Monday night of Week 3 provides NFL fans with their first prime-time doubleheader of the 2024 season, with the Buffalo Bills first hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars, followed by the Washington Commanders at the Cincinnati Bengals.
The first matchup will feature the 2-0 Buffalo Bills and the 0-2 Jacksonville Jaguars in a meeting between one team that has been consistently at the top of the AFC rankings in recent seasons against another trying to return to that status after a disappointing 2023.
Buffalo has outscored opponents 65-38 through two weeks, most recently dominating their division rival Dolphins in Miami through a dominating run game and a trio of big interceptions. On the other hand, Trevor Lawrence and the Jags are riding a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season's collapse down the stretch, most recently falling to the Cleveland Browns, 18-13. They are hoping to turn things around and avoid another loss in their quest to return to the top of the AFC South.
The second game of this doubleheader, which pits the 1-1 Commanders against the 0-2 Bengals, will give fans the treat of watching a duel between one of the top young quarterbacks in the league in Joe Burrow and the No. 2 pick in this year's draft in Jayden Daniels, two players with a shared history as Heisman-winning quarterbacks out of LSU.
After falling flat against the Patriots in the season opener and losing to the Chiefs on a last second field goal in Week 2, Cincinnati has now started five of its last six seasons 0-2 but is attempting to avoid going 0-3 for the first time since 2019. The Commanders did win their game last week behind the power of seven field goals and will be looking to build on that hard-fought win in this battle of former LSU Tigers.
Here are four things to watch for when the Jaguars-Bills and Commanders-Bengals games kick off on Monday Night Football on ESPN and NFL+:
- WHERE: Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, N.Y.)
- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN, ESPN Deportes, NFL+
1) Bills offensive distribution under observation. Monday should feature an intriguing matchup of young running backs in Travis Etienne and James Cook, two of only seven running backs with 1,600-plus scrimmage yards since 2023, per NFL Research. The latter could play an unexpectedly pivotal role if his usage from the first two games continues. The Bills have been known as a passing team in recent years due to the talents of quarterback Josh Allen, but so far this season that trend has reversed, and the run game has ruled. Of the 103 offensive snaps for the Bills this season, 57% have been run plays, up from 47% last season. And last week, with Allen nursing a minor non-throwing hand injury, Cook took over the game, rushing for 78 yards and two touchdowns on the ground while adding another in the air. Two games are a small sample size, undoubtedly, but it will be interesting to see whether this new ratio holds strong in Week 3, especially since the Jaguars currently rank 11th in rushing yards allowed, but 30th in passing yards.
2) Lawrence, Jags WRs need to spark scoring. Looking to get things on track and avoid an 0-3 start, the onus will be on the Jaguars’ offense to show marked improvement after opening the season with games of 17 and 13 points scored, respectively. After ranking No. 9 in passing yards in 2023, Trevor Lawrence’s offense sits at 25th after the first two games, failing to hit 200 passing yards in either contest. Notably, the offense has also converted just five of their 19 third-down attempts (26.3%) and scored on fewer than half of their red-zone trips, neither of which make a good recipe for success. To compete with the Bills’ high-scoring unit, Lawrence will need to find that spark with his pass catchers that has been lacking so far. The QB hasn’t been able to establish a meaningful connection with Christian Kirk (29 yards), while Gabe Davis, who will be playing his former team on Monday night, has just six catches in two games. Not helping matters is that tight end Evan Engram, who injured his hamstring in warmups last week and didn’t play, seems to be on track to miss another game with the injury, leaving Lawrence without one of his more trusted targets. One cause for hope was rookie Brian Thomas Jr., who seemed to break out in the later stages of last week's loss with a 66-yard reception, finishing with 94 yards, an effort they'll hope to build on.
- WHERE: Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati)
- WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET | ABC, ESPN+, NFL+
1) Can Cincy get on track behind Higgins' return? After a lackluster outing to open the season, the Bengals looked more like the team many expected to contend for the playoffs in Week 2, outgaining the Chiefs in yards despite the last-second loss. Joe Burrow had 258 yards and a pair of TDs on 23-for-36 passing but had only four passes for 35 yards to Ja’Marr Chase, and was still missing Tee Higgins, out with a hamstring injury. Luckily the latter issue isn’t expected to extend to a third week, as Higgins is off the injury report and ready to make his season debut. Getting him and Chase going will be key in the Bengals’ effort to avoid their first 0-3 start since the 2019 season (2-14) and stay in the conversation of playoff contenders. Likely to also help matters is the Commanders’ mostly porous pass defense, which allowed Daniel Jones and Malik Nabers to connect for 127 yards last Sunday.
2) Commanders’ blossoming QB faces next test. In his first two NFL starts, the Commanders’ rookie QB Jayden Daniels has showed significant progress and promise, to this point holding a 75.5 completion percentage, recording no turnovers and oftentimes showcasing his scrambling abilities, which helped him earn his first win last week against the Giants. But there’s still benchmarks to hit in his next test against Cincinnati, namely recording his first passing touchdown and finishing drives in the red zone -- last week Washington was 0 for 7 in such situations. It’ll be important to see how that development continues under the prime-time lights, and whether a breakout performance is possible. The Bengals should prove a tough test for him in that aspect, as the pass defense is tied for second in the league so far in yards allowed. Fortunately for Daniels, he should have the support of his running backs, Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler, who are coming off of a combined 215-yard rushing performance against the Giants and will attempt to feast against the Bengals’ run defense, which not only has ranked 26th in yards allowed, but is also dealing with injuries to Sheldon Rankins and B.J. Hill along the defensive front.