Week 3 of the NFL slate featured a Monday Night Football doubleheader that had an All-Pro quarterback making his early MVP claim and the coming out party of a future NFL star. Josh Allen continued his elite play to start 2024, throwing four touchdowns in a blowout victory. Rookie Jayden Daniels led an offense that scored 38 points (Washington’s highest single-game total since 2020) and didn’t punt. While there was plenty to cheer for on the winning side, we also saw two playoff hopefuls dropping to 0-3 on the season. Now, what’s next for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals?
The Jagaurs were dominated from the opening whistle. Buffalo’s offense effortlessly made its way downfield on their opening drive, ending a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a James Cook rushing TD. Appearing shell-shocked, the Jags went three-and-out on their ensuing possession, gaining just one yard on three plays. Buffalo would score touchdowns on its first five possessions, heading into halftime with a 34-3 lead. The score ended 47-10, but it could have been even worse if the Bills didn’t take their foot off the gas. QB Trevor Lawrence was under duress all game and made several questionable decisions with the ball. Dating back to last season, the Jaguars have lost their last eight games with Lawrence as the starter.
While the early game was decided by halftime, the Bengals and Commanders were involved in a more dramatic showdown. Cincinnati got the scoring started early after QB Joe Burrow linked up with his favorite WR Ja’Marr Chase on a 41-yard touchdown. With Cincinnati scoring on its first drive and Buffalo holding a dominant lead, it seemed like both favorites were poised to run away with wins. Except, Jayden Daniels and the Commanders had other plans. Daniels eviscerated Lou Anarumo’s defense, completing over 90-percent of his passes and accounting for three TDs. Burrow and Chase each had their best games of the year, but it still wasn’t enough.
So, where do both teams go from here? The Jaguars and Bengals are now just two of the three remaining winless teams — the third being the Tennessee Titans. Unlike Tennessee, Jacksonville and Cincinnati have a massive salary number tied to their QB. Before Dak Prescott inked his extension a few weeks ago, Lawrence and Burrow were tied for the highest salary in the league. Burrow signed a $275 million extension in ’23, and Lawrence signed for the same number in June of this year. The only contract worth more belongs to two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes.
Burrow played well on Monday, but we’re just two weeks removed from him playing terribly in Week 1 against the Patriots. Lawrence had one of his worst games as a pro against the Bills. Social media will harp on both all week long. Though, when it’s time for the front office to make a decision, it’s not going to fall on either QB…at least, not yet.
That leads us to the coaches — Cincinnati’s Zac Taylor and Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson. Both led these teams to division titles in ’22 but missed the playoffs last year. Taylor had the Bengals in the Super Bowl just three years ago. Pederson is a former Super Bowl champion and helped bring the Jaguars out of the depths following the disastrous Urban Meyer run.
If one were to escape any criticism, we’d give the edge to Taylor. Cincinnati’s slow starts under Taylor are well-documented, but he led this team to a 9-8 finish last year with Burrow out for two months of the season. The Jags got off to a hot 8-3 start last year but sputtered down the stretch and that poor play has bled into 2024. Following two head-scratching losses and an embarrassing blowout defeat, Pederson is firmly on the hot seat.
Make no mistake, both of these teams still feel like they can make a run. The Bengals have started slow every year under Taylor and still enjoyed deep postseason runs in ’21 and ’22. The Jags can look at last year as a benchmark. They started hot and cooled off considerably. Perhaps this year is the inverse and they start racking up wins in the Winter. However, the odds are now stacked against them. Just six NFL teams have reached the postseason after starting 0-3 — and only one since 2000. If things don’t turn around quickly, both teams will be making some major changes.
