the road favorite in disguise.
Jaguars
+Went 13-4, won the AFC South in Coen's first year
+Closed last season on a 4-game winning streak
+Lawrence more comfortable in year 2 of the scheme
−Lawrence, starters sat out the entire preseason so far
−Already lost 2 tackles to IR/PUP in camp
Bengals
+Traded for Dexter Lawrence, added Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe
+Burrow completed 5 of 6 passes in preseason opener
+Chase and Higgins reportedly clicking in practice
−Missed the playoffs 4 straight seasons
−Finished last season 2-3, including a 24-0 shutout loss at home
−Shemar Stewart out several weeks with a hyperextended knee
Trevor Lawrence spent his second offseason inside Liam Coen's system, and by all camp accounts it shows — Jacksonville's staff and beat writers have described the offense as sharper and calmer than a year ago, even with Lawrence and the rest of the starters held out of the preseason opener against New Orleans. Across the field, Joe Burrow enters this one behind a retooled Bengals roster built to support him, headlined by the trade for Dexter Lawrence and free-agent additions Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe on a defensive front that finally has some juice.
Jacksonville's offensive line already took a hit in camp — tackle Garrett DiGiorgio landed on injured reserve and Cole Van Lanen went to the PUP list — while Travis Hunter's two-way role as a starting cornerback and No. 2 receiver keeps expanding by the week. On the other side, Burrow looked like himself in Cincinnati's preseason-opening win over Detroit, completing 5 of 6 passes, with Ja'Marr Chase and Colbie Young both getting early run in the passing game. None of that has stopped Cincinnati from opening as the slight home favorite.
There's a lot of season left to sort out before these two actually meet. Jacksonville has 3 more preseason tune-ups plus games against Cleveland, Denver and New England on the calendar first, while Cincinnati gets Chicago and Philadelphia in preseason before regular-season trips against Tampa Bay, Houston and Pittsburgh. Whatever shape each roster settles into by then will matter more than anything happening in August.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Cincinnati Bengals
Jacksonville closed out last season on a heater, winning 4 straight under Coen before a narrow loss to Buffalo ended the run — the kind of finish that turned a rebuild into a 13-4, division-title season. Cincinnati's stretch run was rockier: after routing Miami and blowing out Arizona, the Bengals got shut out 24-0 at home by Baltimore and dropped a tight one to Cleveland, finishing 2-3 in their final 5 games of a season that ended with a fourth straight year outside the playoffs.
Jacksonville Jaguars
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
Cincinnati Bengals
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries to report
Fixing that defense is the entire point of Cincinnati's offseason spending spree, and if the new additions hold up, this Bengals team looks nothing like the one that finished 2025 on a whimper. Jacksonville, meanwhile, is betting that the version of Lawrence and Coen's offense that showed up down the stretch last year is the real one — a proposition Cincinnati's rebuilt front seven is about to test.
