Which Star Jaguars Need to Show Up vs. Bengals

It'll take a lot more than one comfortable win over an expected bottom-feeder for this Jaguars team to be viewed as a true playoff threat this year. Pulling off an upset on the road versus a prospective contender would go a long way toward changing the perspective on Jacksonville.

It won't be easy, though. It definitely shouldn't be shocking if the Jaguars were able to get the job done against the Bengals, especially after what both teams showed in Week 1, but it'd be a highly impressive and telling feat. It'll take a complete effort from this squad to pull it off.

Jaguars need Brian Thomas Jr. to bounce back against Bengals

The Jacksonville Jaguars got a lot of encouraging performances in Head Coach Liam Coen's first game at the helm. However, they had a lot of room for improvement from quarterback Trevor Lawrence, wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and the rest of the passing attack.

With the Cincinnati Bengals fielding a lethal offense featuring Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown, the Jaguars' defense will have its hands full trying to slow them down.

Jacksonville will need to be prepared for a potential shootout on the other side of the ball. In that case, they'll need BTJ to have a much better game in Week 2. When the media asked him how the team plans on getting Thomas Jr. more involved, Jaguars Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski had this to say:

"I think you always evaluate the game plan and see, did we utilize his skill set and his talents to the best of our ability, and then how does that fit with the offense in total or the team's approach to winning the game. That's the way it panned out with that."

"Of course the touchdown for him as well running the ball, but we're always going to try to find the best ways to get guys the ball and use their talents, whether it is pass game, run game and when we don't achieve that, it might not be because of the numbers, it might be because of just the way the game played out but we're always going to evaluate and look and see what's the best way to use those guys.”

Sometimes, an elite talent like Thomas Jr. can have a quiet day as a natural development of how a game unfolded. However, it's difficult to foresee the Jaguars toppling the Bengals if he has one catch like he did against the Carolina Panthers.

Please let us know how you expect BTJ to perform in Week 2 when you like our Facebook page, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.