Any worries Josh Allen had about how the Bills would play after a 10-day break were quickly eased during their opening drive, which ended with James Cook scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run.
Buffalo continued to score. Allen threw four touchdown passes, and the Bills scored touchdowns on all five of their first-half drives, winning 47-10 against a struggling Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night.
“It feels good. I’ll tell you that,” Allen said, noting that his 11 games with four touchdown passes set a team record, beating 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 I didn’t sense that from our guys; there was a lot of urgency throughout the week,” he added, referring to a team that hadn’t played since a 31-10 win over Miami on September 12. “We didn’t win it today. We won it in the last 10 days.”
Allen completed 22 of 28 passes for 247 yards in the first half alone, connecting with nine different receivers. He only attempted two passes after halftime, finishing 23 of 30 for 263 yards before Mitchell Trubisky took over.
He spread the touchdowns around, throwing to Dalton Kincaid, Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, and Ty Johnson.
“Freak of nature, all those things,” Shakir said about Allen, whose total of 230 touchdowns (passing, rushing, and receiving) is just one short of tying Patrick Mahomes for the most by a player in their first seven NFL seasons.
Buffalo’s defense held Jacksonville to 70 yards, five first downs, and a field goal over five first-half possessions. The game was essentially decided when Allen threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Johnson just 19 seconds before halftime.
Safety Damar Hamlin also helped with his first career interception, easily picking off a pass from Lawrence that was overthrown and meant for rookie Brian Thomas Jr. Just five plays later, Allen threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Shakir, who caught the ball at the 22 and broke two tackles on his way to the end zone.
Hamlin’s interception came about 21 months after he went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated during a Monday night game in Cincinnati.
“We all know my last game and how that game went,” said Hamlin, who is now a starter after being a backup last season. “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 have started this season 3-0 for the first time since 2020 and the third time since coach Sean McDermott took over in 2017. They have scored over 30 points in each game.
The Jaguars are struggling badly. They last started a season 0-3 in 2021 when coach Urban Meyer was in charge, and he was fired before the season ended.
To make matters worse for the Jaguars, their flight out of Buffalo was delayed due to mechanical problems, the team said.
Jacksonville’s latest loss came just a week after Lawrence shared his frustrations, saying “We suck right now” after losing 18-13 to Cleveland. The Jaguars also let leads of 14-0 and 17-7 slip away in their season opener against Miami.
On Monday, coach Doug Pederson also questioned his team’s performance.
“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 completed 21 of 38 passes for 178 yards, along with one touchdown and one interception. He has now lost eight straight starts dating back to last season and hasn’t won since throwing for 364 yards in a 24-21 win at Houston on November 26.
“I’m not playing my best right now, and that’s frustrating,” Lawrence said. “It seems like everyone takes their turn making a bad play at the wrong time, including myself. It feels really difficult to move forward. Can’t find that rhythm right now. We all share in this.”
After starting the second half with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brenton Strange, Lawrence’s last two drives ended without a score.
He was taken out of the game with 7:45 left, watching from the sidelines as backup Mac Jones was sacked and lost a fumble just three plays into his time on the field. This led to Ray Davis scoring on a 3-yard run.
A bigger worry is the Jaguars defense, which struggled to stop Allen. The Bills gained 288 yards, made 19 first downs, and converted 6 out of 8 third-down tries, along with both fourth-down chances, all in the first half.
Buffalo’s 31-point lead at halftime was tied for the third largest in team history and the biggest since they led Atlanta 38-7 on November 22, 1992.
Von Miller recorded a sack, bringing his total to 126.5 and tying him for 17th on the career list with Derrick Thomas, one spot ahead of Dwight Freeney.
