The Buffalo Bills host the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3 on Monday Night Football and the home team will be without two key defenders for this key AFC matchup.
“[Linebacker] Terrel Bernard and [slot cornerback] Taron Johnson are out for Monday’s game,” the Bills reported on their social media feed on Saturday.
Losing Bernard (pectoral) and Johnson (forearm) for the Bills Week 3 Monday Night Football tilt against the Jaguars is a tough pill to swallow on a defense that has been playing exceptionally well even without its best player, linebacker Matt Milano, who is currently on IR with a torn biceps.
Despite the injuries, the Buffalo D is still playing well. The unit is T-7 in points allowed (38) through two games.
The Bills have struggled against the Jaguars of late
![Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17)] throws the ball under pressure from Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi (94) during the first half of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.](https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Josh-Allen-2.jpg)
While the Bills have been one of the best teams in the AFC over the last several seasons, they have had their struggles against other top teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and their biggest rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs. However, some of their strangest struggles have come against the Jaguars.
Last season, the Bills were riding high at 3-1 when they headed to London to play the Jags. A 25-20 Jags win — as the Bills lost LB Matt Milano for the first time — started a stretch where the team went 3-5 leading into their bye. In 2021, the Bills were 5-2 when they traveled to Duval County before they lost one of the strangest games of the Josh Allen Era, 9-6. That L kicked off a 2-4 stretch for Buffalo.
Ahead of the 2024 contest, the Bills come in at 2-0 with victories over the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins, while the Jaguars are 0-2 after losses to the Dolphins and Cleveland Browns. This is part of the Jaguars’ 1-7 record in their last eight games and Lawrence’s 0-7 mark as he missed the team’s lone win in that stretch with an injury.
Despite the rough record of late, the Jaguars always seem to give the Bills problems, and there is a good chance that on Monday Night Football in Week 3 we will see more of the same, especially with the Terrel Bernard and Taron Johnson injuries.
This game is also of note for the Bills because longtime starting wide receiver Gabe Davis signed with the AFC South squad this offseason and will be making his return to Western New York.
