Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-05 · by Mark Long The Associated Press
The Jacksonville Jaguars have started their season with a strong 3-1 record, outperforming teams like Cleveland, New England, and Cincinnati despite facing challenges such as playing at high altitude against Denver. Their defense has been particularly impressive, allowing just 53 points—the second fewest in the NFL this year—and ranking second with eight takeaways. Coach Liam Coen attributes this success to a continuity of defensive starters from last season and emphasizes that defensive excellence is becoming part of the team’s identity.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The Jacksonville Jaguars don’t expect to get much credit for their 3-1 start.
asserted
Jaguars → expect → start
They prefer it that way.
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They → prefer → it
They overwhelmed Cleveland, embarrassed New England and handled Cincinnati on the road — beating three teams that are .500 or better after four games.
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that → overwhelm → games
The lone loss: The Jags led Denver 13-3 in the third quarter before fading in mile-high altitude.
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Jags → lead → altitude
Yet much of the talk was about the struggles of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and the Bengals playing most of the game without All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
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Bengals → play → Chase
Jacksonville’s defense, meanwhile, has been mostly overlooked.
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defense → overlook → ?
That surely will change if the unit keeps playing like this.
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unit → change → this
The Jaguars have allowed 53 points, the second fewest in the NFL and the second fewest in franchise history through four games.
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Jaguars → allow → games
They’ve been so stout against the run — they haven’t allowed a 75-yard rusher in 21 consecutive games — that the Bengals essentially abandoned the ground game early in Jacksonville’s 22-17 victory Sunday.
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Bengals → allow → victory
The Jags also rank second in the league with eight takeaways, including three in the red zone.
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Jags → rank → zone
“I’d like to believe it’s a part of our DNA at this point,” coach Liam Coen said.
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Coen → like → point
It started last season under first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, whose unit found its rhythm in early November and allowed an average of 14.5 points during an eight-game winning streak.
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unit → start → streak
The Jaguars returned 10 defensive starters this season, creating a lot of continuity.
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Jaguars → return → continuity
It has shown up in every win, none bigger than stopping the Bengals on a fourth-and-10 play in the final minute.
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none → show → minute
Third-string safety Rayuan Lane tackled Chase Brown a yard short of the first-down marker.
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Lane → tackle → marker
“To be able to come down to the last drive and finish the game playing complementary football, the defense not breaking at the end, that’s huge for us,” defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said.
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Allen → come → us
What’s working
Jacksonville ran for 111 yards against the Bengals, topping the century mark for the third time in four weeks.
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Jacksonville → work → weeks
Second-year running back Bhayshul Tuten has been solid, topping 65 yards in every game while averaging 4.6 yards a carry.
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Tuten → top → yards
And backup Chris Rodriguez Jr. delivered one of the key plays against Cincy when he broke through the line of scrimmage for a 25-yard TD run with six minutes to play.
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he → deliver → minutes
What needs help
Penalties were a problem for the first time all season.
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Penalties → need → time
Jacksonville was flagged 13 times for 125 yards against the Bengals.
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Jacksonville → flag → Bengals
Cincy was penalized 11 times for 108 yards, making for a choppy game at times, especially in the first half.
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Cincy → penalize → half
“It’s wild.
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It → ’ → ?
I’ve never been a part of anything like that before in my life,” Coen said.
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Coen → say → life
“I’m not going to say anything that will get me fined.
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me → go → anything
Travis Hunter played every defensive snap for the first time in his two-year career, and Coen said he “balled out.”
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he → play → career
Hunter finished with four tackles and two pass breakups.
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Hunter → finish → tackles
“He played his (butt) off,” Coen said.
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Coen → play → butt
“We had some things for him on offense that we didn’t feel like putting him out there because, if he gets hurt on offense, we’re in a real bad spot.
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we → have → spot
We didn’t want to put ourselves at risk there.”
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We → want → risk
Parker Washington finished with one reception for 7 yards, although the play initially gained 39 yards before replays showed he stepped out of bounds.
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he → finish → bounds
Washington also gained 3 yards on a run.
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Washington → gain → run
Still, it his worst outing in terms of total yards since being held without a catch at San Francisco in Week 4 of last season.
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it → hold → season
Injuries
S Eric Murray (concussion) and his backup, Caleb Ransaw (knee), left the game, adding to a lengthy injury report for the secondary.
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Murray → leave → secondary
CBs Montaric Brown (hamstring) and Christian Braswell (knee) missed the game, and Jarrian Jones played through a sore hip.
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Jones → miss → hip
Key number
9 – Number of times the Jaguars have started a season 3-1 or better.
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Jaguars → start → season
This is the third time they have done it in consecutive years.
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they → do → years
Next steps
Jaguars travel to London for back-to-back “home” games against Philadelphia and Houston.
___
asserted
Jaguars → travel → Philadelphia
The Aporia
