‘MNF’ takeaways: Josh Allen cements himself as MVP front-runner during Bills’ rout of Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills cruised past the winless Jacksonville Jaguars to remain undefeated en route to a commanding 47-10 home victory on “Monday Night Football.”

Here are four of the biggest takeaways from Buffalo’s dominant win. 

This could be the year Bills QB Josh Allen finally wins the MVP Award

After finishing in the top five of MVP balloting in three of the last four seasons, this could be the year Allen finally takes home the award. During Monday’s thrashing of the Jaguars, the two-time Pro Bowler solidified himself as the early MVP front-runner, finishing 23-of-30 passing for 263 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 44 yards on six carries.

Additionally, Allen led the Bills on five consecutive touchdown-scoring drives on the team’s first five possessions to begin the game.

Through three games, Allen has completed 75% of his passes for 634 yards and seven touchdowns while posting an NFL-high 133.7 passer rating and adding 85 yards and two scores on the ground. The 28-year-old ranks second in the league in passing touchdowns (seven) and first among QBs in total TDs (nine).

As long as Allen and the Bills can continue to maintain their momentum, he could end up being the unanimous MVP. 

Buffalo has looked like the NFL’s most complete team to begin the regular season

Despite cutting ties with several long-time contributors this past offseason due to salary cap constraints, the Bills have been on a roll to begin 2024, and they’re beating teams in many different ways. Over their last 10 quarters, the Bills have outscored their opponents 102-31, with seemingly every player playing a part in the team’s success.

After the defense propelled Buffalo to victory in Week 2, Allen and the offense broke out on Monday, with six different players scoring touchdowns. Buffalo’s defense obviously was outstanding as well, but the unit’s performance is even more impressive, given that CB Taron Johnson and LBs Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano were out with injuries.

With the way things are going, Buffalo is not only well-positioned to win its fifth consecutive AFC East title, but it may be the team with the best chance of preventing a Kansas City Chiefs three-peat. 

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence hasn’t lived up to the hype…

Lawrence, who has now lost his last eight consecutive starts dating back to last season, simply hasn’t lived up to the “generational prospect” billing he earned during his pre-draft process. Although having Urban Meyer as his head coach during his rookie year didn’t do him any favors, Lawrence has struggled with inconsistency throughout his career and has regressed since putting together a solid 2022 season.

The 2021 No. 1 overall pick’s inconsistencies were on display in Monday’s humiliating loss to Buffalo, as he completed 21 of his 38 passes for just 178 yards, one touchdown and an interception. The interception was particularly concerning, considering Lawrence overthrew a wide-open Brian Thomas Jr. for what would’ve been a critical first down conversion with Jacksonville trailing 20-3 at the time.

As things stand, Lawrence will probably never live up to being a Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck-type talent like he was compared to during the draft, but he doesn’t need to be to turn his career around. He must, however, prove he can be a top 10 starting quarterback in the NFL, or Jacksonville will quickly regret signing him to a five-year, $275M deal this past offseason. 

…But he’s far from Jacksonville’s biggest problem

There might not be a coach on a hotter seat entering Week 4 than Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson (although Dallas’ Mike McCarthy might have something to say about that). Since being hired in 2022, Pederson has coached the Jaguars to an 18-19 record, including the playoffs, and he’s on track to miss the postseason for the second consecutive year.

The Jaguars have looked flat to begin each of their last two games on both sides of the ball, which undoubtedly falls on Pederson and his staff. OC Press Taylor’s scheme isn’t creative and the offense lacks a true identity as a result. Meanwhile, DC Ryan Nielsen’s unit is regressing with each passing week and failed to collect a sack on Monday. 

As Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio pointed out, Jaguars owner Shad Khan told reporters last month that “Winning now is the expectation. . . . Make no mistake, this is the best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars, ever.”

If winning truly is the expectation in Duval County, Khan should seriously consider making changes to his coaching staff.