Bills vs. Jaguars takeaways: Buffalo dominates Jacksonville behind Josh Allen, suffocating defense

Buffalo remains unbeaten with a rout of Jags on Monday night

The Buffalo Bills annihilated the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night, prevailing 47-10 in a game that was nowhere near as close as the final score. (And even calling it "nowhere near as close as the final score" is kind of an understatement.)

Josh Allen continued to make his case as the best player in the NFL not named Patrick Mahomes, slicing and dicing the Jacksonville defense from the very start of the game. Allen went 23 of 30 for 263 yards and four scores, completing passes to 10 different receivers and touchdowns to four of them (Dalton Kincaid, Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Ty Johnson). There was never a single moment where he was not in complete control of the proceedings. 

Allen and Co. got started early, putting touchdowns on the scoreboard with each of their first five drives. Those possessions totaled 10 plays for 70 yards, 11 plays for 65 yards, 8 plays for 68 yards, 5 plays for 41 yards and 5 plays for 64 yards. They barely broke a sweat working their way up and down the field. It took until the fourth quarter before they came away from a drive without a score. By that point, they led by 27 points.

Things were not much different on the other side of the ball. Trevor Lawrence was 10 of 22 for 59 yards and an interception in the first half, and that stat line barely captures how inept Jacksonville's offense looked. Lawrence only got anything going once the game was well out of hand, and even then "got anything going" doesn't really describe what the offense was doing anyway. It merely moved the ball for a couple of drives against the passive resistance of a defense playing in "just waste some time" mode. And that defense still got stops except for one possession. Adding injury to insult, wideout Gabe Davis got left the field late in the game after he was hurt while blocking on a bubble screen with the Jaguars down by 37 points. 

The biggest moment of the night came late in the second quarter when Lawrence overthrew a wide-open Brian Thomas Jr. on a crossing route, and the ball fell into the waiting arms of Damar Hamlin. 630 days after Hamlin's heart stopped on the field in a Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals, he came away with the first interception of his career. The pick set up Buffalo's fourth touchdown of the evening, which all but confirmed that the game was over even before the first half itself was over. The Bills only added to their lead from there.

Here are a few more things to know about the game.

Why the Bills won

Where do we start? With the aforementioned Allen, who played one of the best games of his career? With Cook, who continued his electric start to the season? With Sean McDermott's defense, which suffocated Jacksonville's offense to the point of surrender until the game was more than out of hand? Take your pick. Any of those reasons will do.

Why the Jaguars lost

Embarrassing offense and even worse defense. They might as well have not even gotten off the plane.

Turning point

It's tempting to just write "the opening kickoff" here, but we'll go with a real turning point. On their first possession of the game, the Bills quickly drove into Jaguars territory but then just as quickly faced a fourth-and-3 at Jacksonville's 44-yard line. Sean McDermott did not even hesitate for a moment when deciding to keep his offense on the field to go for it. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady dialed up a beautiful play and Allen hit Khalil Shakir in the flat for a big gain; six plays later, James Cook found the end zone to give the Bills the lead. They never looked back.

Highlight play

Buffalo's offense was the big story in this game, but we can't go with anything else here other than Damar Hamlin's first career interception, which fittingly came on a "Monday Night Football" game.

Did Lawrence overshoot his receiver by about 15 feet and deliver the ball right into Hamlin's waiting arms? Yep. Does that matter in any way whatsoever? Nope. What a moment!

What's next

The Bills are 3-0 and riding high atop the AFC East. They have a huge showdown with the Baltimore Ravens slated for next week.

The Jaguars are 0-3 and in serious trouble. They travel to Houston to take on the Texans next week; and if they lose that game, some people in their building could be looking for new jobs.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 10:27 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Naturally, Gabe Davis suffered an injury blocking on a bubble screen on a play where he had zero business being in the game. Coaching malpractice.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 10:18 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

...and the hits just keep on coming

Ho-hum, another Jaguars turnover. This time, it's Mac Jones getting strip-sacked by Javon Solomon, with Casey Toohill coming away with the recovery.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 10:17 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

As expected, Mac Jones is under center for Jacksonville. Why, exactly, are Brian Thomas, Gabe Davis and Christian Kirk still out there? There is nothing good that can happen for them on this drive.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 10:12 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Backups in for mop-up duty

It's Mitchell Trubisky under center; Ray Davis and Ty Johnson in the backfield; and backup wide receivers on the field for this latest Bills drive. It seems likely (and preferable) that the Jags will bring their backups in the game when they get the ball back, as well.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 10:04 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The Jags might want to just get Lawrence out of this game. He's getting battered for no real reason.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 9:55 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Signs of life get snuffed out

Just as soon as the Jaguars popped their heads up, the Bills smacked them back down. With a little help from the Jags hurting themselves, naturally. They got to second-and-goal at the 7-yard line, then took a false start penalty. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 12-yard line two play later, they took another false start. And then Von Miller chased Lawrence around the edge and took him to the ground for a sack. Sheesh.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 9:47 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Signs of life for the Jaguars offense

Well, sort of. Moving the ball against a vanilla defense when down by four scores is not that difficult. But at least the Jaguars are actually doing it. That's better than, you know, not doing it. Lawrence has made a few nice throws to Kirk and Davis, and BTJ made a nice run after the catch with the ball in his hands.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 9:34 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Horrible drive for the Bills

Buffalo did not score a touchdown and instead settled for a 27-yard field goal after getting into the end zone on each of its first five possessions. 37 points on six drives? Pathetic. The Bills need to regroup.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 9:29 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

