Just five days after being traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Buffalo Bills, wide receiver Amari Cooper’s presence on the field was impactful. His four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown helped unlock a struggling offense, in desperate need of a dominant separator. In a rare 1 p.m. ET match for the Bills, Buffalo had the nicest weather possible for late October, which led to a classic dominant Bills win at home against the Titans.
Early Offensive Woes
Buffalo’s offense was struggling to simply earn a first down on their first few drives of the game. The opening drive saw Cooper drop what should’ve been a first down on his first target in a Bills uniform, which forced Buffalo to punt. Tennessee gained 11 yards on their opening play, already besting Buffalo’s output, but punted three plays later after an incomplete pass on third down.
A false start penalty followed by consecutive incompletions by Josh Allen led to another three-and-out. Meanwhile, the Titans were able to take an early lead after monotonously marching down the field. A 12 yard completion over the middle to Tyler Boyd on 3rd and 10 kept the drive alive, and Tennessee would settle for a 25-yard field goal from Nick Folk, who is automatic from that range.
Allen and the Bills looked even worse on their next series, with James Cook losing a yard on 2nd and 5, and Allen being unable to connect with Mack Hollins on 3rd and 6. The Titans countered with another scoring drive, this time more detrimental than a field goal. The drive started with Mason Rudolph finding Chig Okonkwo for a 26 yard gain, and a 14 yard run by Tony Pollard moved them across midfield. Aided by an unnecessary roughness call against the Bills, Rudolph completed a four yard pass into the endzone to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a touchdown. Down 10–0, the Bills needed to wake up.
Buffalo Gets on the Board
Thanks to a busted coverage, Allen found Keon Coleman wide open downfield, which the rookie turned into a 44 yard gain. On the next play, Cook ran up the middle for an 11 yard score, getting the Bills on the board. Center Connor McGovern did an excellent job reaching the second level, while David Edwards and O’Cyrus Torrence maintained their blocks to give Cook an easy rushing lane.
Rudolph fumbled the snap around midfield, which after being kicked around at the feet of the offensive line, was jumped on by Terrel Bernard for the recovery. Allen connected with Dalton Kincaid for a 10 yard completion, but was sacked the next play for a loss of eight yards. Back-to-back incompletions following the sack led to a Sam Martin punt on 4th and 18 from the 44 yard line. Ideally, any team would want to attempt a 61 yard field goal, but due to Tyler Bass’s shaky start to the season, I understand Head Coach Sean McDermott’s decision to not risk turning the ball over at midfield.
On the ensuing drive, Rudolph was strip-sacked by AJ Epenesa, but the Titans were able to recover the ball. Facing 2nd and 30, Tennessee gained a combined 14 yards on two run plays before punting on 4th and 16.
While the defense was holding strong after initially surrendering 10 points, the offense couldn’t find any form of success other than on a busted coverage. The Bills went three-and-out again, after Allen was tackled a yard short of the first down on 3rd and 8. McDermott chose to punt on 4th and 1 from Buffalo’s 33 yard line, and Sam Martin’s punt only traveled 27 yards.
With one second remaining in the half, the Titans would attempt a Hail Mary from midfield, something the Bills just surrendered a week ago to Aaron Rodgers and the Jets. With a different defensive approach, the Bills rushed five (rather than two) and forced Rudolph to get the ball out of his hands. After some lateral shenanigans, Tony Pollard was eventually tackled at the 23 yard line. I don’t think anyone expected the Bills to be trailing 10–7 at halftime, but the dominant offense Bills Mafia is used to seeing would show up in the second half.
Everybody Eats, Even the New Guy
The Titans faced an early 3rd and 1 from their own 45, and the run up the middle by Pollard was stuffed at the line of scrimmage by Bernard and rookie DeWayne Carter. Opting to go for it on 4th and 1, Pollard was met behind the line of scrimmage this time, again by Carter making the play. Buffalo responded with a 14 yard completion to Coleman and an impressive 17 yard completion to Kincaid along the sideline. Two plays later, Allen found Cooper in the endzone for a 12 yard score, making the newest Buffalo Bill’s first catch a touchdown.
Buffalo’s defense was able to overcome multiple flags, thanks to a tackle for loss from Bernard and a sack by Greg Rousseau and Dawuane Smoot. Rookie running back Ray Davis picked up right where he left off last week with a 22 yard run and a six yard catch to start the drive. Allen connected with Cooper for a gain of 19 on a contested catch down the sideline. Buffalo ultimately settled for a 28 yard field goal to take a seven point lead.
