The Jaguars took the largest halftime deficit in franchise history, down 31 points to the Bills, into the visiting locker room of Highmark Stadium on Monday night.
Buffalo took its foot off the offensive gas in the second half and cruised to a 47-10 victory.
The Bills saw no need to press for more points in the final 30 minutes of action. Yet Buffalo scored almost as many points in the second half, 13, as Jacksonville has averaged per game this season, 13.3.
While the Jaguars managed to score their only touchdown of the night on their first series of the third quarter, a six-yard play-action connection between quarterback Trevor Lawrence and tight end Brenton Strange, Jacksonville’s next offensive possession encapsulated the unit’s nightmarish start to the campaign.
A 13-play drive pushed Jacksonville into the red zone, at one point seven yards removed from the goal line. The series ended in a turnover on downs at the Buffalo 27-yard line, following two false starts and one sack allowed by right tackle Walker Little, the latter sacrificed to Bills edge rusher Von Miller on fourth down.
The previous 70-yard touchdown drive matched the yardage Jacksonville picked up in the first half.
Lawrence was ultimately pulled from the game in the fourth quarter when Jacksonville was down 40-10. He finished 21-of-38 passing for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception, with 36 yards lost over four sacks.
Mac Jones — New England’s first-round NFL draft pick the same year Jacksonville took Lawrence No. 1 overall, who was traded to the Jaguars this spring — took over and completed five-of-eight passes for 22 with a fumble. Jones was sacked once for a 17-yard loss.
Not to be forgotten is the Jaguars’ defensive collapse. After limiting opponents to 19 points per game over the first two weeks of the season, the Bills scored touchdowns on five consecutive drives to begin the contest, not once failing to find the end zone before halftime.
Star Bills quarterback Josh Allen completed 23-of-30 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns, to tight end Dalton Kincaid, wide receivers Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir, and running back Ty Johnson. Allen was not sacked once.
The Jaguars travel to Houston for their first divisional matchup of the season in Week 4, to face the Texans at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT on Sunday.
