Instant analysis from Jacksonville stunning upset over the Buffalo Bills in the Josh Allen Bowl
No one was giving the Jacksonville Jaguars much of a chance at all on Sunday. The Buffalo Bills boasted the league’s best defense and an explosive offense, and they were expected to roll against a struggling Jags team.
But in a game that featured 20 total penalties that added up to 172 yards, things got a bit weird. Neither team found the end zone, and Jacksonville was able to capitalize just enough on Buffalo’s mistakes to take a 9-6 win at home.
The Jags are now 2-6 on the season, and while a playoff appearance likely isn’t in the cards, the win gives coach Urban Meyer some much-needed proof of concept. There are things to tighten up, but ultimately, Jacksonville earned one of its best wins in a long time.
A difficult day for the offense
We expected the Jaguars to have some issues moving the ball in this game against Buffalo’s league-best defense, and quarterback Trevor Lawrence definitely had difficulties. He was just 15-of-26 for 118 yards while not tossing a touchdown.
However, he did have to exit the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury. He was listed as questionable to return, and while C.J. Beathard looked fine in his stead, the rookie would later return to the game.
He still struggled to find a lot of success through the air against Buffalo’s talented secondary, though.
Aside from tight end Dan Arnold, who had four catches for 60 yards, no other receiver had more than 27 yards. But while the passing game wasn’t particularly effective, the team found a bit more success on the ground.
Carlos Hyde got the start with James Robinson out with a bruised heel, and he was solid, going for 67 yards on 21 carries.
The offense definitely missed some opportunities and left points on the board, but it did just enough to come away with the win on Sunday. Facing a defense that has been dominant to this point on the season, it’s hard not to be impressed with that, even if the offense didn’t find the end zone or look particularly flashy.
The defense, however, provided plenty of flash.
Josh Allen dominates Josh Allen
The main storyline for Jacksonville’s defense heading into this game was the matchup between Josh Allens: the Jags’ talented edge-rusher vs. the Bills’ MVP-level quarterback.
While the latter Allen is having a fantastic season, he had arguably his worst game against a Jags defense that was lit up by Geno Smith in Seattle last weekend. He completed just 31 of his 47 passes for 264 yards, throwing no touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which landed in the arms of the Jags’ Allen.
It was part of a dominant defensive performance for him. After sacking Smith twice last week, Allen notched another this week, in addition to two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery (on a strip-sack from the other Allen).
The Bills may have outgained Jacksonville 301-218, but it was the best performance from the defense all season. Buffalo only managed two field goals largely due to the three turnovers the Jags forced (more than they had on the entire season entering the game), and the defense deserves the bulk of the credit for the victory.
But beyond that, Allen deserves special notes, as he’s in the middle of arguably the best stretch of football of his entire career. That’s exactly what the Jaguars hoped to see from their third-year edge rusher.
Other notes
Once again, Jacksonville’s receivers underperformed. Beyond Arnold, who is arguably the most consistent target right now, Jamal Agnew had 27 yards on three catches, Laviska Shenault Jr. had four catches for 24 yards, and Marvin Jones Jr. had three catches for 21 yards. With the receivers struggling and Odell Beckham Jr. set to hit waivers on Tuesday, one has to wonder if the Jags will look to upgrade.
While Allen will get the bulk of the praise as far as defensive line play goes, two other players deserve shoutouts: Dawuane Smoot and Taven Bryan. Smoot continues to have a breakout season, and he had a sack on Allen that set up the game-winning fourth-down stop. Bryan, meanwhile, entered the game with zero sacks on the year and brought Allen down twice. He’s in the middle of a contract year and has been fairly quiet, but he had a statement game on Sunday.
Sticking with the defense, safety Rudy Ford has seen his playing time continue to increase, and he’s playing very well seeing action in mostly nickel and dime packages. He was second on the team in tackles with six, and he earned the first interception of his career on Sunday to go with three pass breakups. Jacksonville needed someone to step up in the secondary, and Ford seems like he could be that guy.
With Cam Robinson suffering a back injury during pregame warmups, Walker Little had to make his first career start at left tackle. He had both positive and negative moments, but he was solid overall. However, he did allow a third-down sack and also was pushed into Lawrence by defensive end Jerry Hughes on the play that knocked the rookie passer out of the game temporarily. Robinson probably gives the Jags the best chance to win right now, but Little was drafted to be the future, so it’s good that he was able to get his feet wet against an elite defense. After the game, Lawrence praised his play coming in without much notice against one of the best defensive fronts in football.
For the first time in the 2021 season, Jacksonville made a field goal on U.S. soil. As unbelievable as that stat is, it highlights how bad the kicking woes have been this season. It wasn’t all good from Matthew Wright, and his three-straight misses after Buffalo gifted him multiple opportunities were certainly blooper-reel-worthy. But he was 3-of-4 on field-goal attempts (technically), one of which came from 55 while the other two were from 39 and 21 respectively. Wright appears to be at least reliable, and ultimately, it’s hard to nitpick when he was responsible for all of Jacksonville’s scoring.
