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Alaina Getzenberg
Alaina Getzenberg
ESPN
- Alaina Getzenberg is a staff writer who covers the Buffalo Bills and the NFL. She joined ESPN in 2021. Alaina was previously a beat reporter for the Charlotte Observer and has also worked for CBS Sports and the Dallas Morning News. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. You can follow her via Twitter @agetzenberg.
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Michael DiRocco
Michael DiRocco
ESPN Staff Writer
- Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
Sep 23, 2024, 10:35 PM ET
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills‘ offense could not be stopped Monday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 47-10 win that kept the Bills perfect on the season and handed the Jaguars their third loss.
Quarterback Josh Allen led the Bills to touchdown drives on all five first-half possessions to take a commanding lead at home. The win ended a two-game losing skid to the Jaguars. This is the fifth time the Bills have scored 30 points in each of their first three games of a season.
Here are the most important things to know from Monday night for both teams:
Buffalo Bills (3-0)
“Perfect” is a difficult word to throw around, and so rarely is it actually achieved.
There’s an argument, however, that the Bills’ offense and Josh Allen (247 first-half passing yards and four touchdowns) got pretty close to it in the first half against the Jaguars.
Allen completed 23 of 30 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns in the game. He also rushed for 44 yards on six carries. He passed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the best MVP odds, per ESPN BET, and tied his own record for touchdown passes in a game, all in the first 30 minutes. Until the first drive of the third quarter, he went 6-of-6 for 77 yards with two passing touchdowns on third down.
The stats are impressive, including thriving under pressure — his four passing touchdowns when under pressure this season lead the NFL.
The Bills have scored 30-plus points in each of their first three games of a season for the first time since 2011. This offense has made it clear to the entire league that stopping it will be no easy task.
Pivotal play: Damar Hamlin‘s interception. The Bills’ offense is going to get a lot of love for this performance, and deservedly so, but the defense did its job. On a rough pass from Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on first-and-10 deep in the second quarter — with no one close to the area of the throw — Hamlin picked off 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 for a score five plays later.
Promising trend: The offense getting a variety of players involved. Four different Bills players caught touchdowns vs. 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 has been an early trend for the Bills, and one that offensive coordinator Joe Brady should continue. It only adds to how dangerous this unit can be.
Eye-popping stat: Allen is the first player with four passing touchdowns in the first half on “Monday Night Football” since the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger on Nov. 5, 2007, against the Ravens. The last instance before that was Brett Favre (2003, Packers vs. Raiders).
Next game: at Baltimore Ravens (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday)
Jacksonville Jaguars (0-3)
It might not be time to panic just yet, but it’s getting close for the Jaguars after the thorough beatdown they suffered Monday night. They’re now 0-3, and that makes the playoffs — which owner Shad Khan said before the season was his expectation — more of an uphill battle.
Only six teams since 1979 have made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. Only one has done it this century: the 2018 Houston Texans. That list includes the 1992 San Diego Chargers, the only team to make the playoffs after starting a season 0-4.
There is a lot of football left, and the schedule seemingly gets easier after next week’s game in Houston with games against Indianapolis, Chicago and New England. But the poor start after the collapse at the end of the 2023 season (1-5 finish) will certainly increase the pressure on 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, per ESPN Research, and only four shy of the most they’ve allowed in any half. The Jaguars were down two starters in the secondary and lost another as well in linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, but that’s no excuse for allowing Allen to throw for 247 yards and 4 TDs in the first half.
Troubling trend: The Jaguars were already dealing with injuries to cornerback Tyson Campbell (on IR with a hamstring injury) and nickel back Darnell Savage (quad), but now cornerback Jarrian Jones (shoulder) — who replaced Savage in the lineup — and Oluokun (foot) are also hurt. Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen likes to play a lot of man coverage, but those injuries will severely impact the Jaguars’ ability to do that, especially facing a short week and having to go to Houston to deal with C.J. Stroud, Tank Dell, Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs.
Eye-popping stat: The Jaguars finally got receiver Christian Kirk more involved in the offense. After getting targeted seven times and catching just two passes for 29 yards in the first two games, Kirk was targeted seven times and caught six passes for 73 yards through the first two minutes of the fourth quarter. That was partly dictated by the score and the Jaguars having to pass more to try to stay in the game, but Kirk needed to be a bigger part of the offense.
Next game: at Houston Texans (1 p.m. ET, Sunday)
