Jaguars will need young defender to step up to have a shot at beating the Bills

The Jacksonville Jaguars suffered a massive hit when they placed cornerback Tyson Campbell on Injured Reserve with a hamstring injury. The fourth-year veteran will miss at least four games. The silver lining is that the Jags have an adequate replacement in Montaric Brown, who came through in the Week 2 loss to the Browns. And if they want to have a chance of beating the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, they'll need the former Arkansas Razorback to have another strong outing.

Brown played 69 snaps in Week 2. He had 11 total tackles and gave up eight receptions on 12 yards for 46 yards. Heading into Week 3, defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen shared praise for the third-year cornerback, pointing out that he's not surprised to see him succeed after putting together a strong offseason.

"Played really well. What a game. He was all over the place making tackles, tight coverage. He was everywhere. It was good to see, confidence," Nielsen told the media Friday. "You could see his confidence grow through the game. Confident in his abilities, press coverage, played some off, Cover 2. He was in the right spot. Really good game."

"Looked for him, he came into the building the last couple days, just the look on his face was really good. Continue to see that from him day in and day out. He does a great job of focusing on himself, his fundamentals and technique. It's how he practices, so it wasn't a surprise that he played like that because that's what we saw him do in camp and practice. We continue to see him get better."

Here's Nielsen talking about Brown's preparation. His remarks start at the 10:12 mark.

A seventh-round pick in last year's draft, Brown was also the team's top backup cornerback in 2023. His biggest play came on a game-winning pass defensed that helped the Jaguars beat the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football. He ended up playing 59 percent of the team's defensive snaps, registering four passes defensed and 34 receptions.

The Jaguars will need Montaric Brown and Ronald Darby to hold the fort

The Bills haven't had a 100-yard receiver in any of the first two games. Yet, they rank third in the league in points scored. Right now, their top wideout is Kalil Shakir, who's hauled in eight catches for 96 yards. Because he plays the slot, he'll line up against rookie Jarrian Jones, who'll fill in for Darnell Savage.

Savage was listed as questionable for the game. He had been dealing with a quad injury. A third-round pick in this year's draft, Jones logged 57 snaps at nickel in Week 2.

Rookie Keon Coleman is second on the Bills with 51 yards on four targets. Montaric Brown and Ronald Darby will need to hold their own against him and Mack Hollins if they want to slow down the Buffalo passing game.

The Jaguars are 0-2 and looking for their first win of the year in Week 3. If Montaric Brown has yet another strong outing, their chances will go up.

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