Four things to watch for Monday’s Jaguars-Bills and Commanders-Bengals games on ESPN and NFL+

• WHERE: Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, NY)
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN, ESPN Sports, NFL+

1) Offensive distribution of banknotes under surveillance. Monday should feature an intriguing matchup between young running backs Travis Etienne and James Cook, two of only seven running backs with over 1,600 scrimmage yards since 2023, according to NFL Research. The latter could play an unexpectedly important role if he continues to play as often as he did in the first two games. The Bills have been known as a passing team in recent years due to the talents of quarterback Josh Allen, but so far this season, that trend has reversed and the running game has dominated. Of the 103 offensive snaps for the Bills this season, 57% have been running plays, compared to 47% last season. And last week, as Allen was recovering from a minor hand injury unrelated to throwing, Cook took over the game, running for 78 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and scoring another in the air. Two games is undoubtedly a small sample size, but it will be interesting to see if this new ratio holds in Week 3, especially since the Jaguars currently rank 11th in rushing yards allowed but 30th in passing yards.

2) Lawrence and the Jags WRs need to score more points. To get back on track and avoid an 0-3 start, the Jaguars’ offense will need to show significant improvement after opening the season with games of 17 and 13 points scored, respectively. After ranking ninth in passing yards in 2023, Trevor Lawrence’s offense ranks 25th after the first two games and hasn’t reached 200 passing yards in either game. Notably, the offense has also converted just five of its 19 third-down attempts (26.3%) and scored on less than half of its red-zone trips, neither of which is a great recipe for success. To keep up with the Bills’ high-scoring unit, Lawrence will need to find the spark in his pass-catchers that has been missing. The QB failed to connect meaningfully with Christian Kirk (29 yards), while Gabe Davis, who will face his former team on Monday night, has recorded just six catches in two games. Not helping matters is that tight end Evan Engram, who injured his hamstring in warmups last week and did not play, is expected to miss another game due to his injury, leaving Lawrence without one of his more reliable opponents. One reason for hope was freshman Brian Thomas Jr., who seemed to break through in the closing stages of last week’s loss with a 66-yard pass and finished with 94 yards, a performance they will hopefully build on.