2023 Jaguars vs. Bills: Slay or Bomb

A team stayed overseas for back-to-back weeks for the first time in NFL history. The next on the docket for London was the Jaguars vs. Bills. Coming off a gutsy win against the Atlanta Falcons, the Jaguars began seeing some turnaround in their season from veterans and young stars. The Jaguars were tested by a Buffalo Bills squad that had just thumped the seemingly unstoppable Miami Dolphins.

The Jaguars passed the test with flying colors, beating the Bills 25-20. A Bills team with a lot of positive momentum, and getting Von Miller back, seemed like a tough matchup for the Jaguars. But between a litany of injuries for the Bills on defense, and Trevor Lawrence finding his stride despite the performance of his offensive line, the Jaguars put together a performance just good enough to thwart the Buffalo Bills. Previewing this matchup seemed like a Bills victory was in store, but the Jaguars fought and won in a great matchup.

In the battle of the Josh Allen’s, Josh Allen came out on top, the Jaguars Josh Allen. Just like their previous matchup, Josh Allen had a lot of pressure and positive contributions on defense. Even including a terrible roughing the passer penalty, the Jaguars’ Josh Allen outperformed the Bills Josh Allen. While Josh Allen won the matchup, he saw a lot of his teammates have incredible days on both sides of the ball.

Every week, a look into who slayed or bombed can help get an idea of who was to blame for losses or praise for wins. Fortunately, with the Jaguars vs. Bills game, there’s a lot more praise going around than blame. A win that helps course correct the season for the Jaguars, and keeps them atop of the division. Let’s take a look at some of the slays and bombs from the Jaguars vs. Bills matchup for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jaguars vs. Bills: Slay

Calvin Ridley

Starting the extensive list of slays this week is Calvin Ridley, who managed to get back on track from his week one usage. In the Jaguars vs. Bills matchup, Calvin Ridley had two carries for 14 yards and seven catches on eight targets for 122 yards.

The yardage total is the highest of his Jaguars career and also came in pivotal moments for the Jaguars. Near the end of the game, Calvin Ridley was lined up out wide to the right on third down. Lawrence saw the coverage, cover zero, and checked to a new play, a deep shot to Ridley. Lawrence made an incredible throw, and Ridley beat the coverage.

A bounce-back performance for Ridley after a string of disappointing performances is a huge boost of confidence for the Jaguars offense. The Jaguars vs. Bills matchup set the stage for Ridley to find his groove again, and there’s a lot more confidence that Ridley can continue this stretch for the rest of the season.

Trevor Lawrence

The conductor of the Jaguars offense had an incredible day as well, with the only negatives coming in the form of two fumbles. Both were rough fumbles, but a lot of the blame for those lies with the offensive line, which will be discussed in the bomb section of this piece.

Getting back to the slay from Lawrence in the Jaguars vs. Bills game, Lawrence found a lot of success through the air, paired with a couple of nice gains on the ground. Against this impressive Bills defense, there was a lot of pressure on Lawrence to execute, and he did more than that. 25/37 for 315 yards and a touchdown.

The throw that Lawrence had to Ridley on third down was huge for the Jaguars, especially with Lawrence checking out of that play-call. He nearly missed a deep shot to Evan Engram, only if it weren’t for a great defensive play. Even with the lower touchdown numbers this year, Lawrence has been an incredible passer.

In the Jaguars vs. Bills game Lawrence continued his great season, despite the offensive lines’ best efforts to make things incredibly difficult.

Darious Williams

Darious Williams is enjoying the trip overseas, continuing his incredible hot streak from the Jaguars vs. Falcons matchup from a week prior. He earned a slay last week for his pick-six and incredible defense overall. Once again, Williams snagged an interception, this time against a much tougher matchup.

In coverage against Stefon Diggs and tracking a throw from Josh Allen, Darious Williams made an incredible high-point interception. A week after a clutch pick-six, Williams continues to show that he’s an incredible cornerback. Having a nose for the football is a great trait to have as a defensive back, and it’s even more apparent when the rest of the defensive backfield has been great.

Darious Williams has been a key cog in the Jaguars top of the top-of-the-line defense. A lot of improvement in this defense from last season, and Darious Williams is one of the main reasons why this defense played so well in the Jaguars vs. Bills matchup. While the pass rush hasn’t been quite what’s been hoped for, the defensive backs have allowed the pass rush to flourish.

Travis Etienne Jr.

The star of the show, and the “slay of the week” for the Jaguars vs. Bills game, is Travis Etienne Jr. One of the few areas that haven’t been clicking for the Jaguars offense has been the run game. While Etienne has been impressive in 2023, there hasn’t been a consistent run game that the Jaguars could use.

But, in the Jaguars vs. Bills matchup Travis Etienne Jr. showed that he’s deserving of being talked amongst the elite running backs in the NFL. Etienne is fifth in the NFL in rushing yards and is only four yards away from 400 yards on the season. Etienne was one of the breakout candidates at the beginning of the season, and so far he’s been more than on pace to break out as a top-flight running back.

However, there’s an issue that’s plaguing the Jaguars, and especially Travis Etienne Jr., and that’s the interior offensive line (sans Brandon Scherff who’s shown out in recent weeks). The offensive line is what is going to occupy the bomb section of the Jaguars vs. Bills matchup.

Jaguars vs. Bills: Bomb

Luke Fortner

Another rough week for Luke Fortner. He’s had a tough go at it in 2023, and this week is another such week where he bombed. There’s a telling stat that showcases how Fortner has struggled.

According to PFF, Luke Fortner has the lowest grade amongst centers for “True Pass Sets” which excludes plays with less than 4 rushers, screens, play action, short dropbacks, and throws made under 2 seconds. This is essentially every “regular” pass set. To be the lowest-graded center in the NFL in such situations is not a good sign. He’s also at the bottom in overall pass protection.

It doesn’t get much better for Fortner in the run game, with a bottom-ten run-blocking grade. He’s not the only interior offensive lineman who’s struggled either, and he’s somehow not the worst offensive lineman for the Jaguars from either the Jaguars vs. Bills matchup or the 2023 NFL season.

Tyler Shatley

That honor of worst offensive lineman goes to Tyler Shatley. He came into the Jaguars vs. Bills games as a backup but was forced to come into the game once Walker Little was injured. The drop-off was noticeable. While he wasn’t terrible at run-blocking, his pass-blocking was atrocious.

Shatley allowed two pressures, one hurry, and one quarterback hit. His PFF grade from this game was pretty bad as well, as he earned a putrid 9.7 pass-blocking grade. Single-digit grades are incredibly rare to come by, and Shatley earning a 9.7 puts him amongst the worst performances of the season for the Jaguars.

Similarly to Luke Fortner, Tyler Shatley is a bottom-ten-graded offensive guard according to PFF. It’s frustrating when the offensive line struggles, as it can completely stall an offense despite the efforts of the quarterback and the running back. Shatley will be expected to play more consistently while Walker Little recovers from an MCL injury.