The Jacksonville Jaguars entered Monday night trailing 2-0 and were in desperate need of a win and a statement against the Buffalo Bills.

Instead, they delivered the nadir of the Trevor Lawrence era with a 47-10 defeat under the lights of “Monday Night Football.”

Josh Allen led the Bills on touchdown drives on each of their five first-half possessions. The Jaguars, meanwhile, were impotent on offense en route to three first-half points.

They finally found the end zone on the opening drive of the third quarter. By then, the game was over. There was no miraculous comeback. The game and its final result were a microcosm of two teams — and two careers — going in opposite directions.

Accounts start promising

The Bills are off to perhaps the strongest start in the NFL, posting a 3-0 record with 31-plus points scored in each of their first three games. Josh Allen has further established himself as one of the game’s best quarterbacks.

Allen made several key plays with his arm and feet on Monday, including extending a third-and-goal play under pressure before finding Dalton Kincaid in the back of the end zone for his second touchdown pass of the night.

He followed that up on Buffalo’s next drive with a 24-yard dart to Keon Coleman for the rookie receiver’s first NFL touchdown.

Allen finished the night completing 23 of 30 passes for 263 yards (8.3 yards per attempt) with four touchdowns and no turnovers. He added 44 yards on the ground on six carries. He did most of his damage in the first half.

Spiral continues for Jaguars, Trevor Lawrence

The Jaguars, meanwhile, are a team in jeopardy. Early last season, they seemed to have their act together with an 8-3 start that put them within reach of the AFC’s No. 1 seed. They then lost five of their last six games to finish 9-8 and fall out of the playoffs.

Things have only gotten worse in 2024. Jacksonville blew a 10-point lead in a Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins, then lost to the now 1-2 Cleveland Browns in Week 2. And now there’s Monday night’s disaster.

After going three-and-out on their first drive to give the Bills a 13-0 lead, the Jaguars were already in desperation mode on their second possession. They went for it on fourth-and-1 at their own 39-yard line. They converted and eventually kicked a field goal to cut Buffalo’s lead to 10.

After another Bills touchdown, the Jaguars went for it again on fourth-and-1 inside their own 40 on their next possession. They converted again, but the drive did not end with points. Instead, it ended with an interception on a poorly thrown ball by Lawrence on first down. Lawrence overthrew rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. on a deep ball and instead found Bills safety Damar Hamlin.

The Jaguars’ next possession ended with a punt after three yards. They ended their final possession of the half on downs, giving the Bills a 34-3 lead into halftime.

Allen scored four touchdowns in the first half, the most on “Monday Night Football” since Ben Roethlisberger in 2007. Lawrence countered with 59 first-half yards and an interception.

The second half was a formality. Lawrence led a 70-yard touchdown drive to cut Buffalo’s lead to 34-10. But that was the closest Jacksonville would come, as the Bills scored the final 13 points of the game.

Lawrence finished the night completing 21 of 38 passes for 178 yards (4.7 yards per attempt) with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked four times for a loss of 36 yards.

This isn’t how it was supposed to play out when the Jaguars drafted Lawrence as a can’t-miss prospect with the No. 1 pick of the 2021 Draft. They signed the QB to a five-year, $275 million contract this past offseason. Lawrence has made one Pro Bowl since that draft but has largely failed to make it. On Monday, Lawrence was outclassed and outplayed by a quarterback in Allen who is following a career path that was expected of him.

This isn’t meant to be a Jaguars team in transition, either. Take it from owner Shad Khan, who laid out his expectations in no uncertain terms ahead of Jacksonville’s season opener.

Three weeks into the season, there is no win in Jacksonville. Things won’t get any easier in a Week 4 matchup against CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans.