Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Week Three Scouting Matchup Preview

Finding the advantages and disadvantages for the Buffalo Bills against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It has been an adventure since Doug Pederson took over as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars entering 2022. In his first season, the team stumbled through a 4-8 start before winning five in a row to close out the season to win the AFC South. The hot finish in 2022 carried into 2023 when the Jaguars began the year 8-3 before finishing 9-8 and missing the postseason. Jacksonville carried its losing ways into 2024 and is 0-2 through two weeks. Dating back to last year, the Jaguars have lost seven of their last eight contests, with the lone win coming in Week 17 against the lowly Carolina Panthers. 

Since 1990, 162 teams have started 0-3 and only four (2.5 percent) reached the postseason. The Jaguars are in danger of that on Monday Night. This is a big moment for Pederson. Jacksonville has far too much talent for results this inconsistent. 

While this post is focused on scouting matchups, the context of this game for Jacksonville is noteworthy. In some ways, the Jaguars are a desperate football team. And while I have questions about Pederson and his leadership qualities, I don’t question his creativity, especially given Jacksonville’s current scenario. I expect him to have unique wrinkles for Buffalo in a critical game for his team. 

Meanwhile, Buffalo has struggled with the Jaguars, who have taken three of the last four head-to-head matchups against the Bills. That includes Week Five in 2023 when the Bills had a sluggish performance in London against a Jaguars team that had a weeklong headstart being overseas compared to Buffalo. Then, in 2021, Buffalo fell 9-6 to Urban Meyer-coached Jaguars. 

The rest discrepancy in this game is noteworthy. Buffalo played on Thursday Night in Week 2 while Jacksonville played on Sunday. Since 2020, the Bills are 12-5 with a rest advantage which is the fifth-best win percentage in the NFL during that span. Under Doug Pederson, Jacksonville is 2-5 with a rest disadvantage which is sixth-worst in the NFL since the start of 2022. 

With Buffalo looking to remain among the unbeaten teams and the Jaguars searching for their first win of the year, let’s examine where both teams have advantages and disadvantages entering the contest. 

Bills Offense vs. Jaguars Defense