Jaguars have golden opportunity against ailing Bills; Jaguars vs. Bills preview
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a hard team to figure out at this point. After getting hammered by the Chargers and Eagles in back-to-back weeks, they played a hard-fought game and scored the dramatic 31-28 victory over the Indianapolis Colts last week. Their
offence came to life and they have a struggling defence coming up this week. The Buffalo Bills are what they are and the only upside for them is that they’re at home.
The Jaguars were able to light up the Colts’ defence last week, as Davis Garrard avoided turnovers and Maurice Jones-Drew was clutch in the victory. Speaking of clutch, Josh Scobee booted a 59-yard field goal to give the Jaguars their last-second victory.
David Garrard is inconsistent as a quarterback and he hasn’t been able to play well over a stretch. Jones-Drew is still the Jaguars’ biggest threat so expect him to get many touches against a Bills defence that has allowed over 30 points in their past three
games. Jones-Drew has also scored a touchdown against the Bills in four consecutive games so expect him to keep getting carries.
The Bills’ biggest problem is their pass-rush or lack thereof. The Bills are not able to pressure quarterbacks and that’s not good news when Garrard’s weakness is facing pressure. Garrard will have time to throw and that will help him avoid throwing interceptions.
Look for him to look to Marcedes Lewis and Jones-Drew as his go-to targets.
The Bills’ secondary has been respectable, ranking 12th in the league in passing yards allowed. Unfortunately the Jaguars’ strength is running the ball and the Bills are ranked dead last against the run, allowing 174 yards per game. The Bills are also last
in points allowed with 31.2. If the Jaguars offence is anywhere near as good as last week, this one could be over in a hurry.
The Bills’ offence has shown some improvement with the courageous efforts of Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, but that still hasn’t led to success. The main problems have been the lack of a running game, poor pass protection and receivers’ dropping passes.
That makes life hard for any quarterback especially one that’s been a career backup. As hard as Fitzpatrick’s trying, he’s not the most talented pivot in the league and he needs some help. The Bills are still last in passing yards and total yards. They are
also 28th in the league, scoring just 15.2 points per game.
The Bills traded Marshawn Lynch this week, meaning Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller will share carries. The Bills need Spiller to get going but the offensive line will have to open up some holes for him.
The Jaguars’ defence has been their weakness, allowing 27.8 points per game, 404 total yards per game and 303 passing yards per game, ranking 30th in the league in each category. It’s a good thing the Bills’ offence doesn’t pose much of a threat.
The Jaguars by all means should win this game. Buffalo is not good enough to exploit Jacksonville’s weaknesses and the Jaguars are a better team than they’re given credit for.
Look for a relatively close game with the Jaguars eventually pulling away in the fourth quarter.
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