Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Time: 1 p.m. Sunday
Tickets: The Jaguars still have to sell over 2,500 tickets before 1 p.m. today to avoid a blackout.
Weather: Sunny, with temperatures in the 70s.
Oddsmakers say: Jacksonville by 4 with and over/under of 39.
Daily Record’s cantankerous conjecture: Jaguars 70, Bengals 3 through three quarters. Final score: Bengals 73, Jaguars 70.
Records: Jaguars 2-5, Bengals 4-3
The series: The Jaguars hold a 7-5 advantage in regular season games and have a 5-1 mark against them at home.
Last meeting: After leading 14-7 in the waning moments of the game at Paul Brown Stadium last December, Jacksonville surrendered 10 points in the final 1:15 against the Bengals.
Blowing double digit leads in the fourth quarter is nothing new for the Jaguars after all.
Television: Barring blackout, the game will be televised locally on Ch. 4 and regionally on CBS affiliates. Don Criqui will call play-by-play with Steve Tasker adding analysis.
Pregame: In celebration of Veteran’s Day, Rear Admiral Jan Gaudio of the U.S. Navy Commander Navy Region Southeast will preside over one of the largest reenlistments in Jacksonville history. Navy Band members will perform the National Anthem. The anthem ceremony will conclude with a fly-over of U.S. Navy F-14s from the VF 101 “Grim Reapers” stationed at NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va.
Halftime: The Jr. Roar will perform a special tribute to America with a patriotic theme. Fourteen-year-old Brooke Peoples from Dallas will sing “God Bless America” during the performance.
The game: So far this season it’s role reversal for these two AFC Central foes. Bottom feeders for much of the 1990s, Cincinnati is in a race for the division championship, while Jacksonville resides in the basement while the media lets the question marks fly. Does Tom Coughlin still have control of his team? “Yes, I do,” he says quietly. How much is the team affected by the loss of running back Fred Taylor? “The big play, obviously. When Fred is healthy, he gives us the ability to give us the big play.” How have the Bungles resurrected themselves to become the Bengals again? “They did a good job in the offseason with free agents. Their offensive line is playing well. [Quarterback Jon] Kitna has taken every snap and gets rid of the ball very quickly.”
Next week: The Jaguars travel to Pittsburgh to face the rival Steelers in a 4:15 p.m. game.
—by Glenn Tschimpke