This isn’t exactly the Bills-Titans circa Oct. 6, 2019.
Just over a year ago, Buffalo was 3-1 but smarting from a could have/should have won 16-10 loss to the Patriots in Orchard Park. Thus, the Bills headed to Nashville trying to regain their footing against a struggling Tennessee team that was 2-2 and not playing well.
Buffalo left Nissan Stadium with a 14-7 victory that didn’t exactly have the Pro Football Hall of Fame clamoring for a game tape.
The Bills rolled on to a 10-6 record and their second playoff appearance in three seasons, only to blow a 16-point lead at Houston with barely 16 1/2 minutes to play and fall to the Texans, 22-19, in overtime.
But Buffalo’s win three months earlier at Tennessee didn’t kill the 2-3 Titans, who went 7-4 the rest of the way and picked up the last AFC wild-card spot. Once in the playoffs, they went to Baltimore and beat the Ravens (14-2), then to New England and ousted the Patriots (12-4) before falling in the conference championship game, 35-24, at Kansas City, the ultimate Super Bowl winner.
BUFFALO and Tennessee meet again tonight back at Nissan (7 o’clock, CBS-TV, 95.7 FM, 100.1 FM, 550 AM), albeit two days later than originally scheduled, and this time both are unbeaten.
A crowd of about 8,000 is expected, but other than the Titans’ faithful most everybody else, especially the rest of the NFL, will be rooting for the Bills after the Covid-19 mess Tennessee has created.
Buffalo, 4-0, comes into tonight possibly having gotten a break with the game being pushed back two days due to the Titans woes with the coronavirus (24 positive tests, 13 of them by players).
The Bills’ final injury report, filed on Saturday, listed six players as questionable for tonight — four of them starters — the most concerning being All-Pro cornerback Tre’ Davious White (back). The others are guards Cody Ford (groin) and Brian Winters (knee) and wide receiver John Brown (knee). In addition, kick returner Andre Roberts (ankle) is also questionable as is rookie running back Zack Moss (toe) who shares the job with second-year pro Devin Singletary.
Meanwhile, for Tennessee (3-0, Covid-19 postponed its game with Pittsburgh), two starters are questionable — offensive tackle Taylor Lewan (shoulder) and wide receiver A.J. Brown (knee) — and so are some of the players who tested positive.
Defensive end DaQuan Jones and long-snapper Beau Brinkley have been activated but three other starters — wide receivers Corey Davis and Adam Humphries and defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons — remain questionable.
The team only returned to practice on Saturday — other than alleged unauthorized workouts in defiance of NFL rules — after the team’s practice facilities closed on Sept. 29.
BUFFALO, with a win tonight, would have a 5-0 start for the first time since the Super Bowl team of 1991 and its first five-game win streak since 2004.
But in beating the Jets, Dolphins, Rams and Raiders, the Bills are averaging 31 points per game (fifth-best in the league) as of last week’s games and surrendering 25, which is why the past three games are one-possession victories.
Tennessee has walked a tightrope in starting unbeaten, having downed the Broncos (by 2), Jaguars (by 3) and Vikings (by 1) which explains their 27 points scored average and 25 surrendered.
Indeed, Buffalo’s 381 yards given up per game, which ranks 20th in the NFL is still better than Tennessee’s 422 (28th).
Their offensive production is fairly close, the Bills gaining 410 yards per and the Titans 392.
However, Buffalo’s number is one-sided as it’s a product of quarterback Josh Allen’s off-the-charts passing — 71 percent completions for 1,326 yards, the 316 per game is No. 2 in the league — with 12 TD throws, one interception and a 122.8 passer rating. The performance of the third-year QB has made him an early candidate for the NFL MVP. Indeed his passing success has dramatically reduced his tendency to run, not quite four rushes per game, compared to his first two years when he averaged over seven.
Unfortunately, through four games, Buffalo ranks 28th in the league in rushing yards, averaging a mere 93 per game.
For Tennessee, QB Ryan Tannehill has been similarly productive, completing two-thirds of his passes with six touchdowns and one pick and a solid 105.8 passer rating.
However, the Titans are decidedly better running the ball, ranking 10th in the NFL at 129 yards per game, mostly because workhorse back Derrick Henry is averaging 106 of those.
But both teams have flawed defenses.
Besides the 25 points per game surrendered, Buffalo has given up 280 passing yards per start, 27th in the league, while Tennessee isn’t much better, 22nd at 256.
You get the idea there will be some points scored tonight.
