ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – Any concerns Josh Allen had about how the Bills would perform following a 10-day break were eased during a 10-play opening drive that ended with James Cook scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run.
Buffalo kept on scoring. Allen threw four touchdown passes and the Bills scored TDs on each of their five first-half drives in a 47-10 win over a misfiring Trevor Lawrence and the unraveling Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night.
“It feels good. I’ll tell you that,” said Allen, whose 11 games with four TD passes set a team record, surpassing Hall of Famer Jim Kelly.
“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 hadn’t played since a 31-10 rout of Miami on Sept. 12. “We didn’t win it today. We won it in the last 10 days.”
Allen went 22 of 28 for 247 yards in the first 30 minutes alone, with completions to nine receivers. He only attempted two passes after halftime, finishing 23 of 30 for 263 yards before Mitchell Trubisky relieved him.
And he spread the wealth, completing touchdown passes to Dalton Kincaid, Keon 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 Patrick Mahomes for most by a player in his first seven NFL seasons.
Buffalo’s defense limited Jacksonville to 70 yards, five first downs and a field goal in five first-half possessions. The game was essentially over when Allen completed a 16-yard TD pass to Johnson 19 seconds before halftime.
Safety Damar Hamlin contributed to the rout with his first career interception. He easily picked off Lawrence’s overthrown pass intended for rookie Brian Thomas Jr. Five plays later, Allen completed a 27-yard TD pass to Shakir, who caught the ball at the 22 and broke two tackles running up the right sideline for the score.
Hamlin’s interception came about 21 months after he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field in a Monday night game at Cincinnati.
“We all know my last game and how that game went,” said Hamlin, a starter after spending last season as a backup. “So to be able to come all the way back from that, and have a special moment, it’s all God.”
The four-time defending AFC East champions are off to their first 3-0 start since 2020 and third since coach Sean McDermott took over in 2017. They have topped 30 points in each game.
The Jaguars are in free fall. They last opened 0-3 in 2021 under coach Urban Meyer, who was fired before the end of the season.
And if things couldn’t go any worse for the Jaguars, mechanical issues led to their flight being delayed out of Buffalo, the team announced.
Jacksonville’s latest defeat comes a week after Lawrence expressed his frustrations by saying “We suck right now” following an 18-13 loss to Cleveland. The Jaguars squandered leads of 14-0 and 17-7 in a season-opening loss at Miami.
On Monday, it was coach Doug Pederson’s turn to question 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.”
Lawrence finished 21 of 38 for 178 yards with a touchdown and interception. He’s lost eight straight starts dating to last season, and hasn’t won since he had 364 yards passing in a 24-21 victory at Houston on Nov. 26.
“I’m not playing my best right now and that’s frustrating,” Lawrence said. “It seems like everyone takes their turn in making a bad play at the wrong time, including myself. It seems really difficult to go forward. Can’t find that rhythm right now. We all have our share in it.”
After opening the second half with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brenton Strange, Lawrence’s final two drives ended on downs.
He was yanked with 7:45 left and watched from the sideline with his hands on his collar as backup Mac Jones was sacked and lost a fumble three snaps into his first possession. That led to Ray Davis scoring on a 3-yard run.
More concerning is a Jaguars defense that couldn’t find a way to stop Allen. The Bills gained 288 yards, posted 19 first downs and converted 6 of 8 third-down chances and both fourth-down opportunities in the first half alone.
Buffalo’s 31-point lead at the half matched the third largest in team history, and its largest since leading Atlanta 38-7 on Nov. 22, 1992.
Von Miller had a sack to increase his total to 126 1/2 and move into a tie for 17th on the career list with Derrick Thomas, one ahead of Dwight Freeney.
Injuries
Jacksonville: CB Jarrian Jones did not return after hurting his left shoulder on Buffalo’s opening drive. … LB Foyesade Oluokun was ruled out with a foot injury. … RT Anton Harrison was ruled out with a knee injury.
Bills: DB Cam Lewis returned after being evaluated for a head injury.
Up next
Jaguars: At Houston on Sunday.
Bills: Make their third straight prime-time appearance and open a stretch of three straight road games at Baltimore on Sunday night.
___
AP Pro Football Writer Mark Long contributed to this report.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
