Five observations as Bills move to 3-0: Joe Brady's masterful game plan, and more

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — It didn’t take long on Monday to figure out it would be one of those nights for the now 3-0 Buffalo Bills.

The Jaguars won the coin toss — seemingly their only victory of the evening — and then watched as the Bills marched down the field 70 yards in just over five minutes for a touchdown. Then, on the next Bills’ possession, another touchdown. Another possession after that, another touchdown. So on, and so forth.

By the end of the first half, the Bills had scored a touchdown on all five of their first-half possessions en route to a 34-3 lead after 30 minutes, leading to the eventual 47-10 final score. The Bills are now only one of five remaining undefeated teams in the NFL.

What stood out from the win? Here are several observations from the Bills’ comprehensive blowout of the Jaguars.

Joe Brady with a statement game plan

The Bills put on an offensive clinic against the Jaguars, and none of it happens without franchise quarterback Josh Allen. After his performance, he should be firmly atop the early-season short list of names for the league’s most valuable player. But behind the quarterback’s performance was a masterful job by Bills offensive coordinator Brady. After taking over midway through the 2023 season, Brady helped the Bills offense get back on track.

A big reason for that was how they developed as a rushing attack. It was one of the big flaws of former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, and partly why the offense grew stale despite having explosive playmakers. That staple of Brady’s offense carried over into 2024, with them showing to be run-heavy through the first two games. Some of it was situational, as the Bills only had Allen attempt six passes in the second half of a blowout of the Dolphins. But they were run-heavy all the same.

This matchup, specifically, was a test for Brady in his first full year, and he passed with flying colors. Two main things stood out about the Jaguars defense. First, their run defense between the tackles was outrageously effective through the first two weeks. The Dolphins and Browns struggled to run all game long against them. Second, regardless of opponent, the Jaguars used man coverage at one of the heaviest rates in the NFL.

Brady, rather than sticking with the ground game that got the Bills to 2-0, smartly pivoted. And not only did the Bills pivot, they turned back the clock to the explosive passing performances of old. Through the first half — the only usable portion of the game for analytical purposes — the previously run-heavy Bills abandoned the run. Rather than trying to run through a brick wall, they repeatedly went over and around it. Brady empowered Allen to exploit man coverage throughout the first half. The Bills had 29 dropbacks to just 10 designed runs — good for a 74 percent passing rate.

The makings of any great coordinator is the ability to mold their specific side of the ball to the upcoming opponent and play to the strengths of the team. Brady did that masterfully, taking the onus off the offensive line and running backs to do the same things they had been doing just because it worked before. They attacked a specific weakness of the Jaguars — more on that next.

This is the closest the offense has looked to matching the dynamism that former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll helped instill during his tenure. Given how successful Daboll was, that isn’t a lightly thrown-around comparison. Granted, having Allen as the team’s quarterback certainly lowers the difficulty for Brady to switch things up from week to week. But the offensive coordinator deserves a ton of credit. His creativity and willingness to change the scope of his attack by opponent has made the Bills that much more difficult to prepare for, and paired with Allen, this should be feared for the foreseeable future.

Khalil Shakir exploited a weakness in the Jaguars’ defense and ended the game with 72 yards receiving and a touchdown. (Gregory Fisher / Imagn Images)

Khalil Shakir was the point man for attacking a key Jaguars’ weakness

The Jaguars showed as a team with a good defense through the first two games, though they had one pretty distinct flaw. Their nickel corner has been a source of weakness this season, and that was even when they had top choice Darnell Savage available to them in Week 1. But Savage, just like in Week 2, couldn’t return from injury for the matchup against the Bills. That left rookie Jarrian Jones, who struggled in Week 2 against the Browns, to take on the Bills’ most dynamic receiver in Shakir.

