Where to watch Bills vs. Jaguars: TV channel, kickoff time, NFL live stream, spread, odds, “MNF” prediction

In the first game of a Monday Night Football doubleheader in Week 3, the Buffalo Bills (2-0) host the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2). Despite an offseason full of changes, the Bills appear to be one of the top contenders again to take the throne of the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC, while the Jags do not appear to have made much progress after their disappointing end to the 2023 season.

Josh Allen and Co. are on the offensive path, while Sean McDermott’s new defense has had to stall two strong attacks in each of the first two weeks. Trevor Lawrence, on the other hand, has struggled so far and the Jaguars’ defense has not been able to make up for the weaknesses in the offense.

Will the Bills remain undefeated? Will the Jaguars bounce back? We’ll find out soon. Before we analyze the matchup, here’s a look at how you can watch the game.

Where can you watch?

Date: Monday, September 23 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, NY)
Channel: ESPN | Electricity: fubo
Consequences: CBS Sports App
Opportunities: Bills -5.5; O/U 46.5 (via SportsLine consensus odds)

When the Jaguars have the ball

Jacksonville’s offense has been perhaps the most disappointing unit in the league through the first two weeks of the season, totaling just 590 yards and 30 points in losses to the Dolphins and Browns.

Trevor Lawrence has thrown 26 of 51 passes for 382 yards and a touchdown, and Jacksonville has a pathetic pass completion rate of just 36.2%. He even has a sky-high sack rate of 12.7%, more than double his career average of 5.3%. Jacksonville’s receivers have already dropped four passes, while Lawrence has missed on 13 of 51 attempts (27.1%, the highest of his career). Christian Kirk, the supposed top target in the passing game, has two catches for 29 yards. Nothing is working right, except perhaps for the occasional “well, Brian Thomas Jr. is down there somewhere” throw.

In the running game, Travis Etienne averages just 3.8 yards per run, the same as last year. According to Tru Media, he ranks 34th out of 50 qualified running backs in yards after contact per run and 35th in tackle rate avoided. The team as a whole averages just 1.28 yards before Contact per run, 20th in the NFL. Tank Bigsby has made a few long runs, but again, nothing else is really working.

They now face a Bills defense that virtually strangled Miami’s offense even before Tua Tagovailoa went out with an injury in Week 2, and limited the Cardinals to just 270 total yards in Week 1. (A kickoff return touchdown gave Arizona its third touchdown of the afternoon.) Jacksonville will also once again be without tight end Evan Engram, so Brenton Strange will take over as the top tight end in his place.

This absence is particularly unfortunate, because the best way to beat Buffalo’s defense is to throw over the middle against a linebacker group that is missing superstar Matt Milano and a safety duo (Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin) that is not as strong in coverage as its predecessors.

That linebacker Terrel Bernard and slot corner Taron Johnson are also out for the Bills on Monday night only underscores the Jaguars’ need to attack “through the middle.” Whether that happens with Strange or by getting Kirk much more involved than he has been, it has to happen. On the outside, Thomas and Gabe Davis will have plenty of work to do with Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Rasul Douglas slide into the slot. On top of that, the offensive line will have to deal with a fully healthy Greg Rousseau and Von Miller – who have really been on the gas in the first two weeks of the season – to even give Lawrence enough time to find them further down the field.

Can Doug Pederson and Press Taylor lure anyone out there and succeed? Everything we’ve seen from this team over the last year and beyond makes me skeptical.

When the Bills have the ball

The Bills won their first two games of the season in very different ways.

In Week 1, it took a Josh Allen-esque performance to overcome a deficit and beat Arizona. Allen completed 18 of 23 passes for 232 yards and two touchdowns through the air and carried nine times for 39 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. In Week 2, James Cook practically went on a tear in the first half with two touchdown runs and a touchdown reception, and Buffalo basically just ran out the clock the rest of the game. Allen threw just 19 passes and had just two running attempts.

The fact that they can win in completely different ways is an extremely encouraging sign for their prospects for the rest of the season, especially given how well the re-formed defense has performed so far.

The Jaguars have actually only allowed 38 points to the Dolphins and Browns through the first two weeks of the season, but they have allowed the Dolphins to rush for 400 yards and allowed the Browns to look like a halfway competent unit (which didn’t happen against the Cowboys or Giants), and they haven’t forced a turnover yet. That they managed to slow down Miami’s running game in Week 1 is encouraging in some ways, but Raheem Mostert went down early with an injury and the Dolphins’ last two games have shown that their running attack may not be as explosive as it was last year, even with De’Von Achane, mostly because they can’t block anyone. Jacksonville also gave up the 10th-most rushing yards to quarterbacks last season, which isn’t exactly ideal when playing against a team led by Josh Allen.

With Tyson Campbell on the injured list and Tashaun Gipson suspended, the Jaguars’ secondary was already undermanned. But now Darnell Savage is out, leaving them dangerously thin on defense. Buffalo’s passing attack hasn’t had to do much this season, but their young pass catchers (Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid) should face some cheap opponents on the field. As long as Buffalo’s offensive line can withstand the pass rush led by Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, the Bills really have no reason to worry here.

forecast

Buffalo is the better team playing at home against an opponent that has seemingly regressed since its “dead cat bounce” season following the firing of Urban Meyer. With Josh Allen leading the way, a high-level running game and Sean McDermott figuring out the defense, the Bills simply have too many things going for them for the Jaguars to overcome. Bills 30, Jaguars 17