2024 NFL Season, Week 3: What We Learned from Monday doubleheader

Jacksonville Jaguars

0-3

AT

Buffalo Bills

3-0

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• RE-WATCH: Jaguars-Bills on NFL+
• READ: Bills’ Hamlin records first career INT on Monday night
• READ: Pederson on Jags: ‘We’re not a very good football team’
• READ: Josh Allen plays ‘close to a perfect game’ in win over Jags

Grant Gordon’s takeaways:

1. Allen puts on prime-time spectacular. Maybe it’s still way too early to engage in Most Valuable Player discussions. Just don’t tell the Bills Mafia, which chanted, “M-V-P! M-V-P” all Monday long as Josh Allen ran roughshod and took Buffalo along with him for a complete lambasting of the Jaguars. Easily one of the most impressive individual showings and team wins for a club this young season, the Bills burst from the gates and never looked back with Allen leading the whole way. On the opening drive of the “contest,” the Bills marched 70 yards in 10 plays with James Cook concluding it with a 6-yard touchdown run. It was the first of five first-half touchdown drives in as many chances for Buffalo. The last four all ended with Allen touchdown passes. Allen was 22-of-28 for 247 yards, four touchdowns, a 143.0 rating and 22 rushing yards — in the first half! Buffalo led, 34-3, at the half. There were 30 minutes of game time thereafter, but this one — a full-blown masterpiece from Allen — was done at the half. By this point, Allen and the undefeated Bills have shattered any perception that their Super Bowl window has closed.  
2. Bleak times for Jaguars. Through Jacksonville’s first two losses of the season, the Jaguars fell by a combined eight points. It was a bad start to the season, but they were in both ballgames. On Monday night, they were blown out from the kickoff on. The defense was walloped every which way and perhaps most problematic, at least from an optics standpoint, was the Trevor Lawrence-led offense couldn’t come close to keeping up with Josh Allen and Co. Though he got zero help, Lawrence was abysmal to the tune of 21-of-38 passing for 178 yards, a touchdown, an ugly interception and a 65.5 rating. The Jaguars have never made the playoffs after an 0-2 start, and since 1990, only four of 162 0-3 teams (2.5%) have made the postseason. These are not the best of times for Lawrence, once viewed as a generational talent who would transform the franchise, or the Jaguars, after a very unsettling Monday evening.
3. Hamlin is all the way back and then some. It was on a Monday night 630 days prior that Damar Hamlin endured one of the most frightening injuries in NFL history, suffering a cardiac arrest during a game against the Bengals. This Monday night was a celebration for Hamlin, as he hauled in his first career interception, nabbing a badly thrown Lawrence ball in the second quarter. In his return to the field during the 2023 season, Hamlin was rarely active and played in only five games with two tackles over the campaign. Now, he continues to be an inspiration, but he’s also become a crucial piece in the Bills defense, having started each game and posted 18 tackles so far to go with one monumental INT. Hamlin’s tale of perseverance has entered its most prosperous chapter on the field.
4. A tale of two supporting casts. Remember all the concern and ballyhoo regarding the Bills trading away Stefon Diggs? Well, 10 Bills caught passes on Monday, with Khalil Shakir (six catches for 72 yards and a touchdown on Monday) settling in as Allen’s top wide receiver target and James Cook (87 scrimmage yards, TD) emerging as the offense’s No. 2 weapon behind Allen. Since Allen has taken over under center, he’s never had a back who’s played a pivotal role like Cook. That’s a nod to Cook’s talents and offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s approach. Both have been crucial in Buffalo’s hot start. Just the opposite is the case for the Jaguars. Thanks to garbage time, Travis Etienne rushed past 60 yards for the first time this season, and the promising receiving trio of Christian Kirk, Brian Thomas Jr. and Gabe Davis has largely been a disappointment aside from some flash plays from the rookie first-rounder. Being without an injured Evan Engram was also notable. Heavy is the helmet that wears the crown, and so it goes that Lawrence and head coach Doug Pederson will need to answer for the tribulations, but the struggle bus is filled up with Jaguars.

Next Gen Stats Insight from Jaguars-Bills (via NFL Pro): In his first game lining up against Bills QB Josh Allen since changing his name from Josh Allen to Josh Hines-Allen, Hines-Allen had just one QB pressure and a 3.8% pressure rate.

NFL Research: The Jaguars have lost an NFL-worst eight straight games with Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, dating back to last season. The Jaguars QB has joined Jim Plunkett as the only quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall in the Common Draft Era to have multiple losing streaks of eight or more games in their career. Lawrence lost eight straight as a rookie in 2021.

