Through the first 10 weeks of last season, the Cincinnati Bengals owned the No. 2 rushing defense in the NFL, allowing 86.8 yards per game.

During that span, the Bengals allowed just one 100-yard rusher when Denver’s Willis McGahee went for 101 in the second game of the season.

But over the last five games – the final two of 2011 and the first three this year – Cincinnati has allowed three 100-yard rushers while surrendering a staggering 174.8 yards per game on the ground.

And today in Jacksonville, they have to contend with Maurice Jones-Drew, who led the NFL in rushing last year (1,606 yards) and ranks second this season (314).

“Maurice Jones-Drew is as good a back as there is in the league,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said of the 5-foot-7, 206-pound fireplug.

“He’s short and a squat runner,” added Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson, the reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week. “He’s tough to bring down. He runs behind his pads. We’re going to have to go out there and tackle with our arms and run to the football.”

Jones-Drew, who got off to a slow start this season after missing all of training camp and the preseason in a contract dispute, exploded for a 177 yards last week at Indianapolis.

“He came in, and it was evident he had been working,” Jacksonville head coach Mike Mularkey said. “It’s hard to work like it is in a game situation. It’s hard to simulate the three hours of a game. But he has come back and gotten stronger. Last week it looked like the old Maurice Jones-Drew back there — an explosive runner and a good power back who is hard to tackle.”

Now MJD gets to take his shot at a Cincinnati run defense that ranks 31st in the NFL, allowing 155 yards per game.

When asked why his once-stout defense has become so susceptible to the run, Lewis offered one word.

“Tackling,” he said. “That’s how you struggle in run defense. If you don’t get 11 guys playing together, you’re not going to play very good run defense. And you’ve got to get off the field on third down. You’ve got to get some turnovers. All of those things play into it. It’s all part of it.”

Former Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski, who is in his first year running the offense in Jacksonville, likely will attack with former team with a MJD-centered gameplan to try to keep the heat off second-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

The 10^th overall pick in the 2011 draft and the youngest quarterback in NFL history to start at least 13 games as a rookie, Gabbert is improving with his decision making but still struggles with accuracy.

In his last two games he’s completed just 17-of-40 passes for 208 yards, but he is one of two NFL quarterbacks who have yet to throw an interception this season (Minnesota’s Christian Ponder is the other).

“Obviously getting those 14 starts under his belt (last season) helped immensely,” Mularkey said. “He was kind of thrown into the fire with no offseason program and not a lot of snaps during training camp because he wasn’t the starter. There was a big learning curve the first year.

“We worked on his fundamentals and technique, and that has helped him see the field better,” Mularkey added. “His balance has become better, and some of the things we are doing schematically are helping him trust the protection better.”

That protection will be a key today against a Bengals defense that leads the AFC in sacks with 11.

If Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati offense can continue to put up points and yards the way they have in the last two games — averaging 36 and 426.5, respectively — they could force Jacksonville’s offense to rely more on Gabbert and less on Jones-Drew.

Gabbert has never thrown for more than 260 yards in a game, averaging just 154.7. But he will be facing a Cincinnati secondary that could be done to just two cornerbacks. Leon Hall is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury, while Nate Clements (calf) and Jason Allen (thigh) are doubtful.

Unlike what the Bengals saw from RG3 last week, Gabbert is not a big threat to break containment and beat teams with is feet.

“He’s a good athlete, but for the most part he’s going to be in the pocket,” Lewis said. “He did scramble for a couple of plays over the last couple of weeks and extend some drives. You have to keep constant. You’ve got to get around him. What’s key is to get around the quarterback and get in his face as much as possible.”

Polar opposite

Defensively, Jacksonville employs a completely different philosophy than what Cincinnati saw last week in Washington.

Whereas the Redskins were a blitzing, risking defense, the Jaguars prefer to sit back in a cover-two and force teams to move the ball in smaller chunks.

“They make you move the ball down the field,” Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton said. “They make you have long drives. They try not to have the big play.”

Dalton and the Bengals have thrived on the big play the last two weeks, with five of their eight offensive touchdowns covering at least 44 yards.

“There is different philosophy,” Dalton said. “Now we have to go out there and be efficient, especially in a week like this. We have to keep the drive going. We have to keep the ball moving.”

That low-risk style has Jacksonville ranked near the bottom of the NFL in yards allowed (28^th, 412.3) but near the middle in points given up (17^th, 23.3).

The unit is led by linebacker Paul Posluszny, whom Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis called “one of the best linebackers in the NFL” and “the motor of that defensive team.”

On the back end, the Jaguars feature cornerback Rashean Mathis, who is in his 10^th season and ranks 11^th among active players with 30 career interceptions, and former Baltimore safety Dawan Landry.

Quick hitters

While Jacksonville quarterback Blaine Gabbert is one of two NFL starters yet to throw an interception in 2012, the Bengals are one of only three defensive teams yet to record one (Oakland and Detroit). … As the regular referees return for their first weekend of games, the Bengals-Jaguars game has been assigned to the crew of Ed Hochuli, perhaps the most well known of the regular referees because of his impressive physical build and penchant for long, drawn-out explanations of penalties. … The Bengals lead the AFC with 11 sacks and they have a history of pressuring Jacksonville quarterbacks. On Dec. 9, 2001, they set the franchise record of eight in a game against the Jaguars’ Mark Brunell.