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Josh Allen plays almost flawlessly as the Bills crush the listless Jaguars


Josh Allen plays almost flawlessly as the Bills crush the listless Jaguars

ORCHARD PARK, NY – The Buffalo Bills' offense was unstoppable Monday night, securing a 47-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. That keeps the team undefeated on the season, but it was the Jaguars' third loss.

Quarterback Josh Allen led the Bills to touchdowns on all five of their first-half possessions to secure a commanding lead at home. The win ended a two-game losing streak to the Jaguars. It is the fifth time the Bills have scored 30 points in each of their first three games of a season.

Here is the most important information for Monday evening for both teams:


Buffalo Bills (3-0)

“Perfect” is a difficult word and is therefore rarely actually achieved.

However, one could argue that the Bills offense and Josh Allen (247 passing yards and 4 touchdowns in the first half) came pretty close to that result in the first half against the Jaguars.

Allen completed 23 of 30 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns in the game. Allen also rushed for 44 yards on six carries. He passed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the best MVP odds, according to ESPN BET. He also set his own record for touchdown passes in a game (four), all in the first 30 minutes. Through the first drive of the third quarter, he completed 6 of 6 for 77 yards with two passing touchdowns on third down.

The stats are impressive, including his performance under pressure – his four passing touchdowns under pressure lead the NFL this season.

For the first time since 2011, the Bills have scored more than 30 points in each of their first three games of the season. This offense has made it clear to the entire league after just three games that stopping them will be no easy task.

Decisive game: Damar Hamlin's interception. The Bills' offense will get a lot of credit for this performance, and rightly so, but the defense did its job. After a rough pass from Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on first-and-10 in the second quarter — when no one was near the throwing area — Hamlin intercepted Lawrence and returned the ball 19 yards. Hamlin's first career pick set up the team's fourth touchdown of the day, with Allen passing to wide receiver Khalil Shakir five plays later.

Promising trend: The offense brings a variety of players into the game. Four different Bills caught touchdowns against the Jaguars and running back James Cook had a rushing score. Six Bills have caught touchdowns this season – the most in the NFL. Getting the ball to a variety of players was an early trend for the Bills this season, and one that offensive coordinator Joe Brady should continue. It only makes this unit more dangerous.

Stunning statistics: Allen is the first player to have four passing touchdowns in the first half on Monday Night Football since Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers on November 5, 2007 against the Ravens. The last player to do so was Brett Favre (2003 Packers vs. Raiders).

Next game: at Baltimore Ravens (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, September 29)


Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3)

It may not be time to panic just yet, but things are getting closer for the Jaguars after Monday night's crushing loss. They are now 0-3 and putting the playoffs – which owner Shad Khan said was his expectation before the season – almost out of reach.

Since 1979, only six teams have made the playoffs after starting 0-3. This century, only one has done it: the 2018 Houston Texans. Also on that list are the 1992 San Diego Chargers, who were the only team to make the playoffs after starting a season 0-4.

There's still a lot of football left, and the schedule looks to get easier after next week's game in Houston with games against Indianapolis, Chicago and New England. But the poor start following the collapse at the end of the 2023 season (1-5 final score) will certainly add pressure to head coach Doug Pederson.

Describe the game in two words: Defensive debacle. The Jaguars allowed 34 points in the first half, which is the most points they've allowed in a first half in franchise history, according to ESPN Research, and just four shy of the most they've allowed in a half. The Jaguars had lost two starters in the secondary and another, as well as linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, but that's no excuse for allowing 247 yards and 4 TDs to Allen in the first half.

Worrying trend: The Jaguars were already dealing with injuries to cornerback Tyson Campbell (IR/hamstring) and nickelback Darnell Savage (quadriceps), but now cornerback Jarrian Jones (shoulder) — who replaced Savage in the lineup — and Oluokun (foot) are also injured. Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen likes to play a lot of man coverage, but these injuries will greatly impact the Jaguars' ability to do so, especially given a short week and the fact that they have to travel to Houston, where they'll have to deal with CJ Stroud, Tank Dell, Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs.

Stunning statistics: The Jaguars were finally able to get receiver Christian Kirk more involved in the offense. After being targeted seven times in the first two games and catching just two passes for 29 yards, Kirk was targeted seven times in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter and caught six passes for 73 yards. This was partly due to the score and the Jaguars needing to complete more passes to stay in the game, but Kirk should have been a bigger part of the offense.

Next game: at Houston Texans (1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, September 29)

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