Washington Commanders

2-1

AT

Cincinnati Bengals

0-3

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• RE-WATCH: Commanders-Bengals on NFL+
• READ: Daniels ‘prepared’ for moments like 3 TD prime-time debut
• READ: Burrow: ‘By no means is the season over’ after 0-3 start
• READ: CB Taylor-Britt doesn’t regret ‘college offense’ comment after loss

Nick Shook’s takeaways:

1. Football world, meet Jayden Daniels. When we look back on Jayden Daniels‘ career years from now, we’ll remember this night. Daniels put together a phenomenal performance, completing 21 of 23 passes (91%, the best in a single game by a rookie in NFL history) for 254 yards and two touchdowns, including his first career passing score, which was also the first thrown by a top-five pick to an offensive lineman in NFL history. He provided a sizeable threat in the running game, too, using his legs to keep drives alive on multiple occasions and finishing as Washington’s rushing leader with 39 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. He commanded the offense and the night for the Commanders, handling the moment with a maturity level that is rare to see from a rookie. His best moment came last, when he stood in the pocket and knew he was going to get clobbered, and launched a rainbow strike to Terry McLaurin anyway, hooking up with his best receiver for a decisive 27-yard touchdown. Washington hasn’t attracted a ton of eyeballs nationally, so folks might have missed Daniels’ encouraging start to his career, but make no mistake, Daniels has looked the part since his first preseason snaps. The rookie — who arrived to the NFL with plenty of collegiate experience earned at Arizona State and LSU — has delivered repeatedly, none more than on Monday night.
2. Missed opportunities sink Bengals. Cincinnati is now in a tough spot at 0-3, and only has itself to blame. The Bengals blew chances in an upset loss to the Patriots in Week 1, failed to put away the Chiefs in Week 2, and repeatedly came up short Monday night. It began with Evan McPherson‘s missed field goal early in the second quarter, continued with two drives that stalled inside Washington’s red zone, and by the time they found some consistency, the deficit was too great to overcome. Statistically, it’s a shame, because Joe Burrow put together a good night (29 for 38, 324 yards, three touchdowns), and the running game chipped in 124 yards to contribute to Cincinnati’s 436 yards of offense. But with the defense failing to get a single legitimate stop, it needed to be nearly perfect and simply weren’t. That’s the sign of a team that isn’t playing complementary football, and it’s a bad sign, even if it’s still early.
3. Cincinnati’s defense crumbles. Cam Taylor-Britt spouted off this week when asked about Washington’s offense, diminishing offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s scheme as a “nice college offense,” then ate his words when Terry McLaurin sped right past him for a big connection to set up a first-half score. That alone could define the night for the Bengals, who repeatedly failed to counter whatever Kingsbury and Daniels cooked up for them. Washington went perfect in terms of drive conclusions, starting the game with three straight touchdown drives, adding a fourth after the half, tacking on a field goal and plunging a dagger into the hearts of the entire city of Cincinnati with an emphatic final score. In between, Cincinnati allowed Washington to convert five of nine third-down attempts, all three fourth-down attempts, and finish a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone. The Bengals pressured Daniels just seven times (21.9%), sacked him twice and allowed an average target separation of 4.1 yards. It felt as if the Bengals defense only had one truly positive moment — a Trey Hendrickson sack early in Washington’s dagger-plunging final touchdown drive — all night, and even that wasn’t enough. They aren’t getting home, and they’re not covering well enough, either, to get the job done. Lou Anarumo is a rightfully respected defensive coordinator, but he clearly has his work cut out for him after losing three games in different fashions. This one hurts the most.
4. McLaurin establishes connection with rookie QB. After two weeks, much of the conversation regarding Washington’s offense was Terry McLaurin’s apparent absence from the game plan. Through two games, he’d caught just eight passes for 39 yards, seemingly excluding Daniels’ most important weapon. That changed Monday night, because McLaurin and Daniels finally connected for some huge plays, starting with a 55-yard strike to set up a 4-yard Daniels rushing score, which came only after Daniels missed an open McLaurin for what would have been a touchdown. The biggest play of the night came in the most important moment, with Daniels facing a third down and a likely Bengals blitz. His touchdown pass to McLaurin was fitting, capping a fantastic breakout showing for the pairing, and whetting the appetites of Commanders fans everywhere, who go to bed Monday night dreaming of what might be next.

Next Gen Stats Insight from Commanders-Bengals (via NFL Pro): Jayden Daniels’ 27-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin had a completion probability of 10.3%, the most improbable touchdown of the season, and the most improbable completion by the Commanders in the NGS era (since 2016).

NFL Research: Jayden Daniels’ Week 3 completion percentage (91 percent) is the highest recorded by a rookie quarterback in a single game in NFL history, minimum 20 attempts.