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    • Josh Allen shines as Buffalo beats Jaguars
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    Josh Allen shines as Buffalo beats Jaguars

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    ORCHARD PARK – During the first half of the Buffalo Bills’ 47-10 outburst of hilarity against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night, NBA superstar LeBron James tweeted that he really enjoys watching Josh Allen play football.

    Yes, he is not alone.

    “That’s pretty cool,” Allen said when alerted to the activity on LeBron’s X account. “I’ve been wearing LeBron’s shoes, the Fruity Pebbles, to practice. I’m a huge fan of his and you know, coming from him, one of the best, if not the best NBA basketball player of all time, I think that’s pretty cool.”

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    Greatness breeds greatness, and LeBron recognized Allen’s greatness in this game. He worked the Jaguars’ defense in the first half the same way LeBron in his prime got the ball to the basket and the basket. Nearly every pass was on target, every decision took advantage of what the Jaguars gave him, and the result was 30 minutes of pure brilliance.

    “It feels good, I can tell you that,” he said of the 47-point explosion. “I think this could have easily been a game where we had 10 days off and slowed down. We didn’t see that from our guys, a lot of urgency during the week, practiced really hard, had a really good game plan, I thought Joe (Brady) played a great, great game today.”

    As great as Allen was, the defense also had a great performance. They defeated Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars, who couldn’t hold their own, and now the Bills head to Baltimore on Sunday night for a showdown as one of the five undefeated teams in the NFL.

    For the Jaguars, one of three teams that are 0-3, the night was so miserable that their plane suffered mechanical problems and was delayed leaving Buffalo airport.

    Here’s how I rated the Bills:

    PASS ATTACK: ONE

    Allen was nearly flawless, completing 23 of 30 passes for 263 yards and four touchdowns and, for the third straight game, throwing no interceptions. Allen came out of this game with a clear goal as he and Brady knew the Jaguars wouldn’t be able to contain Buffalo’s arsenal by playing as much man defense as they did. That proved to be correct as Brady exploited matchups all night long.

    Receivers got open and one of the keys was running after the catch as the Bills piled up big yards in that area including two of the TDs to Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir. Shakir is a wonder because he catches everything that comes his way and in this one he was 6-for-6 for 72 yards. He has now caught all 14 passes thrown his way this season. Coleman was benched in the first quarter for disciplinary reasons and his TD was the only pass thrown to him.

    James Cook also figures to be a key part of the passing game, as he had four catches for 48 yards, but his specter of dropping TD passes reared its ugly head when he let a perfect Allen pass go right through his hands in the end zone. Up front, against a good Jacksonville front seven, the offensive line kept Allen clean.

    ATTACKS: A-

    Cook’s numbers weren’t all that impressive, as he only ran 11 times for 39 yards with a touchdown, but that didn’t matter too much. He recorded positive gains on all of his attempts, which helped keep the Bills in favorable down and distance, and on his touchdown run he made a nice play to get out and then outrun the Jaguars defense toward the cone.

    Allen was big in the run game, as he carried six times for 44 yards, with five of his runs producing first downs. Ray Davis came into action in the second half and scored his first NFL touchdown in the fourth quarter, finishing with 22 yards. The Bills averaged 4.2 yards per attempt.

    PASS DEFENSE: ONE

    Lawrence never had a chance. The Bills secondary, even without Taron Johnson, not to mention LBs Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard who would be there on every passing down, has been fantastic all season and this was no exception. Lawrence completed 21 of 38 for 178 yards with one TD and an interception.

    CBs Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford are shaping up to be one of the NFL’s best boundary duos, and the Bills haven’t missed a beat on longtime safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer as Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin continue to make big plays. Hamlin made his first career interception, which is a big deal considering the last time he started a Monday night game was Jan. 3, 2022, when he went into cardiac arrest.

    Gabe Davis’ return to Buffalo resulted in two catches for 18 yards. Christian Kirk had eight for 79, but almost all of that came in the second half when the game was already decided. The Bills, playing with a big lead, were able to ramp up the pass rush and finished with five sacks, one by Von Miller and the other by rookie Javon Solomon, playing in his first NFL game. That one came against Mac Jones and resulted in a fumble that Casey Toohill recovered. The others came from Toohill, AJ Epenesa and Ja’Marcus Ingram.

    RUN DEFENSE: B+

    The bulk of Jacksonville’s 92 yards came in the second half as the Bills simply tried to win the game. The Jaguars managed just 19 yards in the first half as their offensive line couldn’t put much pressure on the Bills’ front line. Travis Etienne finished with 68 yards, 22 of which came on one carry in the second half.

    LB Dorian Williams led the Bills with 10 tackles while Cam Lewis had eight, and what that shows is that he’s playing exactly the way Taron Johnson plays as a tough run defender. Baylon Spector had six tackles.

    SPECIAL TEAMS: B+

    Tyler Bass was attacked on social media for his blocked extra point, but there was a glitch in the protection that led to it, so it’s hard to blame the kicker. Otherwise, Bass made two field goals and his other four extra points, and on kickoffs he had eight touchbacks out of nine.

    Sam Martin punted only once and it was a 49-yarder that resulted in a fair catch. In the return game, Brandon Codrington looks like a steal for the Jets as he had two punt returns for 22 and 19 yards. Ty Johnson had the lone kickoff return and it was a good one for 32 yards.

    COACHING: ONE

    Allen pointed out that the Bills had a lot of time between games and that could have been a problem getting sharp early on. It clearly wasn’t a problem, so Sean McDermott deserves credit for that, because he had his team ready to go.

    McDermott’s continued aggression on fourth down resulted in two possessions that ended in touchdowns. On defense, he and Bobby Babich came up with some masterful schemes despite the serious injuries they had.

    Offensive coordinator Joe Brady has been on fire through the first three games, with the Bills leading the NFL with 112 points. Some of his plays in the passing game are works of art, and the important thing is that the Bills are executing on them.

    Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades, including 35 years as a full-time beat writer for the D&C, and has written numerous books about the team’s history. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

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