Top 3 Things We Learned

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Top 3 things we learned from Bills vs. Jaguars | Week 3 Monday Night Football

Sep 24, 2024 at 10:52 AM

Alec White

Content Coordinator

The Buffalo Bills had a historic night of offense as they routed the Jaguars by a score of 47-10 on Monday Night Football. Buffalo improves to 3-0 on the season thanks to a four-touchdown performance from QB Josh Allen and just 70 first half yards allowed by the defense.

These are the top 3 things we learned from Bills vs. Jaguars:

1 — A first half for the ages

Buffalo's 37-point win over Jacksonville tied for the fourth largest margin of victory in team history, with nearly all of that damage coming in an utterly dominant first half. The Bills scored touchdowns on all five of their first half drives; only two other NFL teams since 1980 have done so during a Monday Night Football game.

"This could have easily been a game where we had 10 days off and let up on the gas, didn't sense that from our guys, a lot of urgency throughout the week, practiced really hard, had a really good game plan," QB Josh Allen said.

From the moment the game started, the Bills played with force and intensity, scoring just 10 plays into the game with RB James Cook hitting pay-dirt on a six-yard run. The drive could've stalled had the Bills not gone for it on fourth down earlier where Allen connected with WR Khalil Shakir.

"The pre-snap motion that Joe has in and the smartness of Khalil to get out there quickly just kind of forces them to move. And I think they just kind of lost him," Allen said of the 12-yard pickup.

Following Cook's score, Allen went into hyperdrive and launched himself into rarified air with back-to-back-to-back-to-back drives that finished in a touchdown pass.

Count 'em, four touchdown throws: a 6-yarder to TE Dalton Kincaid, 24 yards to WR Keon Coleman, 27 yards to Shakir and a 16-yarder to RB Ty Johnson with 19 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Buffalo scored three times in the final seven minutes of the half via Allen's right arm. Up 34-3 at the break, the Bills' 31-point halftime advantage equaled the third-largest in franchise history and largest since 1992.

"Josh, I think he hit 10 different receivers, and his influence is felt, not only through his play, but just the way he's leading our football team," McDermott said.

Monday, Allen became the first player with 200+ passing yards and 4+ passing TDs in a first half since Josh accomplished the same feat in 2022 (vs. Pittsburgh - 10/9). Allen now has 25 total touchdowns in Monday NFL games and is tied with Patrick Mahomes for the fastest players to reach this milestone (nine games).

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"Last week we found it through running the ball. And this week we knew we were gonna have to throw it and again, guys made plays," Allen said. "They played us a lot of man coverage and again, our guys were making plays, our offensive line blocked their tails off. And our defense gave us some good field position so it was a very complimentary football win tonight, and you'll love seeing those."

"Man coverage is the best opportunity to make plays and obviously we got to get open and Josh trusting us to get open and making plays from there. It was smooth to get a man game and for everybody to make plays," added WR Khalil Shakir, who led the team in receiving.

Allen finished the game 23 of 30 passing for 263 yards passing, four touchdowns and 44 yards rushing. He's the first player in NFL history to complete 75% of his passes, throw for 4+ TDs, have no turnovers, take no sacks and lead his team in rushing yards all in the same game, according to OptaStats.

3-0. 👏@Tostitos | #JAXvsBUF pic.twitter.com/P0M9DrlAeJ
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 24, 2024

2 — Hello, Rookies!

What better way to score your first NFL touchdown than in a primetime game in front of the home crowd? WR Keon Coleman and RB Ray Davis got their first taste of what that feels like as both rookies reached the end zone in Monday night's win.

Coleman, who was the Bills' leading WR in Week 1, had a quiet outing last week but followed it up in Week 3 with his first career touchdown in a Buffalo uniform.

Up 13-3, the Bills were once again threatening to score with the ball at the Jacksonville 24-yard line in the second quarter. Allen went under center, Cook behind him and Coleman lined up across from Jags CB Montaric Brown. Coleman beat Brown in man coverage on a crossing route to the right side and Allen hit the rookie in stride for an electrifying pitch and catch.

"Great play call by Joe (Brady)," Coleman said. "Me and Adam (Henry) watched film on that, came to fruition. Deep crosser, got outside leverage man, and just beat him to the spot."

After being drafted by the Bills in April, Coleman instantly became a fan-favorite with his charismatic personality displayed in press conferences and behind-the-scenes content. Among the many Keon-isms formed was him envisioning what his first touchdown would be like the day after he got drafted.

A moment @keoncoleman6 will never forget. 🥹#GoBills | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/ciE4rvnP8n
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 24, 2024

"It lived up to the expectations, 100%," he said. "Just feeling the crowd was electric. For that – you know, that was the first catch of the game, for it to go for a touchdown, Monday Night Football, can't ask for nothing better."

Added his QB, "He did a good job of getting on the hump and running and making a play. I'm happy for him, getting his first one."

With the game well in hand late in the fourth quarter, the Bills second team unit got additional playing time. That carved out the opportunity for the rookie Davis to punch it in for his first NFL rushing TD.

"Got Ray-Ray Davis in the end zone, his first one. Those are special moments that you'll always remember so it's good to see those guys get in," Allen said.

3 — Everybody Feasts

It's been well documented that Buffalo's motto for the offense is an 'everybody eats' mentality where each player is going to get their own slice of contributions.

Monday, it went a step further in an 'everybody feasts' fashion. Five different players scored a touchdown and Allen connected with 10 different receivers. It's the 10th time in team history the Bills have had 10 players with a catch; Allen has been the QB for five of those performances.

"I think it's paying dividends of what we've worked on throughout the entire offseason and through training camp of the everybody eats mentality and again it could be your play this play, you never know when it's gonna happen and that's the beauty of it when guys get to buy into this," Allen said.

Coleman shared that knowing every game is different and anyone can get involved at any time is a huge benefit for the offense.

"The motto – we all eat. So, everybody's gonna eat, everybody's gonna get off and do what they need to do when the ball gets in their hands. So just showing the versatility of our team and showing we have playmakers," he said.

McDermott shared that the 'everybody eats' motto has worked because of how bought in each player is.

"I think everyone's really just focused on doing their job, trying to keep it as simple as we possibly can and the guys do a really good job of coming into work, coming in with a certain focus," he said.

The Bills now have six different players with a touchdown reception this season. That's the most in the NFL through the first three weeks of the season.