Two penalties on Tennessee’s offensive line stalled the drive for Rudolph and company, gaining just nine total yards before punting back to Buffalo. Allen connected with Cooper again, this time for 27 yards. Three plays later, Allen found Kincaid on a corner route for 25 yards, setting up 1st and Goal from the two yard line. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Allen threw a checkdown over the middle to Ty Johnson for a touchdown. The running back had leaked out of the backfield and caught the Titans by surprise when he became an available pass catcher.
Following another quick three-and-out, Buffalo’s offense was back on the field, this time making it all about Khalil Shakir. After catching three straight targets for 24 total yards, Allen connected with Cooper again for an eight yard completion, then consecutive passes to Shakir for 26 combined yards. Ultimately, the Bills settled for a 30 yard field goal on 4th and 3 to take a three possession lead.
Rudolph began racking up the completions, and a successful QB sneak moved the chains on 4th and 1. Following a sack from former Titan DaQuan Jones, Rudolph’s pass on the next play was tipped by Christian Benford and intercepted by Damar Hamlin.
Allen threw a quick pass to Coleman, who spun out of a tackle and accelerated past the safeties into open field. Coleman briefly stumbled, allowing a Tennessee defender to tackle him at the 27 yard line. Ray Davis spun out of a tackle at the line of scrimmage, picked up a block from Spencer Brown, and rumbled into the endzone for a touchdown, providing the exclamation point on a dominant victory.
Afterthoughts
It was a tale of two halves for Buffalo’s offense, totaling just 90 net yards in the first half and 299 in the second half. After allowing 10 points early in the game, Buffalo’s defense buckled down and shut out the Titans for the rest of the afternoon. Credit goes to Sean McDermott, Joe Brady, and Bobby Babich for making adjustments in order to completely flip the script back in their favor.
The rookies shined on Sunday, with Coleman, Carter, and Davis making significant contributions towards the end result. Coleman finished with four catches for 125 yards, and nearly had a touchdown in the second half. Davis compiled 41 yards on five carries, and found the endzone on Buffalo’s last offensive play of the game. Carter finished with three total tackles, two of which were on the 3rd and 4th down sequence that led to the turnover on downs.
Bernard left the game several times with nagging injuries, before eventually being declared out with an ankle injury that shouldn’t force him to miss too much time. However, when he was on the field, he made his presence felt, recording eight total tackles (two of which were for a loss) and recovering a fumble.
Shakir seems to be back, or at least very close, finishing with seven catches for 65 yards, most of which came on one drive with a clear emphasis on getting him involved. Meanwhile Kincaid’s three catches for 52 yards made him a reliable option in the second half.
Now, the Bills sit at 5–2, and look like they have a cakewalk to a fifth straight AFC East title.
Game Awards
Offensive Player of the Game: Amari Cooper
Cooper was everything Bills fans could’ve hoped for (minus the drop in the first half). The newest Bill finished with four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown, and he only played 19 snaps. He demonstrated his ability to win against press man, something none of Buffalo’s boundary receivers could do at a high enough rate, and gives Allen a reliable option downfield that the team was desperately looking for. This feels like only the beginning of a great connection between 17 and 18.
Defensive Player of the Game: Greg Rousseau
Groot was dominating Tennessee’s depleted offensive line all afternoon. The defensive end recorded five total tackles and half a sack, while also registering six QB hits, an NFL record over the last two seasons. According to Trumedia, Rousseau led Buffalo with a 25.6% pressure rate, constantly applying the heat on Rudolph.
MVP: Josh Allen
It was a rocky first half, but Joe Brady and Josh Allen dialed in for the second half. Allen finished 21 of 33 for 323 yards and two touchdowns. He only had one yard on the ground, and looked hesitant at times to run, but was able to make up for it through the air. Through seven games, Allen has still not thrown an interception, quite the switch-up from the narratives of him turning the ball over too much.
What’s Next: Bills @ Seahawks 10/27
Buffalo travels to Seattle to take on a 4–3 Seahawks team coming off a dominant win over the Falcons. With explosive receivers and a talented secondary, it should be a great test for Buffalo and lead to a fun matchup.
Editor’s babble: Many thanks to Colin Richey for his contributions to our blog. You can also find Colin on Xwitter @whatthef00tball.
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