3 positive (and 2 negative) takeaways from Bengals season-saving win vs. Jaguars

Well, looky there! Just when people counted the Cincinnati Bengals out, they shocked the world and won a game in which they were nine-point underdogs coming in. First and foremost, we hope that Trevor Lawrence is okay and the injury isn't as bad as it looked. Bengals fans know all too well how much it sucks to lose their starting quarterback.

Now let's get to the game itself.

The Bengals had some good moments and some bad moments from this game. Let's look at three positive and two negative takeaways from the Week 13 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

All stats courtesy of ESPN

Positive: Hello, Jake Browning!

The Bengals did not call plays that helped Jake Browning against the Steelers last week. They called a game that suited Joe Burrow's style of play, not Browning's. This week, however, Browning looked way more comfortable out there and it showed. He threw for over 300 yards with just four incompletions and a touchdown while not turning the ball over.

This was about as good of a game as you could have asked for from the former Washington quarterback. He played great and without his efforts, the Bengals would have gotten the doors blown off of them.

Negative: Explosive Plays Allowed

The Bengals defense still had a tough time with explosive plays. Time after time, it felt that Lawrence was connecting on a big play down the field. On a play that was fortunately called back in overtime, C.J. Beathard was even able to chuck the ball down the field and connect on a big play.

Positive: Run Game Finally Got Going

After weeks and weeks and weeks AND WEEKS of the Bengals' run game disappointing, they finally stepped up and showed what they could do this week. The rushing attack finished with 156 yards on the ground while averaging 5.0 yards per play. Joe Mixon and Chase Brown both balled out with Mixon tallying 68 yards off of 19 carries and Brown totaling 61 yards on nine carries. Mixon also had two trips into the end zone.

This is what the Bengals needed to get going if they wanted Browning to have things a little easier. Get the run game going and suddenly, the offense opens up a lot more.

Negative: Trick Plays

Browning played well so why then did Zac Taylor opt to take the ball out of his quarterback's hands and have wide receivers throw a pass? The first was Ja'Marr Chase, which went poorly. The second was Tyler Boyd, which went even worse than that. Boyd's pass was comically bad and was an easy interception for Josh Allen. The Jaguars scored not long after that.

It's okay to try and keep the defense on its toes but when the quarterback, especially a backup, is firing on all cylinders, don't stray away from that. Throw these plays in the trash, please.

Positive: Run Defense

Did Lou Anarumo and the Bengals' defense get things figured out when it comes to stopping the run? They only allowed the Jags to rush for 71 yards and the Jags only averaged 2.8 yards per carry. Yes, two rushing touchdowns were allowed but considering where this unit was a week ago, fans had to be happy with the production this week.