Five Buffalo Bills to watch vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills are flying high at 2-0 heading into their second home game of the 2024 NFL season. The Jacksonville Jaguars come to town at 0-2 and underperforming on offense. However, the NFL is a week-to-week league, so past results certainly don't guarantee future successes.

The Bills have seen players all over their roster step up and play well when called upon, whether it's star quarterbacks, reserve linebackers, or up-and-coming stud skill-position guys. If they want to go to 3-0 for the first time since the 2020 season, they'll need their early season strengths to continue.

Here are our five players to watch during Week 3.

RB James Cook It's hard to write about different players each week — and sometimes I'll avoid people on purpose — but in the case of Cook, it's hard to ignore him with the start he's had. Buffalo has had tremendous success running the football, both due to the fact that they've actually stuck with it and that they've been able to clear space for their running backs.

Cook has 30 carries for 149 yards and two scores, and he's also caught four passes for 49 yards and another touchdown. Every time he touches the football, Cook's capable of scoring a touchdown. Between Cook's vision and his speed, he's quickly developed into an elite weapon for the Bills to utilize next to quarterback Josh Allen.

Jacksonville has allowed 206 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns so far this year, but opposing backs are averaging just 3.8 yards per rush. The Jaguars can't really commit to stacking the box, because if they do, they still have Allen to deal with. But they also can't let Cook run rampant.

Buffalo's new-look offense is putting teams in a bind. The Jaguars will need to find a way to slow Cook down in order to win on Monday night.

WR Khalil Shakir There's been plenty of talk about Buffalo having their "man-beaters" ready, but all that discussion has gone towards players like tight end Dalton Kincaid, plus wide receivers Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. As usual with this receiving group, not enough attention has been paid to wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who possesses the ability to run all sorts of routes to create space for himself at multiple levels of the field.

Shakir leads the team in targets (8), catches (8), receiving yards (96), and receiving touchdowns (1). I believe he's going to come up big this week, too, as the Bills can put him anywhere on the field in confidence that he'll make a play.

DE Greg Rousseau How good is this guy? He wreaked absolute havoc on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, notching six tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble in the win. He had four more tackles last Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins , as he continues to prove that he's not only an exceptional pass rusher, but also an excellent run stuffer and edge-setter at defensive end.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence can extend plays with his legs, but he isn't really a runner. Making Lawrence move off his platform while remaining contained will be a big part of bottling Jacksonville's potentially potent offense.

LB Baylon Spector Next man up. With linebacker Terrel Bernard out for the week, head coach Sean McDermott named Baylon Spector the starter. He'll start next to linebacker Dorian Williams, so it'll be a pair of reserves manning the middle level of Buffalo's defense.

Spector has limitations in coverage, but with tight end Evan Engram looking like he'll miss the game, the biggest headache will likely be running back Travis Etienne, Jr., who's a more-than-adequate receiver. Spector played most of the game last week against Miami, accounting for 10 tackles on 62 defensive snaps. He'll need a similarly solid performance this week to keep the Bills' defense on track.

CB Ja'Marcus Ingram What will he do for an encore? As the dime back, Ingram has been wildly successful so far this season. Ingram stepped in when nickel cornerback Taron Johnson injured his forearm early in the Bills' first game of the season.

All Ingram's done since then is come up with two interceptions, including a pick-six, through two games. The Jaguars have some bigger receivers in Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas, Jr., and Ingram is one of the Bills' bigger corners. Ingram might be a big part of containing a Jacksonville passing attack that has yet to find its stride, but has plenty of talent.