CINCINNATI, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Mark Brunell overcame eight sacks and a lacerated finger Sunday to rally the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 14-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in a battle to stay out of last place in the AFC Central.
Brunell, who completed 23 of 32 for 242 yards and two touchdowns, left midway through the third quarter when he hit his finger on the helmet of Cincinnati cornerback Mark Roman.
But he returned with 1:28 left in the period. The veteran tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Keenan McCardell 33 seconds into the final quarter to give the Jaguars a 14-10 lead.
Jacksonville (4-8) snapped a three-game winning streak and tied Cincinnati (4-8) in the division. The Bengals have dropped five in a row following a 4-3 start.
"We were trying to prove that we weren't going to be listless coming off a short week," said Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin, referring to Monday's 28-21 loss to Green Bay in which the Jaguars squandered a 14-point lead. "We wanted to start fast. We were determined to play with that kind of energy. I think we did that."
Brunell admitted he had trouble gripping the ball in the fourth quarter, but said that he had no choice but to return to the game.
"I hit my finger on his (Roman's) facemask," Brunell said. "It was throbbing. I had trouble gripping the ball. I had to go back in. The linemen would have never let me hear the end of it if I didn't."
"It shows you what kind of player he is," McCardell added. "He's a true warrior. He's a tough individual. He's hurting. Everybody's urting and he knows it. Everybody is this time of year."
Brunell also got help from his defense as the Jaguars held the Bengals to just a field in the second half, completing a season sweep. Jacksonville posted a 30-13 victory over Cincinnati at home on Nov. 11.
"I thought our guys were ready to play," Brunell said. "We made some mistakes but we battled and fought back."
The eight sacks tied a franchise record for Cincinnati, which last had eight in a game at Pittsburgh seven years ago. Justin Smith paced the Bengals' rush with three sacks while Tony Williams recorded two.
The Jaguars went to the no-huddle offense in the second half to try to relief some of the pressure on Brunell.
"We went with the no-huddle to see if we couldn't protect the quarterback better," Coughlin said.
The Bengals pressured Brunell throughout, but their offense countinued to struggle. Cincinnati managed just 200 total yards and has scored only 27 points in their last four games.
"Our objective was to stop the run," Coughlin said. "It looked like they started to run the ball (in the second quarter). We talked about that at halftime. We wanted to stop the run and go from there."
"One thing in this league is you have to get to the point where you can play week in and week out and put yourself in position in the fourth quarter to make the plays," Bengals coach Dick LeBeau said. "We're not getting a lot of those plays but were not giving up."
Earlier in the week, LeBeau talked about the Bengals making a playoff run and finishing at 9-7, but those hopes are likely finished.
"We're having a hard time on offense," he said. "I hate to point out one particular unit. Collectively, we're not getting it done."
Jon Kitna completed 16 of 30 passes for 147 yards for the Bengals. Corey Dillon rushed for 62 yards on 24 carries, leaving him 75 yards shy of his fifth straight 1,000-yard season.
"It's sad," Dillon said. "It's very sad. This year looked so promising, but its not over. We have four games to go. If nothing else, let's build on those four games."
"I really feel like we have so much potential offensively and we're just not getting it done," Kitna said. "I really thought we were going to be a much more explosive offense than we are right now."
Brunell got the Jaguars on the board with a 17-yard pass to Jimmy Smith that made it 7-0 lead with 1:51 left in the first quarter. Smith caught nine passes for 119 yards, his 31st career 100-yard game. He also has 1,014 receiving yards in his last 10 contests against the Bengals.
Smith became the first player in NFL history with six straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
"We know he (Brunell) doesn't have much time to throw," Smith said. "We have to work harder to get open and make plays. Our running game was struggling."
The Bengals tied it on Dillon's nine-yard run with 1:09 left in the first half and took a 10-7 lead on Neil Rackers' 47-yard field goal with 5:41 to go in the third quarter.
