It was an ugly game on Sunday, but still a win as the Buffalo Bills took down the Tennessee Titans 14-13 down in Nashville. There aren't a lot of positive takeaways from the game, but the Bills got it done. This was a huge win for a Buffalo team who couldn't afford to drop 2 games in a row against sub-par teams going into a week 6 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Buffalo continued the lack of offense but managed to cut down on the penalties as they had to squeeze out a victory missing 3 key pieces of their offense. Let's break down the game.
The first half started off with the Titans fumbling the opening kickoff, which the Bills recovered. They were ready to get on the field and go up 7-0, but of course, a flag was called on that kickoff. The rest of the half was uneventful. Buffalo's 5 possessions in the first half resulted in punts. In addition, the Bills didn't have a snap in the Titan's territory until the 3rd quarter. It was an awful game for Buffalo's offense in the first half, and they were lucky to only be down 3-0 at halftime.
The early part of the 2nd half wasn't too pretty either. Buffalo punts, stops Tennessee, then fumbles the punt, and gives the Titans the ball back with a short field. Mariota and company drives down the field and puts up another 7 points to go up 10-0. The Bills are down and out up until this point. Taylor brings the spark that Buffalo needs, and puts up 3 key rushes, in addition to 2 key passes, to give buffalo the points they needed for the victory. Taylor rushed twice on the 1st TD drive, first for 26 yards, then again for the 22 yard touchdown. Then, Taylor finds Hogan deep on the sideline for a 46 yard pass, and then finds him again for the 4 yard TD. Gilmore sealed the deal late with a pick, included with some clutch pressure from Marcell Dareus.
Offense: The offense had a poor day, posting only 209 yards. Taylor's numbers weren't impressive either, at least through the air. On the ground, Taylor carried the ball 8 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. He gave Buffalo life, and Hogan also contributed putting up 52 yards on 3 receptions. 2 of those were clutch catches, including 1 for the game-tying touchdown. There wasn't a whole lot of pretty plays today, but Buffalo was able to grind out the victory.
Defense: The defense was also a big reason Buffalo won this game. Every time they were out there, they gave the Bills a chance to win. Gilmore and Darby had huge days as usual. Gilmore defended 4 passes and picked off the last ditch effort by Marcus Mariota to seal the game. The duo of Darby and Gilmore rank 2nd and 3rd in the league in Cornerback rating, and with Mckelvin on his way back, this is a formidable Buffalo secondary. Up front, the Bills got pressure as Mario Williams and Kyle Williams put up a sack each. This defense at times looks like they need to improve, but they always put up solid days.
Overall, as stated many times, it was an ugly game. With the Bills having 2 key guys possibly returning [Sammy Watkins and Karlos Williams], this offense will be receiving some help. Taylor needs to continue to get better in the passing game, as he missed some reads and made poor throws throughout. The defense needs to keep doing what they do, and the overall penalties need to continuously be cut down. Buffalo only got charged with 7 flags on Sunday, and a few of those were questionable, as many are. Buffalo has a huge challenge going into next week against the undefeated, 5-0 Bengals. Thanks for reading, and as always, let's go Buffalo!
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