Bills Central

QB of Bills’ Week 3 opponent says ‘we suck right now’

The quarterback of the Buffalo Bills' Week 3 opponent was not complimentary of his team's offense through the first two games of the 2024 season.

Kyle Silagyi

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The vibes through the first two weeks of the 2024 NFL season are quite strong in Orchard Park. The Buffalo Bills kicked their campaign off with a resilient come-from-behind victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1 before dismantling the Miami Dolphins in a Week 2 Thursday Night Football clash, setting the team up with a nice 11-day break before their Week 3 Monday Night Football showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The difference between the vibes in Buffalo and the general aura in Jacksonville could not be more stark ahead of their Week 3 matchup, as the Jaguars have gotten off to an immensely underwhelming 0-2 start. The initial returns looked promising enough, as they scored 17 points in the first half of their season opener in Miami and, at one point, held a 14-point lead; Jacksonville didn’t score another point after the half, ultimately losing 20-17. Its woes carried over into Week 2, as the team found the endzone just once in an 18-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

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The Jaguars have scored the fourth-fewest points of teams that have played two games thus far (30). Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is completing just 51% of his passes and has thrown for just 382 yards, his struggles a microcosm of the general offensive woes the team is experiencing. The signal-caller gave a less than flattering review of the team’s offense following their Week 2 loss, a quote that gives the Buffalo faithful a bit of insight into how the opposition is feeling ahead of their upcoming primetime clash.

“We suck right now,” Lawrence said. “I’m pretty shocked. Obviously we had a great offseason, great training camp. We have to figure it out. We know we’ve got a good group, good players, and can be a really good offense, but clearly we’re not. Everybody’s got to take accountability, look in the mirror, and fix it. I’ve got to play better. As the leader of this offense, it’s on me. Wideouts got to play better, the line’s got to play better, running backs got to play better, we have to coach better. It’s everybody, honestly. 

“We’re standing around, we’ve got to take charge. We’re sitting around waiting for somebody to make a play, defense has been playing their a** off the last two weeks. If a team doesn’t score more than 20 points [on us], you should win every week. Can’t finish in the red zone [Sunday], too many mistakes getting in and out of the huddle, communication wasn’t good. It’s a lot of things. Fortunately and unfortunately, it’s what pisses you off after the game, a lot of it we can control. We control it, but we’re not doing it right, so until we do it right, it’s a different story.”

The vibes are demonstrably poor, as members of the Jaguars' offense are left publicly searching for answers. Contrast this with the generally strong feeling at One Bills Drive right now, and one would be led to believe that Buffalo is set to take care of business at home next week.

That said, no team should over be overlooked; the Jaguars are eager to get their first win of the season and will, thus, give the Bills their best punch. Jacksonville has offensive talent; Lawrence is an incredibly talented quarterback, Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby are capable ball carriers, and both Brian Thomas Jr. and former-Bill Gabriel Davis will be looking to kickstart their seasons under the lights at Highmark Stadium. 

Buffalo has also had surprising trouble against Jacksonville in the recent past, losing their 2021 matchup to an Urban Meyer-led Jaguars team 9-6 before dropping their 2023 meeting 25-20 in an equally embarrassing outing. Circumstances are obviously different now than they’ve been in past contests, but Jacksonville is not a team to simply overlook given its slow start.

The Bills will look to get the proverbial monkey off their back and win an incredibly winnable game against a struggling Jaguars team next Monday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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Kyle Silagyi

KYLE SILAGYI

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