The majority of experts picked the Houston Texans to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. They were proven wrong by a Jaguars team that scraped out a 24-21 road win to take solid control of the AFC South.
This week, the doubters are few and far between.
That’s largely because the Jaguars have won nine of their last 10 to surge through the AFC standings. With a win Monday, they’d take control of the No. 1 seed in the conference.
It’s also because the Cincinnati Bengals will hit the field at EverBank Stadium without Joe Burrow under center. The team’s star quarterback suffered a season-ending wrist injury, forcing the Bengals to turn to Jake Browning the rest of the year.
Cincinnati has lost three straight and not many experts think the team bounces back Monday. Here’s what experts predict will happen in the Jaguars’ primetime matchup:
USA Today
Jarrett Bell: Jaguars, 24-20
Chris Bumbaca: Jaguars, 23-13
Nate Davis: Jaguars, 30-17
Safid Deen: Jaguars, 27-13
Tyler Dragon: Jaguars, 27-17
Victoria Hernandez: Jaguars, 27-17
Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz: Jaguars, 30-16
Lorenzo Reyes: Jaguars, 23-17
NFL.com
Ali Bhanpuri: Jaguars, 24-17
Brooke Cersosimo: Jaguars, 28-17
Dan Parr: Jaguars, 20-15
Gennaro Filice: Jaguars, 24-14
Tom Blair: Jaguars, 24-14
ESPN
Stephania Bell: Jaguars
Matt Bowen: Jaguars
Mike Clay: Jaguars
Jeremy Fowler: Jaguars
Dan Graziano: Jaguars
Kimberly Martin: Jaguars
Eric Moody: Jaguars
Jason Reid: Jaguars
Lindsey Thiry: Jaguars
Sam Wickersham: Jaguars
CBS Sports
Pete Prisco: Jaguars
Will Brinson: Jaguars
Jared Dubin: Jaguars
Ryan Wilson: Jaguars
John Breech: Jaguars
Tyler Sullivan: Jaguars
Dave Richard: Jaguars
Jamey Eisenberg: Jaguars
Sporting News
Jake Browning proved capable when he got the ball out quick for the Bengals, but he still took four sacks in his starting debut. Jacksonville has settled into a rhythm despite two blowout losses at home this season. The Jaguars have not been on Monday Night Football since 2011 – so anticipate a rowdy crowd here. Trevor Lawrence – who averages 303 passing yards the last two weeks – does the rest.
Pick: Jaguars 26, Bengals 17
Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report’s Week 13 picks
Gary Davenport: Jaguars
Brad Gagnon: Jaguars
Ian Hanford: Bengals
Kris Knox: Jaguars
Maurice Moton: Bengals
Wes O’Donnell: Bengals
Brent Sobleski: Jaguars
Bottom Line
It would’ve a clean sweep if not for a few stragglers in the Bleacher Report predictions column. Here’s the final tally:
Jaguars: 36
Bengals: 3