The receiver predictably dominated the matchup right from the start, and then making matters worse, Jones went out with an injury in the first quarter. That left the Jaguars with using practice squad call-up Chris Braswell one-on-one against Shakir, and it went just about as poorly as possible. Allen and the Bills attacked the position as the Jaguars continued to play heavy man coverage. Shakir finished with 72 yards and a touchdown on six receptions. It’s been a while, probably since the Patriots a couple of years ago, that a team served up the general reminder to the rest of the NFL to avoid giving Allen extended looks against man coverage. The Jaguars learned the lesson the hard way.

An extraordinary start for Bobby Babich, Sean McDermott, and the defense

It was quite the evening for the Bills offense, but defensive coordinator Babich and head coach McDermott deserve a ton of credit for doing what they’ve done with this defense through three weeks. The Bills don’t have Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard and Taron Johnson in the lineup. Their top pass rusher in 2023, Leonard Floyd, left in free agency. Both of their starting safeties from last year aren’t on the team. Yet here the Bills are, allowing only 31 points over their last ten quarters of action. It took the Bills offense only two quarters to score 34 on Monday night. The Bills have built a defensive game plan over the last three weeks that has helped hide the potential weaknesses of individual pieces of the defense.

But along the way, it’s helped empower individual performances to play at their highest level. Cornerback Christian Benford has been one of the best players on the team. Greg Rousseau, Ed Oliver, A.J. Epenesa and Von Miller have all had their moments along the defensive line. And even dime back Ja’Marcus Ingram chipped in with another pair of pass breakups on Monday. Something is off about the Jaguars offense, and they have a lot of questions to answer, but that doesn’t take anything away from the way this iteration of the Bills defense has defied the odds.

FIRST TOUCHDOWN AS A BUFFALO BILL!

📺: @ESPNNFL@keoncoleman6 | #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/6p4VM3vflh

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 24, 2024

Many will remember Coleman’s game for the first touchdown of his young career, and it was a great moment for him. But perhaps the more interesting piece of the puzzle was his usage. Through the first two games, the Bills rookie receiver easily led the wide receiver room in snaps with 80.4 percent. The next closest was Mack Hollins at 63.6 percent. So when the Bills went through the entire first quarter without Coleman taking a snap, it was extremely notable. McDermott explained after the game that they sat Coleman down in the first quarter due to a tardiness issue but refused to go into specifics. McDermott called it a learning experience.

However, even with that in mind, his usage moving forward in the game continued to be confounding. Through the second quarter, and the Bills’ first drive of the second half that made it 37-10, Coleman took only 10 out of a possible 30 snaps — a rate of 33.3 percent, and well below his usual usage. Instead, it was Marquez Valdes-Scantling getting all of Coleman’s usual time, taking 73.3 percent of snaps over those same 30 snaps. Perhaps they liked Valdes-Scantling against man coverage more than they did Coleman, who has shown some struggles to separate in the first two weeks. Regardless of the touchdown and discipline, this remains a situation to monitor in Week 4.

Throughout the summer, the Bills watched as their rookie defensive end Solomon continued to stack impressive pass-rushing days in practice together. The fifth-round pick was as pleasant a surprise as they could have found for a Day 3 pick, showing the potential of someone who could even contribute in his first season. An oblique injury cost Solomon the first two games, and because of it, they brought him back into game action slowly in Week 3. But Solomon continued that upward trajectory once they put him in the game. On just the third defensive snap of his NFL career, Solomon used an inside rush to get immediate pressure and completed the strip sack of Jaguars backup Mac Jones to force a turnover. These types of plays were commonplace during training camp. And plays like that sack, even in garbage time, can sometimes be all it takes to get more playing time in the coming weeks.

Bills MVP: QB Josh Allen — Four touchdowns, 269 total yards and only six incompletions — in the first half. This season might be the Allen’s best chance to win the NFL MVP award.

Bills LVP: No one — Outside of a blocked extra point attempt after their first touchdown, the game went about as well as possible.

Up next: The 3-0 Bills will take on the 1-2 Ravens on the road Sunday night. It will be the third straight prime-time game for the Bills.

(Top photo of Joe Brady: Bryan Bennett / Getty Images)