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By Shawn Clarke, Contributing NFL Editor

(Sports Network) - The Jacksonville Jaguars will try to get a win and their touted running game in order behind a patched-up offensive line on Sunday, when the Buffalo Bills pay a visit to Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

Jacksonville's interior offensive front is depleted after injuries to center Brad Meester and guards Vince Manuwai and Maurice Williams. Meester was already out with a biceps injury, while Manuwai landed on injured reserve due to a knee injury suffered in Sunday's 17-10 season-opening loss to the AFC South-rival Tennessee Titans at LP Field last Sunday. Williams was also placed on IR this week after he tore his biceps during the Tennessee game.

Uche Nwaneri and Tutan Reyes will take over as starters for the Jaguars, who recently picked up guard Milford Brown and tackle Chad Slaughter for depth on the offensive line. Nwaneri also went down with a knee problem in Week 1, but should be ready to go for Sunday's home opener.

Jacksonville's line was already banged up without reserve tackle Richard Collier, who remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds suffered a few days prior to the season opener.

Jags quarterback David Garrard was sacked seven times against the Titans and threw a pair of interceptions, while running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor combined for just 31 yards on 14 carries.

The running attack was Jacksonville's bread and butter a year ago, and will face another test versus Buffalo's tough defense. Former Jacksonville defensive tackle Marcus Stroud is set to play his first game against the Jaguars after they traded him to Buffalo in the offseason.

Stroud, who posted eight tackles and a half-sack in his Buffalo debut, will either feast or famine against an interior offensive line starting three reserve players. He will also try to help the Bills to their first 2-0 start since the 2003 season after the club opened its 2008 campaign with a 34-10 rout of the Seattle Seahawks at Ralph Wilson Stadium last Sunday.

Quarterback Trent Edwards enjoyed a solid game by throwing for 215 yards and a touchdown, while running back Marshawn Lynch seemed to be in mid-season form by gaining 76 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries for the Bills.

Lynch is well aware that Jacksonville struggled in defending the run last week, when the Titans were able to rush for 137 yards against the Jaguars' vaunted run defense. Lynch has rushed for at least 60 yards in all 14 games he has played in since the Bills made him a 2007 first-round draft choice out of the University of California. O.J. Simpson holds the franchise record with 16 straight games of 60 yards or more.

Expect Lynch, the heart and soul of the Buffalo offense, to come within a game of Simpson when he collides with Jacksonville's spotty run defense.

The Jaguars, who own the third-toughest schedule in the NFL, have won nine of their last 10 games outside the AFC South division, including five in a row.

SERIES HISTORY

The Bills lead the all-time regular season series with the Jaguars, 4-3, but were 36-14 road losers when the teams met in Week 12 of last season. Buffalo won the previous meeting, a 27-24 affair at Ralph Wilson Stadium in 2006. The Bills are 2-1 in Jacksonville all-time, winning there in 2001 and 2003.

The Jaguars were 30-27 road victors in the only postseason tilt between the teams, which came in a 1996 AFC First-Round Playoff.

Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio is 2-2 against Buffalo in his head coaching career. The Bills' Dick Jauron is 2-1 all-time against Jacksonville, including a win for his Bears during the 2001 season, and is 1-1 head-to-head with Del Rio.

WHEN THE BILLS HAVE THE BALL

Edwards (215 passing yards, 1 TD) recorded a passer rating of 95.8 in the win over the Seahawks. It was the highest for a Buffalo quarterback since Jim Kelly posted a rating of 119.8 on September 7, 1986. The Bills are 4-0 when Edwards has a rating over 80, and the former Stanford star is 6-4 as a starter for his career. His favorite target, wide receiver Lee Evans, finished with 102 yards on four catches. Evans, who has started 27 consecutive regular season games -- the fourth-longest active streak in the NFL for a wideout -- has 10 career games of 100 receiving yards or more. He needs 171 receiving yards to reach 4,000 in his career. If Evans hits the mark this week, he will become the fastest Bills receiver to reach the mark. Tight end Robert Royal (6 receptions, 52 yards, 1 TD) chipped in for the Bills, but wideout/return man Roscoe Parrish made all the highlight reels with his exciting 63-yard punt return for a score. Josh Reed (3 receptions, 37 yards in Week 1) is another weapon for Edwards and the Bills, who will take on a Jaguars secondary that allowed 156 yards through the air against Tennessee. Bills rookie receiver James Hardy saw action on Sunday but did not record any catches.

Jacksonville's pass defense held its own last Sunday, but the team got hammered in defending the run. Reserve safety Gerald Sensabaugh and rookie defensive end Derrick Harvey both picked off Tennessee quarterback Vince Young, while free safety Brian Williams led the way with eight tackles. Williams did not miss a snap against the Titans. Cornerbacks Rashean Mathis (3 tackles) and Drayton Florence (4 tackles) will have the home crowd in their corner when they face the challenge in stopping Evans, Reed and Parrish. Strong safety Reggie Nelson (4 tackles) will be waiting for big hits against the Bills for Jacksonville, which has began either 1-1 or 2-0 to start a season in 11 of the previous 13 campaigns.

Lynch is expected to amass 100 yards or more against a Jaguars defense that was one of the best in that area a year ago. Jacksonville allowed Tennessee's LenDale White and rookie Chris Johnson to have productive days, something Lynch has been enjoying the past 14 games. He ran behind a formidable offensive line which may get a boost from All-Pro tackle Jason Peters on Sunday. Peters recently ended his holdout and reported to the Bills' facility last weekend after missing all of training camp and the preseason. He is on a two-game roster exemption and has yet to be added to the 53-man active roster.

