Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson, left, is hoisted by a lineman after his field goal on the game’s final play Thursday night gave Cincinnati a 24-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Michael Conroy/Associated Press
CINCINNATI — Evan McPherson kicked a 35-yard field goal as time ran out to give the Cincinnati Bengals a 24-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night, spoiling Urban Meyer’s Ohio return.
Joe Burrow passed for 348 yards and two touchdowns to help the Bengals (3-1) overcome a 14-0 halftime deficit. Burrow, the top overall draft pick in 2020, outdueled the 2021 top pick, Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Meyer coached Ohio State to the 2014 national championship. He was born in Toledo, grew up in Ashtabula rooting for the Bengals, went to college at Cincinnati, played safety for the Bearcats, got his first coaching job at nearby Saint Xavier High School in 1985, and has two sisters who still live in the area.
Cincinnati had two quick scoring drives to open the second half. James Robinson’s second rushing touchdown put Jacksonville (0-4) up again early in the fourth quarter. Burrow answered with a 31-yard touchdown pass to tight end C.J. Uzomah to tie it again.
BUCCANEERS: Two practices into Richard Sherman’s tenure as a Buccaneer, the All-Pro cornerback’s coaches remain coy about how much – or if – he’ll play Sunday in New England.
Sherman was among the first defensive players on the practice field Thursday morning. So was Jamel Dean, whose knee injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Rams partially expedited the team signing another cornerback. Defensive coordinator Todd Bowles said afterward that Dean “still has got a couple days to get ready,” suggesting his level of pain tolerance could determine his availability against the Patriots.
As for Sherman?
“It’s still early,” Bowles said. “We’ve still got a lot of injuries to go over and everything else like that, but he’s practicing and we’re letting him learn some things so in case he has to, he can go out there and function at a high level and do the right things.”
COLTS: Running back Marlon Mack told reporters that he and team officials have reached an agreement that allows him to find a trading partner where he could get more playing time. It’s the first time Mack has spoken publicly since ESPN.com first reported he was seeking a trade.
“It’s tough when you get used to guys and things like that,” he said. “But on the business side, sometimes you’ve got to speak for yourself because that’s what you need.”
He started for two years in Indy, logging his first 1,000-yard season in 2019. He was expected to carry a heavier burden last season until tearing his right Achilles tendon in the first half of the season opener. Jonathan Taylor replaced Mack, finished as the league’s top rookie rusher, and kept the job when he returned this season.
Coach Frank Reich’s initial plan was to split carries between Taylor and Mack, but Nyheim Hines moved into the No. 2 spot before signing a contract extension just ahead of this season’s opener. And even though the winless Colts have struggled to run the ball against three strong defenses, Mack’s role continued to fade. He didn’t take a snap in the opener and was inactive for Sunday’s loss at Tennessee.
GIANTS: New York signed tackle Isaiah Wilson to its practice squad, giving the former first-round draft pick another chance to overcome off-the-field issues and make it in the NFL.
Wilson was taken 29th overall in last year’s draft by the Tennessee Titans out of Georgia. He missed time both with COVID-19 and legal problems and played only three snaps on offense and one on special teams. The Titans traded him and a seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft to Miami on March 9 for a 2021 seventh-round selection. Wilson was waived by the Dolphins 11 days later after showing up late for meetings and failing to show for workouts he had scheduled.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
