On the scoreboard, the Buffalo Bills could not have asked for a much better start to the season after defeating the Titans 41-7. However, after another brutal night of injuries, the celebration in Buffalo will be more muted than usual.
The Bills came into the game with both defensive tackle Ed Oliver and wide receiver Gabe Davis on the inactive list. Oliver had injured his ankle during last week’s win over the Rams, and Davis had hurt his ankle in practice on Saturday.
In the first half, while leading 17-7, starting cornerback Dane Jackson was bent backward when he was hit while making a tackle by his teammate Tremaine Edmunds. The ambulance was called to take Jackson off the field, and he was rushed to the hospital. Later, in the third quarter, starting free safety Micah Hyde also suffered a neck injury.
Both would not return to the game.
While Dane Jackson reportedly had feeling and movement in all of his extremities, the injury was a scary scene for Buffalo. The primary concern is the health and safety of Jackson, but Buffalo as a team was already thin in the secondary, so the team’s depth was immediately tested in just their second game of the season.
They passed the test with flying colors.
On the very first drive, the Bills went 75 yards on 12 plays and punched in a touchdown with an 11-yard pass from Josh Allen to fullback Reggie Gilliam. On the drive, Josh Allen completed passes to five different receivers, including Jake Kumerow who finished with 50 yards on two catches while starting in place of Gabe Davis.
However, while the 40 points on the scoreboard would let you believe that the Bills’ offense moved the ball that easily the entire game, it was actually the defense that was the heartbeat of this game.
Despite being without Oliver and rotational defensive tackle Tim Settle, the Bills held Derrick Henry to 25 yards on 13 carries. While he was able to punch in a touchdown, his longest run was for just nine yards, and the Bills defenders swarmed him on every one of his carries.
Even with all that attention on Henry, the Titans weren’t able to do anything through the air. Ryan Tannehill threw for 119 yards and two interceptions before being pulled for rookie Malik Willis in the third quarter after he threw a pick-six to Matt Milano that made the score 41-7.
Coming into the game, we covered that Tennessee could struggle to find a primary receiver now that A.J. Brown is in Philadelphia. On Monday night, they didn’t find one.
The Bills held the Titans to just 187 total yards of offense while sacking Tannehill twice and forcing four turnovers.
That was more than enough for Josh Allen, who completed 26 of 38 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns. Most of his damage was done throwing to Stefon Diggs, who abused the Titans’ rookie cornerbacks when they tried to play him man-to-man, finishing with 148 yards and three touchdowns on 12 catches.
Tonight is Stefon Diggs’ first career game with 10 receptions, 100 receiving yards and multiple receiving touchdowns.
🎥: @ESPN/@BuffaloBills pic.twitter.com/ZUnfVMaeM8
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) September 20, 2022
However, despite the lopsided score and the highlight reel plays, there were some areas where Buffalo fell short.
The offensive line was repeatedly beaten at the point of contact by Tennessee’s defensive line, and the non-Josh Allen runners were only able to gain 39 yards on 13 carries before racking up garbage time yards on the final drive. Buffalo also appeared out of sorts at times and were just five of 13 on third downs. They were also 0-3 when trying to convert on 3rd and 1, while never once rushing Allen in any of those situations.
At the end of the day, the Bills and their fans will be happy for the win. However, the injuries to Davis, Oliver, Jackson, and Hyde will loom large heading into next week’s showdown with a Miami Dolphins team that pulled off a huge comeback win over the Ravens.
It could easily be the stiffest test this Bills team has faced in this young season.
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