Bengals Try to Make Jaguars First Victim

Football Betting Lines

10/31/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of teams desperate for wins square off this Sunday afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium, where the Jacksonville Jaguars welcome the winless Cincinnati Bengals.

No team is more hungry for a win than the Bengals, who are 0-8 for the fifth time ever and are two losses away from matching the worst start in franchise history, established in 1993 under head coach Dave Shula. Current head coach Marvin Lewis' calm demeanor won't be able to save his job, if and when the hammer drops for a new face at the helm.

Lewis is trying his best to keep the players focused and their spirits high, but it's a tough task after last week's 35-6 drubbing at the hands of the Houston Texans.

The Bengals haven't scored more than 23 points in a game this season and have allowed 30 or more points in two straight and three of the past four games. Lewis has been strapped since Pro Bowl starting quarterback Carson Palmer went down with a frayed elbow ligament. Palmer has missed three straight and four of the past five games because of the problem, and may be shelved for the rest of the year since the season has been a disappointment. Tommy John surgery is an option as well, even though no decision has been made regarding Palmer's status or whether he will undergo surgery.

Palmer will definitely not play versus Jacksonville and will get another week of rest with an upcoming bye. The former University of Southern California star has been going through rehabilitation and is optimistic he'll be able to play when his elbow heals. Until then, backup Ryan Fitzpatrick will resume duties under center for the Bengals, who are only 2-11 in their past 13 road games.

Jacksonville is only 3-4 this season after an 11-5 campaign a year ago. It is tied for second place in the AFC South with Indianapolis and Houston, trailing 7-0 Tennessee. The Jaguars have lost two of their last three games and were handed a 23-17 setback at home last Sunday by the Cleveland Browns.

The Jaguars entered their bye week with an excellent ground performance at Denver on October 12, then barely got anything going with Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor versus the Browns. The Jags were led by quarterback David Garrard's 59 yards rushing.

Garrard is more elusive than most quarterbacks in the NFL, but something has to give up front when Jones-Drew and Taylor carry the ball. Garrard also had a fine day passing, but the Jacksonville defense spoiled the show by giving up big plays at crucial moments.

Head coach Jack Del Rio stated in his press conference this week that he feels the offensive line needs "to get more surge up front" and that the unit is "not getting enough room" for the running backs.

Del Rio and the Jags will hit the road for back-to-back games against the NFL's two winless teams in Cincinnati and Detroit, the first NFC foe for Jacksonville in 2008. The Jaguars are 2-1 on the road this year, with wins at Indianapolis and Denver. They are trying to win three consecutive road games for the third time in history and the second consecutive season under Del Rio.

SERIES HISTORY

Jacksonville has a 11-5 advantage in its all-time series with Cincinnati, and has won four straight games over the Bengals. The Jags were 23-20 home winners when the clubs last met, in 2005, and took a 29-15 decision when they last visited Cincinnati, in 2002. The Bengals' most recent win in the series came in 2000, a 17-14 home win.

Jacksonville and Cincinnati were both part of the AFC Central from 1995 through 2001.

Del Rio is 1-0 against the Bengals as a head coach, while Lewis is 0-1 versus both his former co-worker Del Rio and Jacksonville. Del Rio served as linebackers coach of the Baltimore Ravens from 1999 through 2001, when Lewis was the team's defensive coordinator.

WHEN THE JAGUARS HAVE THE BALL

Garrard (1,542 passing yards, 6 TD, 4 INT) is starting to become the efficient passer he was a year ago and hasn't thrown an interception in four consecutive weeks. The East Carolina product, who threw a pair of TD passes in the loss versus Cleveland, has five touchdown strikes, 995 yards passing and a 97.8 rating over that span. He was able to put the Jaguars into scoring position with a season-high 59 yards on seven scrambles, but is still finding trouble in the pocket. Garrard, who hasn't been picked off in 150 straight attempts, has been sacked eight times over the last three games, including three times against the Browns. Center Brad Meester (biceps) added a boost when he returned last week, while it was learned guard Chris Naeole could be lost for the year after injuring his hand in warmups last week. Naeole is expected to have surgery and is out for this week. Garrard hasn't had much time lately to spread the ball around, but he hit eight different receivers versus the Browns. Wideout Matt Jones (38 receptions, 455 yards, 2 TD) finished with 117 yards and a score on eight catches and has been the team's go-to guy in 2008. Jones is still waiting to hear on his appeal for a possible suspension for getting caught with cocaine during the offseason. Reggie Williams (17 receptions, 1 TD) finally found the end zone last week with a five-yard touchdown grab. Jacksonville has the league's 20th-rated pass attack (201.0 ypg).

