Five observations on the Bills’ 3-0 deficit: Joe Brady’s masterful game plan and more

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — It didn’t take long Monday to realize this was going to be one of those nights for the Buffalo Bills, who now lead 3-0.

The Jaguars won the coin toss—seemingly their only win of the night—and then watched the Bills march 70 yards in just over five minutes and score a touchdown. Then, on the Bills’ next possession, another touchdown. Another possession after that, another touchdown. And so on and so forth.

By the end of the first half, the Bills had scored touchdowns on all five of their first-half possessions and held a 34-3 lead after 30 minutes, leading to a final score of 47-10. The Bills are now one of only five undefeated teams in the NFL.

What was special about this win? Here are some observations about the Bills’ clear victory over the Jaguars.

Joe Brady with a meaningful game plan

The Bills put on an offensive stellar performance against the Jaguars, and none of it would have been possible without franchise quarterback Josh Allen. After his performance, he should have been at the top of the shortlist of names for the league’s most valuable player at the start of the season. But behind the quarterback’s performance was a masterful performance by Bills offensive coordinator Brady. After taking over the helm midway through the 2023 season, Brady helped the Bills offense get back on track.

A big reason for that was how they developed as a rushing attack. That was one of former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey’s big mistakes, and partly the reason the offense became sluggish despite having explosive playmakers. That core principle of Brady’s offense remained in place in 2024, with them proving to be run-heavy in the first two games. Part of that was situational, as the Bills only had six pass attempts from Allen in the second half of a blowout win over the Dolphins. But they were run-heavy nonetheless.

GO DEEPER

Josh Allen and the Bills dominate the Jags in a 47-10 loss: Insights

This matchup was a test for Brady in his first full year, and he passed with flying colors. Two things stood out about the Jaguars defense. First, their run defense between the tackles was incredibly effective the first two weeks. The Dolphins and Browns struggled to run against them all game. Second, the Jaguars employed one of the strongest man coverage rates in the NFL, regardless of the opponent.

Brady didn’t stick with the running game that had put the Bills up 2-0, but cleverly changed his play. And the Bills didn’t just change their play, they also turned the clock back to the explosive passing of old. During the first half – the only part of the game usable for analysis purposes – the previously run-heavy Bills gave up running. Instead of trying to run through a wall, they kept going over and around it. Brady allowed Allen to take advantage of man coverage throughout the first half. The Bills had 29 dropbacks on just 10 designed runs – good for a 74 percent pass rate.

The essence of any good coordinator is the ability to tailor their particular side of the ball to the upcoming opponent and play to the team’s strengths. Brady did that masterfully by freeing the offensive line and running backs from the burden of doing the same things they’ve always done just because it worked before. They attacked a particular weakness of the Jaguars – more on that in a moment.

This is the closest the offense has come to the dynamics that former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll brought during his tenure. Given Daboll’s success, that’s not a comparison that’s made lightly. Granted, having Allen as the team’s quarterback certainly makes it less difficult for Brady to change things up from week to week. But the offensive coordinator deserves plenty of credit. His creativity and willingness to change the scope of his attack on the opponent have made it even harder for the Bills to prepare for, and combined with Allen, that’s something to be feared for the foreseeable future.

Khalil Shakir took advantage of a weakness in the Jaguars’ defense and finished the game with 72 yards of gain and a touchdown. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)

Khalil Shakir was the man who attacked a key weakness of the Jaguars

The Jaguars have been a strong defensive team in their first two games, but they have had one pretty obvious flaw. Their nickel corner has been a weak spot this season, even when they had their top pick Darnell Savage available in Week 1. But Savage, just like in Week 2, was unable to return from injury for the game against the Bills. That left rookie Jarrian Jones, who struggled against the Browns in Week 2, to face Shakir, the Bills’ most dynamic receiver.

