Jaguars coach Doug Peterson wrote a book when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles called Fearless. He should be fearful of losing his job. The Jacksonville Jaguars came into Monday night’s contest sputtering in a 0-2 hole in desperate need of a win to keep their season alive and a statement against the Buffalo Bills.
Instead, they played uninspired, careless and laid an egg, delivering the low point of the Trevor Lawrence era in a 47-10 blowout loss with the entire world watching under the primetime lights of “Monday Night Football.”
The MVP front runner through the first three weeks of the season, Josh Allen, led the Bills on touchdown drives on each of their five first-half possessions. The Jaguars, on the other hand, were ineffective on offense in route to three first-half points.
“It feels good. I’ll tell you that,” said Allen, whose 11 games with four touchdown passes set a franchise record, surpassing Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, who led the team to four Super Bowl appearances from 1991-1994.
“I think this could have easily been a game where we had 10 days off and let up on the gas. But didn’t sense that from our guys, a lot of urgency throughout the week,” he said of a team that had not taken the field since a 31-10 victory against their division foe, the Miami Dolphins on September 12. “We didn’t win it today. We won it in the last 10 days.”
The Jaguars got some empty calorie stats when they finally found the end zone on the opening drive of the second half. By that time, the game was already decided. There was no miracle comeback in the cards on this night. The game and the end result were a snap shot of two teams and two careers, heading in polar opposite directions.
Allen made his fair share of explosive plays Monday with his arm and his legs, including extending a third-and-goal play under pressure before finding tight end Dalton Kincaid in the back of the end zone for his second touchdown pass of the evening.
He followed that up on Buffalo’s ensuing drive with a 24-yard dart to rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman for his first NFL touchdown.
Embed from Getty ImagesAllen finished the night completing 23 of 30 passes for 263 yards (8.3 yards per attempt) with four touchdowns and more importantly, no turnovers. He added 44 yards on the ground with six carries. He did the majority of his damage in the first half.
And he spread the wealth, completing touchdown passes to Kincaid, Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Ty Johnson.
“Freak of nature, all those things,” Shakir said of Allen, whose 230 touchdowns (passing, rushing and receiving) are one short of matching his nemesis, Patrick Mahomes for most by a player in his first seven NFL seasons.
The Jaguars, meanwhile, are a team in flux, searching for an identity. Early on in 2023, they appeared to have found a formula that works, in an 8-3 start that put the No. 1 seed in the AFC in reach. They went on to drop five of their last six games for a 9-8 finish in a collapse of epic proportions that left them on the outside looking in at playoff time.
Things have fallen off a cliff in 2024. Jacksonville blew a 10-point lead in a Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins then lost in Week 2 to the now 1-2 Cleveland Browns. And now there’s Monday night’s massacre.
On Monday after the game, it was coach Pederson’s turn to question the heart of his team.
“It’s really shocking. Very disappointed. You hate to say it, but the reality is we’re not very good right now,” Pederson said. “I need everybody to coach and play better. Let’s leave it at that.”
Allen’s four first-half touchdowns were the most on “Monday Night Football” since Ben Roethlisberger with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007. Lawrence countered with a whisper, 59 first-half yards and an interception.
Lawrence finished the night completing 21 of 38 passes for 178 yards (4.7 yards per attempt) with one touchdown and one pick. He was sacked four times for a loss of 36 yards.
This is not how things were supposed to go when the Jaguars drafted Lawrence, who was considered the best prospect since Andrew Luck, with the No. 1 pick of the 2021 Draft. They signed the quarterback to a five-year, $275 million extension this past offseason. Lawrence has been selected to a single Pro Bowl since that draft, but has largely failed to live up to the hype. On Monday, Lawrence was outmatched and outplayed by a quarterback in Allen who is on a career trajectory that was expected of him.
This is also not supposed to be a Jaguars team in transition. Take it from owner Shad Khan, who laid out his blueprint and expectations in no uncertain terms before Jacksonville’s season opener.
Three weeks into the season, fans and media alike are already pushing the panic button and there is no winning in Jacksonville. Things will not get any easier in a Week 4 matchup against CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans.
The Bills make their third straight prime-time appearance and open a stretch of three straight road games at Baltimore on Sunday night.
