Jaguars Defense Facing Unique Challenge on Monday Night

On Monday Night Football, the Jacksonville Jaguars face one of the top teams in the league. Jacksonville's defense will have to contend with a high-powered Buffalo Bills offense.

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson talks with his defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen on the sidelines during first half action. The Jaguars led 20 to 10 at the end of the first half. The Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in the Jaguars first preseason game of the season Saturday, August10, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union] / Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

This week, the Jacksonville Jaguars travel north to face the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football. The two teams have started the season on very different paths. The Bills are undefeated and have one of the most explosive offenses in the National Football League.

Through the first two games of the season, the Bills have been one of the top-scoring offenses in the league. 

While this season’s Bills team looks very similar to last season’s, one thing they have excelled at is getting the ball out of quarterback Josh Allen’s hands quickly. This has allowed the Bills' skill players to thrive this season, taking some of the workload off Allen early.

It seems to have worked, as the Bills are one of the least sacked teams in the NFL. The Bills have only allowed two sacks through the season's first two games.

Jaguars Defensive Coordinator Ryan Nielsen noted that Allen and the Bills offense has done exceptionally well passing the ball on first and second down. The Jags defense will have to defend every part of the field, as Allen has shown the ability to get the ball where it needs to be.

“Yeah, he's doing a really good job,” Nielsen said. “They've done a really good job with the scheme. In terms of first and second-down passing, quick throws. Completions, you see his completion percentage up. Getting the ball out of his hands. Offensive line is doing a good job getting on in protection and aggressively setting D-line, so you don’t see as many balls get batted down. 

“They've done a good job in the boundary passing game, the option routes, stack routes, things like this, and then to the field. He's getting the ball. He's doing a really good job reading the coverage. He knows exactly where to go with the ball right now. So, it's going to be a good challenge.”

Nielsen and the Jags defense must be prepared for anything. The Bills offense has the potential to score many points and do so quickly. It will be up to the Jags defense to slow down Allen and up to the Jags offense to score plenty of points.

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