The 2-0 Bills are rolling, while the 0-2 Jaguars are roiling ahead of Monday night matchup

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Von Miller is focused on keeping things chill in Buffalo by cautioning Bills teammates against getting ahead of themselves despite a promising — and somewhat surprising — 2-0 start.

“We just need to stick to playing, not to mood,” the veteran edge rusher said. “A true test of a man is how he responds to success.”

In Jacksonville, quarterback Trevor Lawrence is seeking a mood change after voicing his frustrations following an 18-13 loss to Cleveland that has the underperforming Jaguars second-guessing themselves at 0-2.

“It’s not fun being (angry) and wanting to get back out there. I think that’s one of the worst parts about losing, especially when you don’t play well,” Lawrence said Thursday.

“How do we get better from it instead of just being (angry) about the result? How do we use it to actually learn from it and get better?” he added. “So, from that standpoint, that is kind of that feeling of urgency.”

However premature it is to evaluate either team entering Week 3, their meeting on Monday night could alter or affirm each team's trajectory.

The four-time defending AFC East champion Bills have so far defied lowered expectations and validated the approach they took entering the season with a retooled, younger roster that lost six of eight captains during an offseason purge.

“Everyone eats” was the offseason mantra for a Josh Allen-led offense lacking an established receiving threat after Stefon Diggs was traded to Houston and Gabe Davis signed with Jacksonville. The phrase also applies to a defense that has yet to flinch while relying on backups to replace injured starters: linebackers Matt Milano (torn left biceps) and Terrel Bernard (pectoral), and cornerback Taron Johnson (right forearm).

Buffalo followed a sloppy season-opening win over Arizona with an efficient 31-10 victory over Miami.

“All we care about is winning football games, no matter how it comes down to it,” Allen said. “So no, it's no surprise to us. This is what we expect ... We’re just trying to focus more on process than the result right now.”

The process in Jacksonville has been hijacked because of a stagnating, mistake-prone offense and compounded by injuries.

Lawrence has completed 51% of his attempts with one touchdown pass while being sacked seven times, including once for a safety last week. Travis Etienne has accounted for Jacksonville’s two other touchdowns, both rushing. He also lost a fumble near the goal line that opened the door for Miami to rally from a 14-point deficit in a 20-17 season-opening win.

Lawrence has lost eight straight starts dating to last season. The Jaguars' only win over that stretch — against Carolina on Dec. 31 — came when he sat out with a sprained shoulder.

“I don’t think about the two seasons running together. I know we’ve lost our first two this year, and that’s really what matters,” Lawrence said. “We’ve had a couple of days to let it marinate, let it breathe, and move on. And we’re ready to go attack Buffalo.”

Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver has nothing but respect for Mitch Morse, who spent five seasons with Buffalo before being cut in March and signing with Jacksonville.

“He showed me how to practice, showed me how to be a good teammate, become a better pass rusher,” Oliver said. “You could go ask Mitch anything, and he'd tell you what's on his brain.”

Just don't ask Oliver what it might be like to beat Morse for a sack.

“Oh, man, Mitch is my mate, man. I don’t wanna ... hey, c’mon,” Oliver said.

Despite his team averaging a measly 15 points per game, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson isn’t making any changes to his starting lineup.

“Not right now,” Pederson said Thursday. It wasn’t exactly a glowing endorsement and opened the door for potential moves along the offensive line — or maybe elsewhere.

Jacksonville expects to be without Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram for the second straight week. Engram strained a hamstring during pregame warmups against Cleveland. Second-year pro Brenton Strange, who caught three passes for 65 yards against Cleveland, is expected to start.

Miller said he's begun paying attention to critics who spent the offseason questioning how good the Bills might be.

“It was a lot of talk about, ‘What is Josh going to be able to do with no star wide receiver? We lost captains on defense. Is Von going to be able to play?’” Miller said. “I didn’t listen to it then, but now, we just use that as fuel to the fire.”

The NFL's active leader in sacks with 125 1/2, Miller has one in each game this season. He was shut out in 14 outings, including the playoffs, last year while coming back from a torn ACL.

AP Pro Football Writer Mark Long in Jacksonville, Florida, contributed to this report.

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Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford (47) celebrates an interception during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson questions side judge Clay Reynard (18) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) celebrates his third touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence answers questions at a news conference after an NFL football game agains the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) and wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (15) shake hands during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) leaps over Cleveland Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (6) on a run during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson vowed on Thursday to remain in the race despite a CNN report that he posted strongly worded racial and sexual comments on an online message board, saying he won’t be forced out by “salacious tabloid lies.”

