JAX beats CIN 22–17 at Paycor Stadium

Field goals set the early pace

JAX opened the scoring with a 55-yard field goal late in the first quarter and took a 3–0 lead into the second. CIN tied the game with a 29-yard field goal, but JAX answered with a 28-yard kick to move back ahead 6–3. Those three field goals accounted for all the scoring before the final two minutes of the half.

Joe Burrow threw an interception with CIN trailing 6–3. Later in the quarter, Trevor Lawrence completed a seven-yard touchdown pass to Bri. Thomas. The touchdown made it 12–3, and the extra point gave JAX a 13–3 halftime lead. It was the first touchdown of the game after the teams had exchanged field goals.

CIN closes the gap in the third

Burrow and CIN produced their first touchdown in the third quarter on a 15-yard pass to M. Gesicki. The score cut JAX’s lead to 13–9, and the extra point made it 13–10. JAX then added a 54-yard field goal to restore a six-point margin. The third quarter ended with JAX ahead 16–10; neither team had taken the lead from the other since JAX’s second-quarter field goal.

Fourth-quarter touchdowns decide it

Burrow threw another interception early in the fourth quarter, with CIN still down 16–10. JAX later widened its lead on C. Rodriguez’s 25-yard touchdown run. That play brought the score to 22–10. JAX tried a two-point pass from Lawrence to Bri. Thomas, but the attempt failed, leaving the margin at 12 points.

CIN answered with a one-yard touchdown run by Burrow. The run made it 22–16, and the extra point reduced JAX’s lead to 22–17. That was the game’s last scoring play. JAX finished with the five-point win at Paycor Stadium, after leading at the end of each quarter. The game ended in regulation, with no overtime.