It was a game of firsts as the Buffalo Bills throttled the Jacksonville Jaguars 47-10 on ‘Monday Night Football’ at Highmark Stadium.
Bills rookie receiver Keon Coleman caught his first career touchdown, tight end Dalton Kincaid caught his first touchdown of the season and Damar Hamlin picked off Trevor Lawrence for his first career interception. The Jaguars, on the other hand, leave Buffalo with yet another night of question marks as Jacksonville falls to 0-3.
DAMAR HAMLIN PICKS OFF LAWRENCE.
📺: #JAXvsBUF on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/cSxknIWzDB— NFL (@NFL) September 24, 2024
Allen, who earned his first win against Lawrence, continues his MVP campaign with 263 passing yards while completing 23 of 30 passes, four scores all of which came in the first half and most importantly no turnovers.
Buffalo will look to stay perfect on the road next week for ‘Sunday Night Football’ against Lamar Jackson and the 1-2 Baltimore Ravens.
Bills keep rolling
For a second straight week, the Bills ended a game well in advance of the final whistle. They certainly looked like a team flying high off of one lopsided win with ten days of rest, leading to this blowout victory over the Jaguars. Allen was single-handedly on a seek-and-destroy mission all evening. In the first half, Allen had only two more incompletions (6) than touchdown passes (4) as the Bills offense could do no wrong. After a win over the Dolphins where the Bills didn’t need Allen in a grand degree, the quarterback’s first half against the Jaguars was a loud declaration of his candidacy for Most Valuable Player in 2024. In a league dictated by low scoring through the first few weeks, Allen’s third-straight 30-plus point performance with the Bills is even more impressive.
Simply put, the Jaguars offense looked rattled all game. Even with backup-level players scattered throughout the back seven, the Bills put together another sterling defensive performance against a team with a good collection of skill position players. It’s a strong start to the year for coach Sean McDermott and new defensive coordinator Bobby Babich. After a slow start in the first half of Week 1, the Bills have allowed only 24 points over the last three games when their opponents were still in non-garbage time portions of the games. Over the final three quarters against the Dolphins, and then the first half of the Jaguars, they allowed only six points total. It’s been borderline dominance despite missing key players like linebackers Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard, along with nickel corner Taron Johnson.— Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer
What does Jaguars owner Shahid Khan have to say now?
After losing five of their last six games in 2023 and missing the playoffs, Jaguars owner Shahid Khan was bullish on his revamped team ahead of the 2024 season.
“Winning now is the expectation,” Khan told his team during training camp. “Make no mistake, this is the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars – ever. Best players. Best coaches. But most importantly, let’s prove it by winning now.”
Three weeks after Khan’s comments were publicly shared via Jacksonville’s video series, “The Hunt,” the Jaguars looked like hopeless prey. They were steamrolled in a 47-10 loss at Buffalo on Monday night and are clearly one of the worst teams in the NFL, not “the best team ever assembled” in Duval County.
The Bills scored five touchdowns on five possessions in the first half to build a 34-3 lead that doubled as the largest halftime deficit in Jaguars history (since 1995). Jacksonville gave up 389 yards as six different Bills players (excluding star QB Josh Allen) found the end zone. Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence connected with tight end Brenton Strong early in the third quarter on a 6-yard TD, but by that point, the game was effectively over.
Jacksonville tried to build a contender via free agency, adding most notably defensive end Arik Armstead on a three-year, $45 million contract and wide receiver Gabe Davis on a three-year, $39 million deal, but now it appears that money was spent in vain.
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier as the Jaguars play at Houston in Week 4.— James Boyd, Colts beat writer
Did the Jaguars overpay for Trevor Lawrence?
Lawrence inked a five-year, $275 million contract extension in June, which makes him the third-highest-paid QB in the NFL (based on annual average).
That deal is very hard to justify at the moment.
Lawrence, the 2021 No. 1 pick, has lost eight straight starts dating back to last season. He’s thrown 11 touchdowns against eight interceptions during that span. Lawrence had another mediocre night Monday against the Bills, completing 21 of his 38 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown against one interception. He badly overthrew rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. in the second quarter, leading to the first pick of Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin’s career.
Obviously, there’s no going back on Lawrence’s lucrative deal, which in fairness to the Jaguars was a decision most teams in the NFL would make. However, if this is the player Lawrence will continue to be, his contract has set Jacksonville severely and it won’t be a serious team any time soon.—Boyd
Required reading
(Photo: Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images)
