Jaguars vs. Bills: 4 fascinating things to know entering Week 3 matchup

The Week 3 Monday Night Football matchup between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars is one of two teams seemingly headed in vastly different directions in the 2024 NFL season. The Bills sit at 2-0 through two weeks and have shocked many national pundits who believed they were in a rebuild. Contrary to expectations of them being a playoff team, the Jaguars have commenced the season with a 0-2 record. They play in one of the league's tougher divisions and will undoubtedly come out swinging this week, hoping to avoid a 0-3 start.

With that, here are four fascinating pieces of information about the history of Buffalo vs. Jacksonville matchup.

The Jaguars won the first meeting against the Bills in 1996

#OTD in 1996 it's the final game ever for Buffalo Bill greats Jim Kelly and Kent Hull as they drop a stunner playoff game, 30-27 to the Jacksonville Jaguars pic.twitter.com/WEwMtFxqvR
— ThisDateInBuffaloSportsHistory (@BuffSportsHstry) December 28, 2023

The Bills' first matchup with the Jaguars came in a Wild Card round playoff clash in 1996, the latter club's second year of existence. Jacksonville won that first meeting and advanced to the AFC Divisional Round game, despite a 9-7 record. They triumphed over the Bills with a score of 30-7 and then proceeded to defeat the AFC's top seed, the Denver Broncos, the following week by an identical score. The game featured Bills greats Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith.

Jim Kelly's final game was against the Jacksonville Jaguars

As mentioned, the first head-to-head between the Jaguars and Bills was in 1996, which also happens to be Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly's last NFL game. Kelly played his final game in front of a home crowd, completing 21 of 32 passes for 239 yards, one touchdown, and an interception. Fittingly, his last career touchdown was to another Bills legend, Thurman Thomas.

Bills/Jaguars have been historically close games

Buffalo Bills Jacksonville Jaguars — Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Bills have faced the Jaguars 19 times throughout their history and a whopping 15 of those games were decided by one score or less, including the last seven, with the Bills going 1-3 in their last four meetings. The average margin of victory in the 19 meetings is 6.8 and each team has scored 394 total points.

Bills/Jaguars QB comparison

Josh Allen has faced the Jaguars three times in his career and Trevor Lawrence has seen the Bills twice, with the Jags winning both games with their franchise signal-caller under center. Allen has completed a little over 62 percent of his passes, with 783 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions against Jacksonville. In all three encounters, Allen topped the rushing charts for the Bills, with just 14 yards in last season's clash. Lawrence has completed over 63 percent of his passes and has 433 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions against Buffalo. He also has a combined 35 yards rushing. Most of Lawrence's numbers stem from last season's meeting, with 315 yards, one touchdown, and 31 yards rushing.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —

More Buffalo Bills News:

Bills express confidence in Tyler Bass despite working out two kickers

Bills HC Sean McDermott expresses confidence in Baylon Spector as starting MLB

What analytics say about Bills' top-tier offensive line entering Week 3

Bills RB James Cook earns national recognition for stellar Week 2 outing

All-Pro DB, starting MLB ruled out for Bills’ Week 3 clash with Jaguars