Jaguars defense in trouble vs. Josh Allen, Bills with latest injury update
Ahead of their Monday Night Football matchup against the Buffalo Bills, the Jacksonville Jaguars received a bad bit of news regarding their defense. Safety Darnell Savage, who was listed as questionable because of a quad injury, has been ruled out of the Jaguars’ Week 3 matchup, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz. This news is compounded by the fact that cornerback Tyson Campbell was also ruled out so the Jaguars’ secondary will be depleted against one of the better teams in the AFC.
On offense, the team will also be without tight end Evan Engram, who did not play in Week 2. RB Tank Bigsby and WR Tim Jones are also listed as questionable
The Buffalo Bills have already ruled out LB Terrel Bernard and CB Taron Johnson.
How the Jaguars defense can slow down the Buffalo Bills offense
Given Josh Allen’s diverse methods of beating teams whether it’s because of his arm, his legs or just extending plays to test the limits of a defense, it’s easier said than done. However, the Jaguars did beat the Bills last year on the road in a 25-20 win. In that game, Jacksonville successfully made the Bills’ one dimensional by stifling their run game. In that contest, the Bills only gained 29 yards on the ground. This forced the Bills into a lot of passing situations that allowed the Jags to use their average pass-rush to its maximum potential.
The Bills still teed off in the passing game. Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis combined for 14 receptions for 221 yards and two touchdowns. But after jumping out to an early lead, the Jaguars kept Travis Etienne on the field more. His three-down skill set kept Buffalo’s defense off-balance. Etienne ran the ball 26 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns, easily resulting in one of his best rushing performances of the year. All this went Jacksonville’s way, and they still only won by five points.
After an 0-2 start, another loss would put the Jaguars in a tough spot. Trevor Lawrence spoke plainly after last week’s loss to the Cleveland Browns, per NFL insider Ari Meirov.
“We suck right now, so I’m pretty shocked,” Lawrence said . “We had a great offseason, great training camp, and we’ve got to figure it out.”