The Bengals did surprisingly well shutting down Houston's run game last week, holding the Texans to 109 total yards rushing. Texans rookie Steve Slaton managed to get 53 yards and a touchdown, but it was an overall achievement for Lewis' stop unit that is rated 28th in the NFL (146.9 ypg) against the run. Poor tackling still needs to be addressed for the Bengals, whose defensive line was led by tackle Domata Peko's six stops. Peko (37 tackles, 0.5 sacks) made his eighth start and defensive tackle John Thornton (17 tackles, sack) started for the seventh time and recorded two stops, including his first sack of the season, and a tipped pass. Rookie tackle Pat Sims (14 tackles) finished with five solo tackles against Houston and will have to step up his game with Jones-Drew and Taylor coming to town. End Antwan Odom (18 tackles, 2 sacks), an offseason free-agent signee, is enjoying a fine year with a team-high two sacks, but will face a tough challenge against the agile Garrard.

Jacksonville was expected to run the ball with ease against a Cleveland team that was scorched by Washington running back Clinton Portis the week before. But Jones-Drew (330 rushing yards, 5 TD) and Taylor (266 rushing yards) were held to a combined for on 53 yards on 23 touches. With the Jaguars playing with a patched-up offensive line, times will be tough for the ground game. The new lineman must adjust in order to improve the Jags' 14th-best ground attack (116.0 ypg). Jones-Drew had 29 yards on 12 carries and Taylor had 24 yards on eight carries while Garrard set the pace. Putting the quarterback in that kind of situation is dangerous, and the two backs must improve for the Jaguars, who are the only team in the NFL to have every game this season decided by seven points or less. Taylor, who did not practice Wednesday for personal reasons, needs 19 yards to reach 11,000 career rushing yards and one more touchdown to set a franchise record. Jones leads the team with 533 yards from scrimmage. The Jags are tied for sixth in the NFL with only eight turnovers.

Lewis should be worried about his secondary after Houston's Matt Schaub passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns last week. Texans wideout Andre Johnson finished with 143 yards on 11 receptions against a Bengals' defense rated a decent 8th in the NFL against the pass, allowing 191.1 yards per contest. Houston converted 10-of-13 third-down plays into first downs as well. Linebacker Dhani Jones (66 tackles) still leads the team in tackles, but had only two last week. Fellow linebacker Rashad Jeanty (53 tackles) is right behind in stops and came away with nine against the Texans. Leon Hall (28 tackles) and Johnathan Joseph (22 tackles) are Cincinnati's top cornerbacks and combined for 10 tackles in Week 8. In injury news for the Bengals' secondary, rookie safety Corey Lynch was placed on season-ending injured reserve Monday with a knee injury and free agent safety John Busing was signed to take his place. Cornerback Jamar Fletcher is expected to return Sunday against the Jaguars. He has played in one game.

WHEN THE BENGALS HAVE THE BALL

Fitzpatrick (627 passing yards, 2 TD, 5 INT) should take some blame as to why the Bengals have been outscored 73-16 in the past two games and by a 217-104 margin for this season. He made his fourth start of the season against the Texans and ended with a season-high completion percentage of 62.5 after hitting on 20 of his 32 pass attempts for 150 yards. Fitzpatrick, however, was intercepted twice and did not throw a touchdown pass. The Harvard product, who ran for a season-high 42 yards on seven carries in the loss, is Cincinnati's third-leading rusher with 121 yards on 21 attempts, including a one-yard touchdown. Fitzpatrick has been sacked 14 times in the last three games and will try to make his fifth start a memorable one. He needs 151 more passing yards to eclipse his previous career high of 777 yards in a season, established with St. Louis in 2005. Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh (54 receptions, 512 yards, 3 TD) led the Bengals against Houston with 54 yards on eight catches and has at least six grabs in the previous six games. He is ranked second in the NFL so far with 54 catches and has led or tied for the team lead in catches in each of the last six games. Houshmandzadeh also has a team-best three touchdown receptions. Chad Johnson (32 receptions, 2 TD) has caught a pass in 100 straight games and posted five catches for 44 yards against Houston. Troubled wideout Chris Henry (5 receptions) has played in three games this season and had one catch for three yards last Sunday.

