Buffalo Bills vs Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 keys to the game

Oct 18, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; side judge Tom Hill (97) listens as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley complains about a call during the second half of a football game at EverBank Field. Houston won 31-20. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

The Jacksonville Jaguars limp into week seven of the regular season after letting the last three games slip through their paws. The frustration level is pretty high for this team because you could make an argument that they should have at least three wins heading into this game. In terms of their victories, the Jaguars find themselves in a situation similar to last year, the team entered the last season’s bye week with only one win but this year was supposed to be different. Sadly for Jaguars fans it isn’t much different, this team still struggles to close out games and it could lead them to another top five draft pick.

Going back to last week’s game, the Jaguars defense is clearly a long way from where it needs to be. Davon House was torched by DeAndre Hopkins several times and the Jaguars pass rush made little to no impact. The biggest positive from last weeks game has to be the play of Julius Thomas, he provided a much needed spark from the tight end position and it seems that the connection between him and Blake Bortles will only get better with time.

Moving on to this weeks matchup against Buffalo, the Jaguars are facing one of the more aggressive defenses in the league. The Bills are ranked as a top five run defense and they have the eighth most interceptions in the league. With Buffalo’s run defense being one of the best in the league, it’s probably safe to say that the Jaguars will lean on their passing attack since they have been unable to establish the run. If that is indeed the case then the first key to a Jacksonville Jaguars victory is an easy one.

1. Win the turnover battle

Let’s go back to last week’s loss against Houston, one of the biggest reasons why the Jaguars were unable to get a victory in this game was because they had three turnovers compared to Houston’s zero. The Texans did a good job of limiting the Jaguars rushing attack early in the game so it led to Blake Bortles throwing the ball 53 times. When you force a young quarterback to throw that many times in a game while he is constantly being rushed by opposing defensive lineman then it’s not a surprise the interceptions occurred.

The Jaguars are tied for second to last in the league in turnover margin with -6 and if that number doesn’t improve then the Jaguars could suffer their sixth loss of the season. Flipping sides to Buffalo, they have done much better in the turnover department as they have eight highest turnover differential in the league. Over the last couple years, the Jaguars have ranked near the bottom of the league in turnovers and if they want to end their losing streak then they will have to step up in that department.

Next: Pressure EJ Manuel