Monday Night Football doubleheader – Latest updates
We’ve got a doubleheader for Monday Night Football as the Buffalo Bills host the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals host the Washington Commanders. Follow updates from both games below.
- Jaguars-Bills is airing on ESPN
- Commanders-Bengals is airing on ABC
- Streaming: Fubo (try for free)
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Amarius Mims makes NFL debut
Bengals RT Trent Brown is being carted off the field with an injury. First-round pick Amarius Mims makes his debut as a result.
Mims is active for the first time tonight after recovering from a strained pectoral muscle. It looks like there won’t be much easing him in at right tackle.
Nightmare for Jaguars
It’s not snowing in Buffalo, but it might as well be as the Jaguars are being swept away in an avalanche.
Jacksonville trails 34-3 at halftime and looks completely overmatched. Its offense has managed just 70 yards on five drives. Its defense has surrendered 288 yards and five touchdowns on five drives. Barring a historic comeback, this game is over. It’s just a matter of how much Jacksonville will lose by and how long each teams’ starters will remain in the game.
It’s actually hard to believe Bills star Josh Allen, who is 22-of-28 passing for four touchdowns, doesn’t have a perfect passer rating (143.0). Meanwhile, Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence is 10-of-22 passing for 59 yards against one interception (with a 33.5 passer rating).
Ekeler is alive and well
This just in: Contrary to reports, Austin Ekeler is not cooked. It’s true he struggled last season with the Chargers, but the running back has been a hit with Washington thanks to plays like his 24-yard touchdown run that put the underdogs up 14-7 a few minutes ago. The 5-foot-9 Ekeler slipped through a crack at the line and blasted toward the left corner of the end zone.
Two-plus games into the season and he looks like an absolute steal.
Running clock in the second half?
HT Jaguars 3-34 Bills
The Cowboys reminded everyone Sunday that an NFL game doesn’t conclude until at least 60 minutes have elapsed. The Jaguars must do likewise and maximize every moment of the second half to crawl back against the scalding-hot Bills and avoid starting the year 0-3.
Josh Allen is 22-of-28 for 247 yards and four touchdowns and leads both teams with 22 yards rushing. In fact, he has rushed for 3 more yards than the entire Jaguars roster. Allen has connected with nine targets already. Highmark Stadium has been chanting “M-V-P!” a lot.
Bills score fifth first-half touchdown
Q2 Jaguars 3-34 Bills
This is getting ugly. The Bills have now scored a touchdown on five straight drives to open the game. This latest one came on a 16-yard pass from Allen to Johnson.
Five different players have scored touchdowns for Buffalo already. Allen has four TD passes.
Ekeler touchdown gives Commanders lead over Bengals!
Q2 Commanders 14-7 Bengals
The Commanders capitalize on McPherson’s missed field goal by ripping off a seven-play, 62-yard touchdown drive capped by Ekeler scampering into the end zone from 24 yards out!
Jaguars can’t get anything going
The Jaguars can’t do anything right, proven by tight end Brenton Strange dropping a wide-open pass and then quarterback Trevor Lawrence being sacked on the very next play to force a punt.
Buffalo leads 27-3 and has a chance to put even more points on the board with just over a minute left in the first half.
Josh Allen could take over first place in fantasy QB scoring
Josh Allen is having a fantastic night in fantasy football, scoring 22.52 points late in the second quarter in the Bills’ rout of the Jaguars. That gives Allen 21.15-points per game this season, which is 1.34 points per game behind Lamar Jackson’s league leading 22.49-point pace. That means Allen needs roughly four more points to take over the league lead in fantasy QB scoring.
Commanders hanging with Bengals
Washington’s defense held Cincinnati to a field-goal opportunity at the end of the quarter, and Evan McPherson missed from 47 yards.
Jayden Daniels and the offense now have a chance to take a lead and steal some momentum. Daniels looks comfortable on the national stage, which isn’t surprising based on the rookie’s demeanor all summer and the opening two games. Staying out of second- and third-and-long eases the stress. Getting any pass rush on Burrow would do the same for the defense.
Khalil Shakir has been a revelation for the Bills since the middle of the 2023 season, and now he very well could wind up being their leading receiver in 2024. Shakir has become a go-to for quarterback Josh Allen through the first few weeks, and now he is exploiting a plus-matchup for a huge first half. His second-quarter touchdown catch helped put the Bills up comfortably at 27-3. Shakir is already up to 64 yards on five catches.
End first quarter: Bengals 7, Commanders 7
Both offenses have started fast which isn’t surprising for Cincinnati as they move into Washington territory for the second straight drive, but the Bengals’ defense posted a concerning effort on its first drive. They missed a tackle, were pushed around in the run game at times and allowed an explosive throw to Luke McCaffrey on fourth down. If they’re worried about the run defense holding up, there were a few moments of hope, but on the whole the Commanders were moving the line too easily. That’s a trend to keep an eye on as the game unfolds.
Meanwhile, Evan McPherson just missed a 47-yard field goal to yield no points on the drive. McPherson didn’t miss a single kick (PAT/FG) inside 50 yards last season, but has two so far this year.
Robinson and Ekeler getting action
Washington’s running back tandem of Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler has led the offense through two games. Rather than have one spell the other, the Commanders opened their first drive with both on the field flanking Jayden Daniels. The move worked with Ekeler gaining 30 yards, Robinson scoring a goal-line touchdown and Daniels completing all three of his passes.
This is looking like a shootout so Washington will need to keep feeding – and playing the backs.
Bills extend lead
Q2 Jaguars 3-27 Bills
Four Bills drives, four Bills touchdowns. Buffalo makes the Jaguars pay following Lawrence’s interception as Allen hits Shakir for a 27-yard score, his third touchdown pass of the game.
Commanders weak at cornerback
The Commanders’ defensive weakness is cornerback and by a wide margin over all other groups. Having rookie slot CB Mike Sainristil trying to cover Ja’Marr Chase on the opening 41-yard touchdown is a baffling choice and yet an understandable risk based on their other options. Benjamin St-Juste is the lone credible outside starter and the Bengals have two standout receivers.
The Damar Hamlin interception has turned the betting odds even more in favor of the Bills, as Buffalo is now a 20.5-point favorite in live in-game betting at BetMGM.
Damar Hamlin’s first career interception
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence was just picked off by Bills safety Damar Hamlin, and Jacksonville is reeling. That was only Lawrence’s first interception of the year, but it comes at an extremely bad time on a really bad throw. Rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. was open, but Lawrence simply airmailed the ball over Thomas’ head into Hamlin’s lap.
The Bills take over at their own 40-yard line with a chance to extend their 20-3 lead.
Commanders respond with touchdown to level score
Q1 Commanders 7-7 Bengals
The Commanders march 70 yards down the field, picking up a key fourth-down conversion as Daniels hit McCaffrey for 30 yards, before Robinson punches it in from the 1-yard line.
Bills dominating Jaguars so far
The Bills are bulldozing the Jaguars. There’s no other way to put it. Three possessions, three touchdowns and 208 yards of offense. Jacksonville’s defense has been nonexistent, and if this game continues like this, there will a lot of tough questions hanging over Duval County. This is not a good football team at the moment, no matter how much you squint.
The story is originally posted on nytimes.com