In a nutshell:
They knew it was going to be a fight. The previous three Bills and Titans games were decided by one point. The Bills beat Tennessee 14-7 on Sunday but the win didn't come any easy.
Neither team scored until the Bills reached the end zone with 2:46 left in the first half. Josh Allen hit tight end Lee Smith for the touchdown.
Buffalo's defense posted a strong effort holding the Titans scoreless in the first half. Buffalo was helped by Titans kicker Cairo Santos missing his first two kicks. Santos finished the game 0-for-4 on field goal attempts. Also, Buffalo didn't allow a third-down conversion in the first half for the second time this season (Week 3 vs CIN).
The Titans did reach the end zone once. After intercepting Allen in the third quarter, Buffalo had to defend a short field and the 33-yard drive ended with a Derrick Henry touchdown.
Buffalo's depended on the run game heavily late in the game. Allen was solid in his return from injury going 22 of 32 for 219 yards and two touchdowns. The ageless Frank Gore carried the Bills to victory on the last drive of the game, converting two first downs. Allen sealed the game with a five-yard run on third-and-three so Buffalo could kneel out the clock.
The Bills did lose some players to injury and were hurt even more by penalties. Mitch Morse, Matt Milano, Cody Ford, and Trent Murphy all left the game with an injury. Buffalo also hurt themselves with 11 penalties for 78 yards.
Still, Buffalo's players stepped up when called upon. Duke Williams scored a touchdown in his first career game, Darryl Johnson had his first sack and a field goal block plus Spencer Long and Ryan Bates filled in on the offensive line.
How it happened:
- The Bills put together the first scoring drive on either side with just over five minutes left in the first half. Josh Allen found John Brown for 14, TJ Yeldon for four, Duke Williams for 11, Brown for 21 and Lee Smith from eight for the touchdown. Stephen Hauschka made the extra point. 7-0
- Starting on the Bills 38-yard line after intercepting Allen, the Titans produced their first scoring drive of the game. Marcus Mariota hit Adam Humphries for a nine-yard completion to convert a third down and Derrick Henry had a 17-yard run. Henry one-yard rush for the score. Cairo Santos made the extra point. 7-7
- The Bills took over after Cairo Santos' third missed field goal of the game. Buffalo started the drive with Allen getting sacked but they responded with a 46-yard completion to Isaiah McKenzie. Allen found Williams from the seven-yard line for his first career touchdown. Hauschka's kick was good. 14-7
Subplots:
Bills inactives: TE Tyler Kroft, LB Corey Thompson, CB Taron Johnson, WR Robert Foster, RB Devin Singletary, OL Ike Boettger, OL Ty Nsekhe
Titans inactives: OL Kevin Pamphile, LB Cameron Wake, OL Aaron Stinnie, OL Hroniss Grasu, DE Brent Urban, CB Tye Smith, OL David Quessenberry
Lee Smith's second quarter touchdown pass was his first since 12/16/18 with Oakland and his first with the Bills since 10/26/14.
The Bills defense forced the Titans to go 0-for-6 on third down in the first half, marking the second time this season (Week 3 vs CIN) the Bills did not allow a first half third down conversion.
Jordan Phillips is the first Bill to have three sacks in the first half since Mario Williams in 2013. It is the first three sack day since Lorenzo Alexander in 2016
Duke Williams first career game: 4 catches, 29 yards, 1 touchdown
The Bills' 31-game streak of not allowing a 50 plus yard catch ended with Jonnu Smith's 57 yard catch and run.
