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“It sucks; Calvin makes a great play out there, and you’re excited and celebrating inside the five, and 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 off 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 a 48-yard field goal after Lawrence was hit that would have given the Jaguars a three-point lead with just over five minutes remaining.
The Jaguars (8-4) now have a one-game lead over 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 prevented the Jaguars from moving into the top seed in the AFC.
Lawrence completed 22 of 29 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions – throwing a touchdown in the second quarter to tight end Evan Engram, throwing a touchdown in the third quarter to wide receiver Parker Washington and running for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Bengals quarterback Jake Browning, making his second NFL start in place of injured quarterback Joe Burrow, completed 32 of 37 passes for 354 yards and one touchdown and no interceptions.
The Jaguars recorded two sacks with one takeaway on Monday, with outside linebackers Josh Allen and Travon Walker sharing one in the first quarter. Allen converted one of the key plays of the game by intercepting a pass from Bengals wide receiver Tyler Boyd that set up the go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter.
The Jaguars now have 26 sacks and 21 takeaways on 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 in stopping the run. We didn’t do that.”
