Buffalo got a win on Monday Night Football in front of their home crowd this week in explosive fashion.
The Bills racked up a 47-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in a contest that frequently featured highlights and a number of firsts for players, including rookie Keon Coleman’s first touchdown reception.
Keon Coleman's first career TD!
đź“ş: #JAXvsBUF on ESPN
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The No. 33 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft took the field while the Buffalo offense was eight plays in on its third drive of the game to start the second quarter. It would mark his only catch of the night, but he made it count.
Bills QB Josh Allen found Coleman downfield for a 24-yard catch that the first-year receiver then shook off a defender to take the ball into the end zone, scoring the first touchdown of his career.
“Great play-call by [OC] Joe [Brady],” Coleman said to the media postgame about the play. “Me and [receivers coach] Adam [Henry] watched film on that, came to fruition. Deep crosser, got outside leverage, man, and just beat him to the spot.”
Through three games in OC Joe Brady’s “everybody eats” offense, Coleman has five receptions for 75 yards and the score and has been fourth on the team in receiving yards and fifth in receptions.
After the game, he shared that the first touchdown in front of the home crowd and on a national stage met his expectations completely.
In terms of playing time, he has seen a position-high 73% of the team’s offensive snaps in Week 1 and 91% of their snaps in Week 2, making him the most utilized receiver during that period. Yet during Monday Night Football in Week 3, he only played 20 snaps (31%.)
Part of the reason was a first-quarter benching due to an unexcused non-gameday tardiness.
“I’ll mention Keon’s situation, I sat Keon for the first quarter of the game,” McDermott said during the opening of his press conference after the win. “It will be a learning opportunity for him. Really, it was an issue that dealt with being on time. He knows he’s accountable to his teammates. We addressed it. We support him, and we move forward. I thought he played a good game tonight, had that, I think it was one catch for a touchdown there, so that was good to see.”
However, his head coach was confident in how the rookie was handling the situation, both on and off the field.
“I’m just very impressed with the way Keon handled it and then to go back out there in the second quarter, I think it was the second quarter when he caught the touchdown pass. I know how important his teammates are to him, and again, this will be a learning opportunity for him.”
The Bills offense has been rolling in three straight victories to start the season, and the team’s defense has returned to form under McDermott as well to help get those wins.
Next, Buffalo will face one of the first tests of their 2024 campaign, in consecutive road games against the Ravens, Texans, and Jets.
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