ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen threw four touchdown passes in the first half and the Buffalo Bills scored on each of their first five drives in a 47-10 win over a misfiring Trevor Lawrence and the unraveling Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night.
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. James Cook opened the scoring with a 6-yard run.
Buffalo’s defense, meanwhile, limited the Jaguars 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.
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.
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.
Lawrence finished 21 of 38 for 178 yards with a touchdown and interception. He’s now 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.
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 with 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.
Positioning was an issue, with Cook beating the entire Jaguars defense to the left pylon for his TD. The Jaguars were unable to generate pressure, with Allen buying time as he waited for Kincaid to come across the length of the field and catch a 6-yard pass just inside the end line to make it 13-0. Coleman beat defensive back Montaric Brown by two steps and scored on a 24-yard catch.
The Bills’ run of touchdown drives ended with their first possession of the second half, when they settled for Tyler Bass hitting a 27-yard field goal.
Buffalo’s 31-point lead at the half matched the third largest in team history, and largest since leading Atlanta 38-7 on Nov. 22, 1992. Allen threw at least four TD passes for the 11th time in his career.
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.
Welcome back
Jaguars receivers coach Chad Hall surprised his former colleague Kelly Skipper by jumping on the Bills running back coach’s back before pregame warmups.
Hall held the same role in Buffalo before leaving the Bills for Jacksonville following the 2022 season. Hall also spent time catching up with several other members of Buffalo’s staff, including offensive line coach Aaron Kromer.
Buffalo represents
DBs Lewis and Ja’Amarcus Ingram and LB Joe Andreessen, making his NFL debut, all suited up for the Bills, marking the first time three University at Buffalo alums were active for an NFL game for one team.
Up next
Jaguars: At Houston on Sunday.
Bills: Make their third straight prime-time appearance and open a stretch of three straight road games Baltimore on Sunday night.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
