The Jacksonville Jaguars took their third annual 1-8 record and left the country Sunday.

Early Monday they began to seek asylum, or at least some sanity in London, where they hope to play a brand of football not foreign to them Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

They Jags dropped their eighth loss in nine games with a 33-23 defeat to the Bengals in Cincinnati. It is the same 1-8 record they had in 2012 in Mike Mularkey’s only year as the Jaguars head coach and last year in Gus Bradley’s first season in Jacksonville.

After Jacksonville finished 2-14 in 2012 and 4-12 last year, Bradley had optimism in training camp that the Jaguars would take a step forward this year.

While Bradley’s team has shown improvement in some areas this year, it has yet to show up in the win-loss column. With games remaining against the Cowboys, Colts and Ravens, the Jaguars may not be able to match the win total of four they compiled last year.

Following Sunday’s game against the Cowboys at Wembley Stadium, the Jaguars will receive a much-needed bye upon their return home. Jacksonville will then face the AFC South leading Colts in Indianapolis, before returning home for a pair of games against the Giants and Texans.

Although Jacksonville’s best chance for a victory would seem to be against 2-6 Tennessee, the Titans received a rare win earlier last month in a 16-14 victory over the Jaguars. In 2013, the Jaguars beat Houston twice when their AFC South rivals finished a league-worst 2-14. This year, a repeated sweep of Houston would be a tall order. At 4-5, the Texans have already doubled their win total from last year.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, continue to be plagued by mistakes. The closing stages of Sunday’s loss in Cincinnati could serve as a microcosm of their season.

Despite falling behind 26-10 early in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars appeared to be back in the game following a 5-yard touchdown run by Denard Robinson. The run, which was set up by a J.T. Thomas interception, cut the Bengals’ lead to 26-23 with 8:13 left. In the span of less than two minutes, the Jaguars clawed back into the game with two touchdowns.

But the ensuing kickoff by Josh Scobee went out of bounds, putting the Bengals on their own 40. On the next play, Thomas positioned himself in the wrong gap allowing Bengals rookie running back Jeremy Hill to scamper 60 yards for a touchdown.

Still, Jaguars rookie quarterback Blake Bortles led them back to the Cincinnati 14-yard line before tossing an interception in the end zone that sealed the Bengals’ victory.

Bortles said he was trying to throw it out of the end zone and underthrew the attempt.

Though the interception was Bortles lone turnover of the game, he could have had several more if the Bengals defenders had not dropped attempts placed right in their hands.

In spite of the defeat, Bradley was still pleased with his team’s work ethic.

“I can’t talk enough about their effort and want-to,” Bradley said. “But we have to make more of those things go our way.”

Bradley made reference to several special teams gaffes, including a deflected punt that led to a field goal, a second-quarter blocked punt by Bengals defensive back Taylor Mays that led to a safety and a 31-yard punt return that set up another Bengals’ touchdown.

“In order to be a championship team, you have to have championship thoughts,” Bradley added. “It’s OK to lose is not a championship thought and that’s not part of our language. Be upset, be angry and be determined to come back even stronger is our mentality in the locker room. It’s a close-knit group who believes in one another.”

After arriving in London, Bradley was still upbeat despite the loss.

“I thought it really showed great resiliency, great temperament and effort by our team,” Bradley said.

But the belief isn’t translating into victories and with just seven games left, the Jaguars are running out of time if they hope to match last year’ 4-12 mark.

Notes: Defensive back Will Blackmon was placed on the injured reserve list with a fractured left index finger and is done for the season. … Linebacker Khairi Fortt, a fourth round pick by New Orleans, was signed off the Cincinnati practice squad to take Blackmon’s roster spot. … Linebacker Jeremiah George, who made his first start for the Jaguars in Cincinnati, suffered a high ankle sprain and will be out for several weeks. . . . Guard Brandon Linder (shoulder) and safety Josh Evans (shoulder) will be evaluated later in the week.

REPORT CARD VS. BENGALS

–PASSING OFFENSE: C — Blake Bortles threw two touchdown passes to Allen Hurns. Both were poor throws and Hurns made good plays to haul them in. Bortles also threw a costly fourth period interception and could have had several more picks if the Bengals hadn’t dropped passes he threw right into their hands.

–RUSHING OFFENSE: B — Denard Robinson, who went over 100 yards in the previous two games, had his third solid game in a row, as he ran for 94 yards in 17 carries. After playing quarterback in college, he is adjusting to the running back role. With Blake Bortles struggling, he is the focal point of the offense.

–PASS DEFENSE: C — Andy Dalton took advantage of the return of A.J. Green, as the Pro Bowl receiver caught three of six passes thrown to him, one for a touchdown. Dalton completed 19 of 31 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. The defense contained Dalton at times, but the Bengals’ quarterback made the necessary plays at critical points.

–RUSH DEFENSE: F — The Jaguars rush defense had been solid in recent weeks, but failed to contain Bengals’ rookie running back Jeremy Hill. With Bengals’ running back Gio Bernard out with an injury, Hill ran for 154 yards on 24 carries. His 60-yard touchdown burst in the fourth quarter put the game away.

–SPECIAL TEAMS: F — Jaguars special teams gaffes led to 19 points, including a deflected punt, a blocked punt, a 31-yard punt return and an out of bounds kickoff. The Jaguars, who’ve already have had three field goal attempts blocked, need to eliminate the special teams mistakes.

–COACHING: C — Perhaps thinking about the impending trip to London, the Jaguars came out flat in the first half. Coach Gus Bradley, though, was able to motivate his team at halftime and the Jaguars cut a double-digit deficit to three points. Still, the special teams have become a major problem and they need to fix that problem soon.