Burrow seeks to stay unbeaten vs Lawrence as Bengals host Jaguars in matchup of 2-1 teams

Joe Burrow has gotten the better of Trevor Lawrence whenever their teams have met.

Burrow is hoping that trend continues on Sunday when his Cincinnati Bengals host Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in a matchup of 2-1 teams.

Burrow is 3-0 in starts against Lawrence. The first was in the College Football Playoff national title game in the 2019 season when he threw for 463 yards and accounted for all six touchdowns in LSU's 42-25 victory over Clemson.

The most recent time Burrow faced the Jaguars though is one he would like to forget. The franchise quarterback suffered a turf toe injury during the second quarter of last season's Week 2 game while being sacked by Jaguars defensive tackle Arik Armstead.

Even though the Bengals rallied for a 31-27 victory behind Jake Browning, Burrow missed the next nine games after having surgery on his left big toe. The Bengals season imploded as they lost eight of nine.

Burrow's focus though is making sure Cincinnati gets back on track after a loss at Pittsburgh despite passing for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Cincinnati was in Steelers' territory during the fourth quarter when Burrow fumbled after being sacked by Derrick Harmon.

Burrow will face a Jaguars defense that is second in pressure rate this season.

“They’re deep. Their two edge rushers — Armstead and DaVon (Hamilton) are really good. All those guys can play really good football, get pressure on the quarterback, stop the run,” Burrow said. “Then the rest of their defense plays with their roles really well, understands what they’re trying to do with their coverages.”

The Jaguars' defense has picked off a pass in eight straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL, and has allowed a league-low 36 points this season.

Cincinnati's defense also has plenty of questions going into the game. After strong games against Tampa Bay and Houston, the Bengals reverted back to the level of the past couple of seasons against the Steelers with missed tackles and lapses on long pass plays.

Lawrence has 65 completions of at least 20 yards since the start of last season, third most in the AFC. The Bengals allowed five last week.

“Things have changed and I think they’ve figured out kind of what they’re good at. And in some ways I think it’s kind of simplified," Lawrence said of the Bengals, the only AFC team he hasn't defeated .

"I think sometimes that’s the hardest thing to go against is a really well-coached defense that might not bring a ton of pressures and all those things and have guys running free, but they’re just always in the right spot at the right time and you got to really earn every run, every completion, all those things. I think they’re doing a good job of that right now.”

Jacksonville (2-1) at Cincinnati (2-1)

When/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS.

Latest odds: Bengals by 2 1/2.

Against the spread: Jaguars 2-1; Bengals 2-1.

Last week: Jaguars beat the Patriots 35-6; Bengals lost to Steelers 30-27.

Last meeting: Bengals beat Jaguars 31-27 on Sept. 14, 2025, in Cincinnati.

Series record: Tied 13-13.

Jacksonville wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter versus Cincinnati wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins: Hunter had his first career interception last week and became the fourth player since 2000 with an interception and a touchdown catch in his first two seasons. The Jaguars rotate their coverages, meaning Lawrence will go up against both Chase and Higgins. Chase has 14 games with multiple touchdown receptions since 2021. He needs one more to become the fifth player in NFL history with at least 15 games in his first six seasons.

— Cincinnati has won the past four meetings in the series and is 9-5 in games played at home.

— Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence has thrown 25 touchdowns in his past 10 games. Only Matthew Stafford of the Rams has thrown for more TDs in a 10-game span over the past two seasons.

— Jaguars WR Parker Washington has at least five receptions for 70 yards in four of his past five games on the road. He had five catches for 76 yards in last year's game.

— Jacksonville has not allowed a running back to gain at least 75 yards in 20 straight games, tied for the fourth-longest streak in the past 50 seasons.

— Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow needs six completions to reach 2,000 for his career. If he does it on Sunday he would tie Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes for the fewest games to reach the milestone (81 games).

— Bengals RB Chase Brown has gained at least 75 scrimmage yards in his past eight home games.

— Cincinnati has 10 sacks, tied for fourth most in the league. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence had his first two sacks with the Bengals last week.

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