The 1-0 Jacksonville Jaguars head to Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, this weekend. They’ll take on the 1-0 Cincinnati Bengals in a game that features the highest total (49.5) of NFL Week 2. So, let’s dive in and break down this exciting Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals preview and predictions.
The Jaguars easily took care of business in Week 1 as they hosted the Carolina Panthers. They jumped up big in the second quarter and never looked back. Travis Etienne established himself as the lead back. So much so, the team traded Tank Bigby, who’d been named the co-starter with Etienne. The Eagles gave them a 2026 fifth-round and 2026 sixth-round pick for the back.
Cincinnati started as Cincinnati usually does. Very slowly. After getting up against the Browns early, they let their division rivals stay in the game until the final whistle. Beating them by just a single point in a scoreless fourth quarter. There’s not a player you can really call out on the Bengals; they all underperformed. It was lucky the Browns missed a field goal, or they might have been another big Week 1 upset.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals Preview and Predictions
Week 2 NFL Confidence Picks Here!
Brian Thomas Jr Over 67.5 Receiving Yards (-113)
This is one of my favorite bets on the board for Week 2 NFL action. We tried to go with Thomas Jr last week, but he let us down. Luckily, the Jaguars also tried to go with Thomas Jr. He had seven targets in the game, but he just couldn’t bring them down and ended up with a single catch for 11 yards. He did get a rushing touchdown, and the Jaguars know they need to get the ball into Thomas’s hand. The Jaguars still won, but they won’t have as easy a time staying in this one without Thomas Jr’s help. He’s going against one of the worst defenses in the league, which gave up three 60+ yard receivers to the Cleveland Browns last week.
Thomas Jr is one of the many second-year wide receivers from last year’s breakout class that’s looking to have an even bigger year two. Thomas tore up the league down the stretch in 2024. Over the last five games of the season, he cruised past this number, and in three of those games, he had over 100 yards. He had over 78 yards in all seven of the Jaguars’ games down the stretch. He went over that mark in 11 of Jacksonville’s games last year. Don’t let a bad Week 1 keep you down on this star wide receiver. He’ll make up for it in Week 2.
Jaguars +3.5 (-110)
The Bengals are just slow starters. We see it every year, and we saw it yet again last week. I do think we’ll see a much bigger turnaround from the offense this week, but I also think the Jaguars keep up with them. The team went 10-7 ATS in 2024 and started Week 1 off with a bang. This is a team I’ve been high on all offseason, betting the entire gamut on them. I’ll ride that, plus the slow-starting Bengals, and they at least keep this within a field goal, but don’t be surprised to see them win.
