The Cincinnati Bengals will not play until Sunday but they must have their eyes glued to Thursday night's game between the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars. See, a loss by the Jets would mean an automatic playoff berth for the Bengals in the AFC. And that's exactly what happened, with the Bengals getting an early Christmas present from the Jaguars, who defeated the Jets in a blowout, 19-3.
The Jaguars did the Bengals a solid by containing New York from beginning to end and dominated New York on both ends of the field. Trevor Lawrence passed for 229 yards on 20 of 31 completions and also rushed for a touchdown. Lawrence was not able to find anyone in the end zone for a passing touchdown but he drove the offense down the field enough times to get four field goals out of five attempts from kicker Riley Patterson. The Bengals definitely loved that.
However, the Bengals did not simply rely on the success of others to see themselves back in the playoffs again. Joe Burrow and the Bengals are in a middle of a scorching stretch that has seen them win six games in a row. They kept that streak alive in Week 15 by coming back from 17 points down to defeat Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the road to the tune of a 34-23 score.
The Bengals will face the New England Patriots on Saturday in Foxborough before finishing their regular-season schedule at home with games against the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens in Weeks 17 and 18, respectively. Cincinnati is also still looking to lock up a title in the AFC North division.