CINCINNATI, Ohio – Senior writer John Oehser, senior correspondent Brian Sexton and team reporter Kainani Stevens offer quick thoughts on the Jaguars’ 31-27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in a 2025 Week 2 game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sunday

John Oehser, Jaguars Senior Writer…

So much good, too much not good enough. The Jaguars on Sunday in many ways played well enough to be unbeaten after two games. That’s the good. The bad is no one cares about good when you lose in an avalanche of avoidable mistakes, dropped passes and missed opportunities – issues that on Sunday caused one of the most gut-wrenching, disappointing Jaguars losses in recent memory. Not only did the Jaguars commit six penalties for 55 yards – not including five declined illegal-shift penalties – they failed to score twice in the red zone. One of those failures was a first-quarter interception thrown by quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the other was a dropped pass at the Bengals two-yard line in the fourth quarter by Pro Bowl wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. A dropped would-be touchdown pass by wide receiver Dyami Brown early in the fourth quarter led to the Jaguars settling for a field goal. That’s too many missed opportunities to win in the NFL and this one will be remembered as a game the Jaguars absolutely should have and could have won. They never trailed until :18 remained, and they played the physical game – particularly on offense – that Head Coach Liam Coen believes is its identity. There’s good here to build on, but the disappointment of what could have been is all you feel on Sunday nights.
Now, we find out. To review: There was plenty good Sunday. Coen mostly liked how Lawrence played, particularly his competitiveness – and Lawrence did make some big-time clutch throws. The defense got a big turnover late when linebacker Devin Lloyd intercepted Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, and replays showed Lloyd probably wasn’t down at the Bengals 12 and therefore should have been awarded a touchdown to give the Jaguars a late double-digit lead. It’s also really positive that the Jaguars’ offensive line played very well for a second consecutive week. The major question for the Jaguars moving forward? How they respond. They easily could be 2-0. They look vastly improved in many key areas. It’s not hard to imagine this team competing for the postseason. What they must do now is build on those strengths and continue believing. “It’s super tough,” Thomas said. “You feel like you had a game you should have won and you end up losing. You just have to keep going.” Yep. How resilient is this Jaguars team? Now we start learning.