JACKSONVILLE _ If you told the Bengals last week that Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles would throw 38 passes against them while holding Jacksonville’s top-ranked rushing attack to 3.7 yards per carry, they would have taken it.
But not if they knew it had been teamed with 40 rushes.
That’s how the Jags dominated the Bengals Sunday in a coldly bloodless efficient 23-7 victory that stripped bare Cincinnati’s deficiencies in the AFC race with a 40:14 time of possession that allowed Jacksonville to run nearly twice as many plays (78-37). The high point came on the first drive when former Jaguars defensive lineman Chris Smith forced a fumble on a T.