If the Jaguars experience trouble trying to contain Cincinnati's passing game, then they should just pack it in for the season. The Bengals are 31st in the NFL in passing and average 151.3 yards per game through the air. Cleveland entered last week's showdown in Jacksonville with a less-than-stellar air attack and managed to record 236 yards against the Jags' defensive backfield. Linebacker Justin Durant (20 tackles) was the closest to have an interception, managing a tipped pass. Defensive end Paul Spicer (22 tackles, 1.5 sacks) had the lone sack for the Jacksonville defense and leads team with 17 quarterback pressures. Jacksonville has some of the best defensive backs in the game, and it starts with cornerback Rashean Mathis (18 tackles, 2 INT), who is the team's all-time leader with 23 interceptions and has returned two picks for touchdowns in 2008. Free safety Reggie Nelson (16 tackles) was back in action last week after missing three games with knee injury. Cornerback Drayton Florence (16 tackles) is another weapon to stop Chad Johnson and Houshmandzadeh.

Cincinnati's running game is just as bad as its passing scheme. It is 30th in the NFL with 77.8 yards per game on the ground and hasn't gotten much from running backs Cedric Benson, Chris Perry and Kenny Watson. Perry (253 rushing yards, 2 TD) leads the team in rushing and carries (96), but his playing time has been cut short because of his low average and fumbling tendencies. Benson (137 rushing yards) signed with the Bengals in September and made his second straight start last Sunday, posting 49 yards on 13 touches. He also had 20 yards on two receptions and led the team in yards from scrimmage (69) for the second straight week. Watson (54 rushing yards), who led Cincinnati in rushing last year with 763 yards, had just one carry for five yards against Houston. It's hard to imagine why the Bengals have done so poorly running the football with all five of their starters on the offensive line together for the first eight games. Stud tackles Stacy Andrews and Levi Jones are the anchors of the front five.

Jacksonville allows just over 100 yards rushing per game this season and had trouble stopping Browns bulky back Jamal Lewis, who had 81 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries to send the Jaguars down to 17th in rushing yards yielded per game (108.0). Defensive tackle John Henderson (24 tackles, 1 sack) should have a field day against the Bengals' weak running back corps. Fellow tackle Rob Meier (9 tackles, sack) has missed the last three games. Del Rio, a former NFL linebacker, has a deep and talented corps behind the front line of the defense. Top linebacker and leading tackler Mike Peterson (43 tackles) recorded a team-high 10 stops last Sunday versus Cleveland. Durant owns 27 stops in his last three games and linebacker Daryl Smith (31 tackles, sack) is the only Jacksonville defender to not miss a snap in all seven games.

FANTASY FOCUS

There is not too much to get excited about fantasy-wise in this matchup. The Jaguars have the most talent with Jones-Drew, Taylor, Matt Jones and Garrard, but Jones-Drew hasn't done much since the Denver game on October 12. Give him and Taylor a start this week against a meager Bengals run defense. Jones is the best wideout so far in Jacksonville and has hauled in at least five passes in six of seven games this season. In an emergency move, give Garrard a shot against Cincinnati. He may not rush for as many yards as he did last week, but should get some points with his arm. Jacksonville's defense is a solid move for Week 9. The Bengals usually have Palmer, Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson as top players in fantasy, but this year has been a disaster. With no Palmer and lackluster performances from the two wideouts, Benson and kicker Shayne Graham are left as the only members of the team worth starting this week.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Jacksonville is desperate for a win in order to stay in contention for an AFC playoff spot. It has virtually no chance at this point in catching up with the undefeated Titans for the division crown, so a win at Cincinnati this week is crucial for the remainder of the season. Del Rio will get the type of effort from his main players, especially the defense, in a big victory over the depressing Bengals. The seat under Lewis has been boiling at a slow pace for the past few weeks, and it may spill over after an 0-9 start.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Jaguars 30, Bengals 19