As expected, the receiver dominated the matchup from the start, and to make matters worse, Jones was forced out with an injury in the first quarter. The Jaguars were forced to use practice squad call-up Chris Braswell one-on-one against Shakir, and that went as poorly as it could. Allen and the Bills attacked the position while the Jaguars continued to play strong man coverage. Shakir finished the game with 72 yards and a touchdown on six passes caught. It’s been a while, probably since the Patriots a few years ago, since a team gave the rest of the NFL a general warning not to give Allen extended chances in man coverage. The Jaguars learned that lesson the hard way.

An exceptional start for Bobby Babich, Sean McDermott and the defense

It was quite a night for the Bills offense, but defensive coordinator Babich and head coach McDermott deserve a ton of credit for what they’ve accomplished with this defense over the past three weeks. The Bills are without Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard and Taron Johnson in the lineup. Their best pass rusher in 2023, Leonard Floyd, left as a free agent. Their two starting safeties from last year are not with the team. And yet here the Bills are, allowing just 31 points in their last 10 quarters of play. It took the Bills offense just two quarters to score 34 points on Monday night. The Bills have developed a defensive plan over the past three weeks that has helped mask the potential weaknesses in individual parts of the defense.

But along the way, it helped individual players play at their highest level. Cornerback Christian Benford was one of the best players on the team. Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, AJ Epenesa and Von Miller all had their moments on the defensive line. And even dimeback Ja’Marcus Ingram contributed two more pass defenses on Monday. There’s something wrong with the Jaguars’ offense, and they have a lot of questions to answer, but that doesn’t change the way this version of the Bills’ defense has defied all expectations.

FIRST TOUCHDOWN AS BUFFALO BILL!

📺: @ESPNNFL@keoncoleman6 | #BillMafia pic.twitter.com/6p4VM3vflh

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) 24 September 2024

Many will remember Coleman’s game in which he scored his first touchdown of his young career, and it was a great moment for him. But perhaps the more interesting piece of the puzzle was his usage. Through the first two games, the Bills’ rookie receiver led the wide receiver room, taking 80.4% of the snaps. Next was Mack Hollins, taking 63.6%. So it was extremely remarkable that the Bills went the entire first quarter without Coleman taking a snap. McDermott explained after the game that they benched Coleman in the first quarter for being late, but wouldn’t elaborate. McDermott called it a learning experience.

But even taking that into account, his usage continued to be confusing as the game went on. In the second quarter and on the Bills’ first drive of the second half that made it 37-10, Coleman played just 10 of 30 possible snaps – a 33.3 percent rate and well below his usual usage. Instead, Marquez Valdes-Scantling got all of the time Coleman normally took, playing 73.3 percent of the snaps in those 30 snaps. Perhaps they liked Valdes-Scantling in man coverage more than Coleman, who had some trouble getting away in the first two weeks. Regardless of the touchdown and discipline, this remains a situation to keep an eye on in Week 4.

All summer, the Bills watched as their rookie defensive end Solomon continued to string together impressive pass-rushing days in practice. The fifth-round pick was one of the most pleasant surprises they could find for a Day 3 pick, showing the potential of this player who could contribute in his first season. An oblique injury cost Solomon the first two games, and he was slowly brought back into action in Week 3. But Solomon continued that upward trend once he got into the game. On just the third defensive snap of his NFL career, Solomon used an inside rush to apply immediate pressure and completed the strip sack of Jaguars backup Mac Jones to force a turnover. Plays like this have been commonplace in training camp. And plays like this sack, even in garbage time, can sometimes be all it takes to get more playing time in the weeks to come.

Best Bills player: QB Josh Allen — four touchdowns, 269 total yards and just six incomplete passes — in the first half. This season could be Allen’s best chance to win the NFL MVP award.

Bills LVP: Nobody – Aside from a blocked extra point attempt after their first touchdown, the game went as well as it could have.

Next: The Bills (3-0) will play away against the Ravens (1-2) on Sunday night. It will be the Bills’ third consecutive prime-time game.

(Top photo of Joe Brady: Bryan Bennett / Getty Images)