Jacksonville Jaguars vs Buffalo Bills (BUF -5, 45.5)
NFL ODDS, NFL PREDICTIONS, NFL PREVIEWS
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Buffalo Bills
It’s been a tough start to the 2024 season for the Jacksonville Jaguars, quickly finding themselves 0-2 in games they either should have won, or were in a position to win. They collapsed against Miami in Week 1, a team that then struggled badly in Week 2, against the team Jacksonville is now about to face themselves.
The Jags offense is struggling, badly, unable to break the top 20 in any of the major offensive categories. Their 15 points a game puts them 27th, 295 yards per game 22nd, and woeful 26% on third down conversions 28th. On the plus side, the ground game has looked good, especially the service provided from Tank Bigsby when Travis Etienne has come out of the game. He had 6.1 yards per carry on 13 rushes in Week 1, but ended up without any reps on offense in Week 2 after a shoulder injury he suffered on special teams.
Jacksonville could potentially be without both Bigsby and Evan Engram for this one, and as it goes right now, they need all the help they can get to get this offense going.
The Buffalo Bills however, have proven us all wrong through two weeks of the season. A lot of noise came from the Stefon Diggs trade, and the absence of a true WR1 for Josh Allen, but right now, it doesn’t look like he needs one. Kahlil Shakir has stepped up in a major way, leading the team in both targets and receptions, but it's the ground game that looks really frightening for Buffalo in 2024.
James Cook is averaging 75 yards a game, and the consistency of the run game allows Josh Allen to find space and take off as a secondary option. Both Cook and Allen have two rushing touchdowns apiece so far, and the Bills two rushing touchdowns a game is good for second in the NFL.
As a collective offense they rank third in scoring (32.5 points per game), while also ranking fourth in red zone scoring (75%), and second in touchdowns per game (4).
By all accounts, it appears Buffalo are anything but struggling offensively, and their secondary did a superb job on Thursday Night Football in containing the Miami Dolphins weapons and taking the football away. They rank in the top five in passing yards allowed per attempt, and 8th in opposition points per game (18).
With the Jacksonville Jaguars struggling, and Buffalo hitting their stride early, it's the Bills going into this one as five point favorites. That said, I do believe the Jaguars front seven is one of the better units in the league when it comes to slowing the run, currently allowing just 3.8 rushing yards per attempt this season.
Both teams are 1-1 against the spread this year, while Jacksonville have cashed unders in both of their games, whereas the Bills have split 1-1 on over/unders in theirs.
Get free NFL Picks and NFL Predictions for the top games on the weekly 2024 NFL schedule from JA Cavalier, one of the industry's premier expert NFL handicappers. J.A. Cavalier has been bringing the NFL betting community the best NFL free picks and predictions for nearly three decades. Visit daily for the best NFL moneyline and run line odds and game totals.