Robinson, the sitting lieutenant governor who decisively won his GOP gubernatorial primary in March, has been trailing in several recent polls to Democratic nominee Josh Stein, the current attorney general.

“We are staying in this race. We are in it to win it,” Robinson said in a video posted Thursday on the social media platform X. “And we know that with your help, we will.”

Robinson referenced in the video a story that he said CNN was running, but he didn't give details.

“Let me reassure you the things that you will see in that story — those are not the words of Mark Robinson," he said. "You know my words. You know my character.”

The CNN report describes a series of racial and sexual comments Robinson posted on the message board of a pornography website more than a decade ago.

CNN reported that Robinson, who would be North Carolina’s first Black governor, attacked civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in searing terms and once referred to himself as a “black NAZI.”

CNN also reported that Robinson wrote of being aroused by a memory of “peeping” women in gym showers when he was 14 along with an appreciation of transgender pornography. Robinson at one point referred to himself as a “perv,” according to CNN.

The Associated Press has not independently confirmed that Robinson wrote and posted the messages. CNN said it matched details of the account on the pornographic website forum to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, a known email address and his full name.

CNN reported that details discussed by the account holder matched Robinson’s age, length of marriage and other biographical information. It also compared figures of speech that came up frequently in his public Twitter profile that appeared in discussions by the account on the pornographic website.

Media outlets already have reported about a 2021 speech by Robinson in a church in which he used the word “filth” when discussing gay and transgender people.

Robinson has a history of inflammatory comments that Stein had said made him too extreme to lead North Carolina. They already had contributed to the prospect that campaign struggles for Robinson would hurt former President Donald Trump to win the battleground state’s 16 electoral votes, and potential other GOP downballot candidates.

Recent polls of North Carolina voters show Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris locked in a close race. The same polls showed Stein with a roughly 10-point lead over Robinson.

Stein and his allies have cited repeatedly a Facebook post from 2019 in which Robinson said abortion in America was about “killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.”

The Stein campaign said in a statement after the report that “North Carolinians already know Mark Robinson is completely unfit to be Governor.”

State law says a gubernatorial nominee could withdraw as a candidate no later than the day before the first absentee ballots requested by military and overseas voters are distributed. That begins Friday, so the withdrawal deadline would be late Thursday. State Republican leaders could then pick a replacement.

Trump has frequently voiced his support for Robinson, who has been considered a rising star in his party, well-known for his fiery speeches and evocative rhetoric. Ahead of the March primary, Trump at a rally in Greensboro called Robinson “Martin Luther King on steroids” for his speaking ability.

Trump’s campaign appears to be distancing itself from Robinson in the wake of the report. In a statement to the AP, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the GOP nominee’s campaign “is focused on winning the White House and saving this country,” calling North Carolina “a vital part of that plan.”

Leavitt went on to contrast Trump’s economic record with that of Harris, not mentioning Robinson by name or answering questions as to whether he would appear with Trump at a Saturday campaign rally in Wilmington, or had been invited to do so.

A spokesperson for Harris’ campaign, Ammar Moussa, said on X that “Donald Trump has a Mark Robinson problem” and reposted a photo of the two together.

Among North Carolina Republicans, spokespeople for the state GOP, House speaker and Senate leader didn’t immediately respond to emails, voicemails and texts Thursday seeking comment. Scott Lassiter, a Republican state Senate candidate in a Raleigh-area swing district, did call on Robinson to “suspend his campaign to allow a quality candidate to finish this race.”

Ed Broyhill, a North Carolina member of the Republican National Committee, said he spoke to Robinson Thursday afternoon and still supports him as the nominee. In an interview, Broyhill suggested the online details may have been fabricated.

“It seems like a dirty trick to me,” Broyhill said.

On Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chair of the House GOP’s campaign committee, told reporters the report’s findings were “concerning.” Robinson, he said, has some reassuring to do in the state.

Robinson, 56, was elected lieutenant governor in his first bid for public office in 2020. He tells a life story of childhood poverty, jobs that he blames the North American Free Trade Agreement for ending, and personal bankruptcy. His 4-minute speech to the Greensboro City Council defending gun rights and lamenting the “demonizing” of police officers went viral — and led him to a National Rifle Association board position and popularity among conservative voters.

Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in Chapin, South Carolina, and Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Asheville, N.C., Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)