“It sucks; Calvin makes a great play down there, and you’re excited and celebrating inside the five, then you turn around and see the flag,” Beathard said. “It is what it is.”
McPherson’s 54-yard field goal with 2:28 remaining gave the Bengals a 31-28 lead. That capped a seven-play 26-yard drive on the series after Lawrence’s injury, which came when he was sacked by defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
McManus’ missed 48-yard field goal one play after Lawrence’s injury would have given the Jaguars a three-point lead with just over five minutes remaining.
The Jaguars (8-4) are now one game ahead of the Houston Texans (7-5) and Indianapolis Colts (7-5) in the AFC South. The Bengals (6-6) snapped a three-game losing streak.
The loss also kept the Jaguars from moving into the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
Lawrence completed 22 of 29 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions – throwing a second-quarter touchdown to tight end Evan Engram, throwing a third-quarter touchdown to rookie wide receiver Parker Washington and running for a third-quarter touchdown.
Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, making his second NFL start in place of injured starter Joe Burrow, completed 32 of 37 passes for 354 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.
The Jaguars registered two sacks with one takeaway Monday, with outside linebackers Josh Allen and Travon Walker sharing one in the first quarter. Allen turned in one of the game’s key plays by intercepting a pass from Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd that set up a go-ahead score late in the third quarter.
The Jaguars now have 26 sacks and 21 takeaways for the season.
The Bengals outgained the Jaguars, 491-376, with Cincinnati rushing for 156 yards.
“We didn’t stop the run,” Pederson said. “That’s the strength of our defense is stopping the run. We just didn’t do that.”
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