Del Rio was left scratching his head following Sunday's loss at Tennessee. The head coach witnessed the Titans turn Jacksonville's run defense into mince meat to the tune of 137 rushing yards. Granted the Jags are without Stroud, but tackles John Henderson and Rob Meier and ends Paul Spicer and Reggie Hayward are expected to make up one of the toughest defensive lines in the AFC. Henderson (8 tackles) finished tied for the team lead in tackles last Sunday, while Spicer and Meier had three stops apiece. The stop unit must perform better this week, especially since Lynch is a better running back than what the Titans have to offer. Jacksonville linebackers Mike Peterson (6 tackles), Daryl Smith (4 tackles) and Clint Ingram (2 tackles) played well last week. Peterson sent Young to the showers early with a clean hit on the signal-caller's left knee. Young is expected to miss four-to-six weeks of action.

WHEN THE JAGUARS HAVE THE BALL

The biggest concern for the Jaguars this week is the banged-up offensive line. Without its top center and starting guards, Garrard (215 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT) will be under pressure every snap much like last week, when the Titans sacked him seven times. Garrard, who was also intercepted twice, fell to 9-4 in 13 career starts and has thrown a touchdown pass in seven straight contests. He owns a 12-6 home record as a starter, including a 6-2 mark last season. In the last four home games, Garrard has thrown for seven touchdowns and only one interception. He has three TD passes and a 104.3 passer rating with no interceptions in two career appearances against Buffalo. The quarterback's top target was wideout Matt Jones (80 receiving yards), who finished with a team- high six receptions. Top wide receiver Reggie Williams (17 yards) had only two catches on Sunday. Williams set the franchise single-season record with 10 touchdown receptions in 2007, surpassing the previous high of eight set by Jimmy Smith in three different campaigns. Newcomer Troy Williamson (11 yards) also had two catches in his Jacksonville debut.

Buffalo held Seattle's aerial assault in check and allowed just one touchdown through the air last week. The unit also held the Seahawks to 167 passing yards, picked off Matt Hasselbeck once and sacked him five times. Reserve cornerback Ashton Youboty (8 tackles) and starter Terrence McGee (6 tackles) were active against the Seahawks, with McGee coming away with the lone pick. Safeties Donte Whitner (6 tackles) and Ko Simpson (4 tackles) will be tested often in front of the Jacksonville faithful. The Jaguars need to get something started offensively in order to achieve their first win of the season, and going deep often will not hurt. Bills cornerback Jabari Greer (2 tackles) ended with a tipped pass last Sunday.

The Jacksonville duo of Jones-Drew (13 yards) and Taylor (18 yards) didn't amount to much against Tennessee in Week 1. Both backs entered last week fresh off solid 2007 seasons, but couldn't find any holes thanks to a myriad of injuries to the offensive lineman. Del Rio can only hope his patched-up line can make some strides against a tough Buffalo defense. Taylor has averaged 84.2 career rushing yards per game against Buffalo and seeks his third straight contest with 100 or more yards on the ground versus the Bills. Taylor, who trails only Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson among active running backs in rushing yards, is tied with Jimmy Smith for the most touchdowns in team history with 69. Taylor also became only the 36th player in NFL history to surpass 13,000 career yards from scrimmage last week at the Titans. Jones-Drew has 26 touchdowns in the past 30 games.

Stroud, who spent his first seven years in the NFL with the Jags, will be waiting to pounce on Jones-Drew, Taylor and Garrard this weekend in his first game against his former employer. He helped contain Seattle's Julius Jones to just 45 yards on 13 carries in the opener. Stroud (8 tackles) also tied for the team lead in stops against Seattle and also led the Bills with four quarterback pressures, while recording a half-sack, two passes defensed and one hit on Hasselbeck. He played in 100 games (84 starts) for Jacksonville and finished with 457 tackles, 22 sacks, seven forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. Defensive end Aaron Schobel (4 tackles, 1 sack) has recorded the most sacks in the AFC since 2003 and has never missed a game in his seven years in the NFL (113 games). Second-year middle linebacker Paul Posluszny (6 tackles) returned to the gridiron after missing the final 13 games of 2007 with a broken arm. A pure run-stuffing linebacker, Posluszny also defended a pair of passes against the Seahawks. New outside linebacker Kawika Mitchell (4 tackles) made his presence felt with a sack last week.

FANTASY FOCUS

The only fantasy players worth starting for the Bills are Lynch and Evans. Unless you had Tom Brady or Vince Young as your starting signal-caller, it wouldn't be wise to throw Edwards in at quarterback. That's the only way the second-year pro should be thrust into a fantasy lineup. Evans eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark in Week 1, but did not find the end zone. Don't expect him to against the Jaguars, either. As for Jacksonville, the running back duo of Taylor and Jones-Drew is a safe bet. It's highly unlikely the two will be shut down on Sunday like they were against the Titans. Garrard, meanwhile, is in the same boat as Edwards. Start him only if you have to.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Jaguars have won three of their last four home openers, and that streak will still be extended by Sunday evening. Del Rio and Co. are trying to build off an impressive 2007 campaign in which the Jaguars went 11-5 and captured the franchise's first playoff win since the 1999 season. The Jacksonville offensive line will pass the test this time despite starting a bunch of inexperienced players, while Garrard will bounce back from a hectic first showing of the season. If the Jaguars fail to shore up Buffalo's ground attack, then they will be looking at an 0-2 start for the first time since opening the 2003 season with four consecutive defeats. History rarely repeated itself last season with the Jaguars, and there is no reason why it should start now.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Jaguars 24, Bills 17