• Joe Mixon scores twice despite playing in a reduced role: Mixon has had a firm hold on the Cincinnati Bengals’ early-down rushing job for many years, but tonight, Chase Brown cut into Mixon’s playing time and was the game’s most effective rusher.
• Trevor Lawrence suffers a serious ankle injury: Lawrence suffered the injury on a sack in the fourth quarter. Lawrence’s reaction seemed to suggest that it might be season-ending. Hopefully, it’s better than he initially thought.
• Jake Browning’s career game: The Bengals quarterback completed 32-of-37 passes for 354 yards, a passing touchdown and scored a rushing touchdown.
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PFF's fantasy football recap focuses on player usage and stats, breaking down all the vital information you need to achieve fantasy success in 2023.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Jacksonville Jaguars
- Joe Mixon: 19 carries, 68 yards, 2 touchdowns; 6 receptions, 49 receiving yards
- Ja’Marr Chase: 11 receptions, 149 yards, 1 touchdown
Cincinnati gives Chase Brown a chance: The Bengals' rookie running back received significant playing time for the first time in his career.
- The fifth-round pick was inactive to start the season. He played one offensive snap in each game from Week 2 to Week 5. he played four snaps in Week 7 but suffered a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve. He returned from injured reserve for last week’s game but played only on special teams.
- His impact was felt early tonight, as he entered the game for both second downs on the first drive. He ran five times for 29 yards in the first quarter, while Mixon ran only once.
- He was still rotated in at times over the rest of the game on early downs, though not as much as he was in the first quarter. He broke a 31-yard run late in the third quarter and ended the day with nine carries for 61 yards.
- Joe Mixon didn't play nearly as much as usual. He had been on the field for 417 plays on first and second downs (outside of two-minute drills) over the first 12 weeks, second to only Josh Jacobs at the position.
- It didn’t impact his fantasy value for this game, as Mixon scored twice, but it very well could later in the season.
- Mixon is under contract for 2024 but could be a cap cut, especially if they think Brown could be ready for a larger role.
- Brown would make a fine waiver wire target, particularly in deeper leagues. The Bengals have a fair schedule for running backs, but there is at least a chance they give Brown a game to show what he can do, especially if the Bengals fall completely out of the playoff race.
Monitor Christian Kirk’s health: Kirk suffered a groin injury early in the game and didn’t return.
- He suffered the injury on the Jaguars' first offensive play where he caught a long 26-yard pass. He was ruled out by halftime.
- Tim Jones initially replaced Kirk. Jones had played 199 snaps before tonight — back when Zay Jones and Jamal Agnew dealt with injuries.
- Parker Washington came in later on the first drive and took most of the snaps over the rest of the game.
- The sixth-round rookie was inactive the first three games of the season and made his debut in Week 4, but he injured his knee on his only offensive snap.
- He spent time on injured reserve but returned in Week 11 and mostly played at the end of that game to run out the clock. He played one snap last week.
- Washington caught six passes for 61 yards and a touchdown, while Tim Jones didn’t catch his only target.
- The Jaguars spent most of the night in 11 personnel, but this also meant more playing time for Zay Jones in 12 personnel.
Miscellaneous Notes
- Bengals running back Chris Evans was a healthy inactive for a second straight week. He had spent most of the offseason playing between one and five snaps per game and a lot on special teams, but he hasn’t run the ball or been targeted since Week 1.
- Tee Higgins was questionable for this game but played close to his normal amount of offensive snaps. He was targeted only twice.
- Blocking tight end Drew Sample played more than usual, while other tight ends for the Bengals played less so that Sample could help with pass protection.
- Travis Etienne Jr. was also questionable in this game with a rib injury, but he played more than usual because of how close the game was.
- Brenton Strange was inactive with a foot injury. He and Luke Farrell have split the role of run-blocking tight end behind Evan Engram.
- Undrafted rookie Josh Pederson was elevated from the practice squad for this game to be the third tight end, but Jacksonville didn’t use him on offense.
- Starting tight end Evan Engram scored his first touchdown of the season. Engram was the clear leader in receptions without a touchdown this season, but now there is a three-way tie between Jahmyr Gibbs, Tony Pollard and Tyler Conklin at 42.
Table Notes
• Snaps include plays called back due to penalties, including offensive holding or defensive pass interference. The other three stats have these plays removed.
• Targets may differ from official NFL sources. The most likely discrepancy would be from a clear thrown-away pass, where the NFL may give the target to the nearest receiver, while this data will not.
• Carries are only on designed plays. Quarterback scrambles won’t count for the total number of carries in the game.
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