Memo to Jaguars: You might want to hold off on printing those playoff tickets.
If the third preseason game is supposed to be the best barometer for how the regular season might unfold, the Jaguars went on national television against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday night and looked painfully inadequate. They threw some serious water on the optimistic signs coming out of training camp and the first half of preseason.
All the efficiency and occasional dominance of the Jaguars’ first-team units against the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers disappeared. The team that went 12-36 in Gus Bradley’s first three seasons resurfaced, so the Jaguar backups overcoming an 18-point deficit in the second half to pull out a 26-21 victory at EverBank Field couldn’t mask the disappointment.