The Jaguars signed Gabe Davis, who wore No. 13 for the Bills last year, to a three-year, $39 million contract this offseason Mack Hollins now wears No. 13 for the Bills. He's on a one-year, $2.6 million deal. After that catch over the middle, Hollins (16 yards) has out-gained Davis (5) tonight.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 9:24 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Touchdown Jaguars

FINALLY, the Jags put together a drive on which they resembled a professional football team. After the fourth-down conversion, Lawrence found Christian Kirk on a seam route, and they tacked on additional yardage due to a personal foul penalty on Damar Hamlin. Next snap, it's a play-action touchdown pass to Brenton Strange, who is filling in for Evan Engram.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 9:22 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Jaguars avert disaster

Lawrence's throw to Gabe Davis on third down left Jacksonville short of the sticks and facing fourth-and-inches. Tank Bigsby got stacked up behind the line of scrimmage but bounced it to the outside and picked up the conversion. Probably won't matter, but it was a good play!

[Sep 23, 2024 at 8:58 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Okay now it's even more over

This is a beatdown, folks. The Bills have had the ball five times. They have five touchdowns. The latest is to Ty Johnson on a classic improvisational throw from Josh Allen. The Jags have absolutely ZERO answers.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 8:51 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Buffalo continues to roll

The Jaguars barely got going on their latest drive before they stalled out and got set back. Brenton Strange dropped a second-and-long pass, then Lawrence was sacked for the first time tonight after being under heavy pressure throughout the first half. And the Bills even have a chance to add to their lead before halftime. 1:12 left and one timeout.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 8:44 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

This game is over

This is going to be a rout, folks. The Bills now have touchdowns on all four of their possessions. Allen has connected with three different receivers -- Kincaid, Coleman and Khalil Shakir -- for his scores. The Bills are in complete control, leading 27-3 and giving every appearance that they are the far superior team. 

[Sep 23, 2024 at 8:34 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Damar Hamlin's first career pick

What a moment for Hamlin here on MNF. Trevor Lawrence had Brian Thomas Jr. WIDE OPEN over the middle of the field and just completely overshot the throw, which landed in Hamlin's hands for his first career interception. Bad news for Jags fans, but a very, very cool moment for football fans in general.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 8:27 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Bills extend the lead

Keon Coleman didn't play a snap in the first quarter. He made his presence felt late in the second. Coleman came across the field on play action and ended up wide open on a crosser for his first career score. (This was only his third snap of the game.) Buffalo is rolling and the Jags are in big trouble.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 8:25 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

That's the second time tonight that Josh Allen has just immediately taken off up the middle on third down and picked up a first. Nobody in the league better at that than him.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 8:18 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Bills buckle down in the red zone

Jacksonville has been STRUGGLING in the red zone this year. The Jaguars had a chance to get into the end zone on this latest drive, but an illegal formation penalty set them back, and then Lawrence threw incomplete to Travis Etienne and Gabe Davis, so they settled for a field goal. Buffalo's defense didn't allow any openings down the field. Etienne and Davis were both extremely well covered, and Lawrence barely had any window to hit the throws.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 8:06 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Jags convert on fourth down

That was a HUGE conversion for the Jaguars on fourth-and-less-than-1. If they had gone three-and-out again, and given Buffalo field position deep in their own territory, this game could have gotten very ugly, very quickly.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Josh Allen does it again

Like I said, it has been all Allen, all the time so far tonight. After two drives, Allen is 11 of 14 for 116 yards and a touchdown, with 2 carries for 11 additional yards. He is tearing up this Jacksonville defense. This is an absolute laser to Dalton Kincaid in the back of the end zone on a scramble drill play.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 7:57 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Throwback offense for Buffalo

Under offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the Bills have become a much more run-focused team. We saw that last week against the Dolphins, and down the stretch of the 2023 season. But so far tonight, it is all about Josh Allen. He's thrown 13 passes and run twice, while James Cook has four carries. This looks like the Bills of the last few years before the OC change -- and it's working.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 7:48 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Jaguars quickly go three-and-out

Nightmare start for Jacksonville. The Bills marched quickly down the field for a touchdown, and then the Jags saw Trevor Lawrence go 1 for 3 for 1 yard on their opening drive. Lawrence was quickly under pressured and couldn't connect with Brian Thomas Jr. and then Gabe Davis on second and third down, respectively.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 7:42 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

James Cook off to a hot start again

Last time we saw the Bills, Cook was scoring three touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins. Less than six minutes into this game, Cook has another score. He's got three carries for 10 yards and two catches for 23 yards. That drive was all about him and Khalil Shakir.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 7:34 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Bills aggressive early

Buffalo has gotten two big plays on swing passes already, as the Jaguars are having trouble defending the flats. James Cook had a long catch on the opening snap, and Khalil Shakir just had a big gain to convert a fourth down. Sean McDermott has traditionally been conservative on fourth downs, but this year he has been willing to go for it.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 6:29 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Bills inactives

Buffalo is very shorthanded on defense this week, with Matt Milano on IR and both Terrel Bernard and Taron Johnson out this evening. Rasul Douglas could move into the slot while Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam play outside, or Ja'Marcus Ingram could get more snaps. Baylon Spector and Dorian Williams figure to be the top linebackers, though we could see more three-safety looks.

[Sep 23, 2024 at 6:26 pm ET · Jared Dubin]

Jaguars inactives

As expected, Jacksonville will be without TE Evan Engram and DB Darnell Savage, among others. Brenton Strange will fill in for Engram, while Jarrian Jones should see more snaps in place of Savage, as he did last week.