ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Any concerns Josh Allen had about the Bills' performance following a 10-day hiatus were erased on a 10-play opening drive that saw James Cook score on a 6-yard touchdown run.
Buffalo kept scoring. Allen threw four touchdown passes and the Bills scored touchdowns on all five of their first-half drives in a 47-10 win over a struggling Trevor Lawrence and the crumbling Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night.
“It feels good, I'll say that,” said Allen, who set a team record with four touchdown passes in 11 games, surpassing Hall of Famer Jim Kelly's mark.
“I think we had 10 days off and we could have played a less energetic game, but I didn't really sense that feeling from the guys, that sense of urgency this week,” he said of a team that hadn't played since beating Miami 31-10 on Sept. 12. “We didn't win today. We won in the last 10 days.”
Allen completed 22 of 28 passes for 247 yards and nine receivers in the first 30 minutes, but only attempted two passes after halftime, completing 23 of 30 passes for 263 yards before being replaced by Mitchell Trubisky.
And he spread the wealth around, throwing a touchdown pass to Dalton Kinkaid. Keon ColemanKhalil Shakir and Ty Johnson.
“Everything about it is insane,” Shaquill said of Allen, whose 230 touchdowns (passing, rushing and receiving) are one shy of Patrick Mahomes' all-time record for most touchdowns by an NFL player through his first seven seasons.
Buffalo's defense held Jacksonville to 70 yards, five first downs and one field goal on five attempts in the first half. The game was effectively over when Allen completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Johnson 19 seconds before halftime.
Safety Damar Hamlin contributed to the big win with his first career interception, easily catching a botched pass from Lawrence intended for rookie Brian Thomas Jr. Five plays later, Allen completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Shakir, who caught the ball at the 22-yard line and sprinted down the right sideline, escaping two tackles to score.
Hamlin's interception came nearly 21 months after he went into cardiac arrest during Monday night's game at Cincinnati and had to be resuscitated on the field.
“Everybody knows my last game and how it went,” said Hamlin, who became a starter after spending last season as a reserve, “so to be able to come back from that and have such a special moment is all a credit to God.”
The four-time AFC East champions are off to a three-win start for the first time since 2020 and just the third time since coach Sean McDermott took over in 2017. The team has scored 30 or more points in each game.
The Jaguars are on a steep decline. The last time they started the season 0-3 was in 2021 under coach Urban Meyer, who was fired before the season ended.
Things couldn't have gone any worse for the Jaguars, however, as the team announced their flight from Buffalo was delayed due to mechanical issues.
Jacksonville's latest loss came a week after coach Lawrence expressed frustration, saying “this team is no good right now” after an 18-13 loss to Cleveland. The Jaguars squandered 14-0 and 17-7 leads in their season opener at Miami.
On Monday, it was head coach Doug Pederson's turn to ask his team questions.
“I'm really shocked. I'm really disappointed. I hate to say it, but right now we're not in a very good place,” Pederson said. “I want everybody to coach and play better. Let's get this over with.”
Lawrence completed 21 of 38 passes for 178 yards, a touchdown and an interception for the Tigers, who have lost eight straight games dating back to last season and are winless since passing for 364 yards in a 24-21 win at Houston on Nov. 26.
“It's frustrating because we're not playing our best right now,” Lawrence said. “It seems like everybody is making bad plays at the wrong times, myself included. It seems like it's really hard to move forward. We just can't get into a rhythm right now. We all take responsibility for that.”
Lawrence's final two drives, which opened the second half with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Brenton Strange, ended on downs.
He was replaced with 7:45 left and watched from the sideline with his hands on his collar as backup Mac Jones was sacked three snaps into the game and forced a fumble that led to Ray Davis' 3-yard run for the score.
More worryingly, the Jaguars defense couldn't find a way to stop Allen, allowing the Bills 288 yards and 19 first downs in the first half, converting six of eight third-down chances and two fourth-down chances.
Buffalo's 31-point halftime lead was the third-largest in team history and its largest since leading Atlanta 38-7 on Nov. 22, 1992.
Von Miller had a sack to increase his total to 126 1/2, tying him with Derrick Thomas for 17th on the career list and one ahead of Dwight Freeney.
