Weather probably won't be of help for the Jaguars against the Bills in Week 3

The Jacksonville Jaguars will visit the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Week 3 of the 2024 NFL season. Still looking for their first win of the season, the Jags will have their work cut out. After all, the Bills have a high-powered offense and one of the best defenses in the league. To make matters worse, the weather could be a factor in the game.

Per NFLWeather, it will be 62 degrees Fahrenheit for kickoff on Monday Night Football. That's good news for Jacksonville when you take into account that it had to deal with the heat and humidity of South Florida the past two games. On the other hand, there's a 62 percent chance of precipitation, meaning that the likelihood of rain during the game will be relatively high.

If it rains, the Jaguars' offense will be limited. They won't be able to dial up many passes, especially long ones, and will need to lean on defense and their running game to beat Buffalo. The silver lining is that Jacksonville will tentatively get sophomore Tank Bigsby back after he exited the 18-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 with a shoulder injury. He was listed as limited on the injury report but should be good to go.

Back in the opener, Bigsby amassed 73 yards on 12 carries. Without him in Week 2, the Jags leaned on Travis Etienne, who had 13 carries for 52 yards with a touchdown. What makes their success more impressive is that they've been able to churn out yards even though the offensive line hasn't done a good job of opening holes up front.

Currently, the Jags rank 28th in the league in yards before contact per carry but are the top team when it comes to yards after contact.

It's also worth noting that as underwhelming as Lawrence has been the past two games, he has not yet had a turnover. Last year, he was responsible for 21. In Week 3, he'll need to make sound decisions and hold onto the football. This becomes especially important if it rains because the ball can get slippery.

Other factors besides the weather will have an impact on the Jaguars' ability to beat the Bills

This will be the first time Buffalo get to play the Jaguars in their home stadium since 2018. That year, they won 24-21. That was the first and last time they've beat them since Sean McDermott became their head coach. Their next encounter took place in 2021 and Jacksonville upset the Bills 9-6, which defensive tackle Ed Oliver calls weird. The last time these two clubs met was last season. Buffalo lost.

Travis Etienne had his best game of 2023, toting the rock 26 times for 136 yards with two touchdowns. On the other hand, Trevor Lawrence was 25-of-37 for 315 yards with one touchdown. Given that it may rain on Monday Night Football, the Jags will probably need Etienne to have another banner game.

Working in Jacksonville's favor is that the Bills haven't fared well against the run the past games, giving up 124 and 139 yards, respectively. Similarly, a rainy day could prevent Josh Allen from slinging the pigskin, so the Jags wouldn't be the only team at a disadvantage.

Ultimately, the Jags must put it all together if they don't want to fall to 0-3, rain or not.

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