ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills face the Jacksonville Jaguars for a week three matchup on Monday night. This game will be the Bills' first home primetime battle of the season.
The Channel 2 sports team each gives a key to the game before things get underway inside Highmark Stadium.
Jon Scott: Josh Allen x2
The best player on each team share the same name.
Quarterback Josh Allen’s off to a moderate start statistically, averaging 185.5 passing yards through two games.
Pass rusher Josh Allen ratcheted up the heat in Week 2, registering his first sack of the season and adding four more quarterback hits.
When it comes to the Bills offense against Jacksonville’s defense, you very easily could boil it down to these two.
In the Urban Meyer 9-6 Jags win in 2021, the defensive Allen (who now goes by Joshua Hines-Allen) made for a real tough day for the offensive Allen, sacking the QB once and grabbing an interception, as the Bills signal caller was sacked four times overall.
Last season in London, JA17 rallied from a slow start to finish 27-of-40 passing for 359 yards, two TDs to one INT, and wasn’t sacked at all, but the Bills lost the game.
Buffalo’s offense overall has shifted to more run-centric.
However, Jacksonville’s defense 11th in the NFL against the run (103 yards per game) vs. 30th against the pass (245.5 YPG).
So this might be the time for unleash the old Josh Allen.
That also brings into play the Josh Allen on the other side getting more opportunities to raise havoc for his namesake.
Whoever brings their play above the other just might be the difference maker Monday night.
Jonanthan Acosta: Can the Bills run defense make the Jags one dimensional?
Much has been made this week about NFL defenses employing two-high safety looks to take away explosive pass games (looking at you Mel Kiper Jr.).
What that has opened the opportunity for is offenses that are equipped to run the ball effectively, to do so. The Bills offense is a perfect example, running the ball at the sixth highest rate in the NFL this season at over 57%, and also ranking among the highest scoring teams so far at 32.5 points per game (a number aided by Ja’Marcus Ingram’s pick-six in Miami).
The task then for the Bills defense is to take away that element of the Jaguars’ offense, and make Jacksonville deal with the strengths of the Buffalo defense right now: the pass rush and secondary.
While the Buffalo defense has started the year in strong fashion, its pass defense has been ahead of its run defense so far. The Cardinals ran the ball in Week 1 to the tune of 124 yards at 5.0 yards per carry, while the following week, the Dolphins rushed for 139 at 4.1 yards per carry. Overall, the Bills run defense sits a little below league average, ranked 19th in the NFL at 131.5 rush yards allowed per game.
Travis Etienne has gotten off to a slow start, with 96 rush yards through two games. However, the Bills have seen Etienne at his best, with the Clemson product carrying the ball 26 times for 136 yards and two scores in last year’s 25-20 Jacksonville win over Buffalo in London.
Despite losing Matt Milano before the season, and Terrel Bernard during the Miami game, the Bills linebacking room has continued to produce, with Dorian Williams and Baylon Spector stepping up. Both will look to have big games, especially against the run, to help in making Lawrence beat the Bills defense with his arm.
If the Buffalo can do that, it will allow for Greg Rousseau and Von Miller to get ample opportunities to rush the passer, looking to build on their five combined sacks.
And while the Jaguars feature a talented group of receivers including former Bill wideout Gabe Davis, the Bills secondary is playing at a high level right now with Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Cam Lewis and Ja’Marcus Ingram all making plays early on.
The Bills will look to continue to have success on the ground offensively, and if they can prevent Jacksonville from doing the same, it would go a long way in helping Buffalo get off to a 3-0 start.
Lindsey Moppert: Continue to run the ball effectively
Through two weeks of the regular season, the Bills offense has relied on the success of its rushing attack.
Running back James Cook was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week following an impressive performance against the Dolphins in Miami. Cook tallied three first-half touchdowns in that game, two on the ground and one in the air finishing with 78 yards on 11 carries, an average of just over seven yards per rush.
The Bills as a whole ran the ball 26 times for 106 yards, averaging over 4 yards per carry.
In the passing game, Josh Allen had a fairly laid back performance due to the productivity and effectiveness of Buffalo's run game. Allen only threw 19 passes, completing 13 for 139 yards and a touchdown in Miami, which still led the Bills to their Week 2 victory.
Buffalo’s offense under offensive coordinator Joe Brady has shown a new commitment to the run game this season which will need to continue if the Bills want to open up more opportunities in the passing game. Buffalo has attempted the second-fewest passes in the league through these first two weeks of regular season action, likely a reason we have not seen much from any of the team’s new or experienced targets and weapons.
Then again, as Josh Allen alluded to in his weekly press conference at One Bills Drive, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
“If it’s working, keep calling it,” Allen said. “I know that it’s going to present itself in the pass game and we’re going to have our opportunities and we have to go make them."