The Tennessee Titans walked into Highmark Stadium as massive underdogs to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night and it was quickly apparent why, as Buffalo notched an effortless 41-7 win.
The Bills’ offense had its way with the Titans’ defense all game long, with Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs doing what they pleased through the air with no resistance. Tennessee’s pass-rush was non-existent outside of a handful of plays and that further exposed an already suspect secondary.
On offense, the Titans got off to a fast start with a touchdown on their first drive, but failed to score a single point the rest of the way. The Bills’ front simply overpowered Tennessee’s offensive line, making it impossible to get much going on the ground and through the air.
Making matters worse, the Titans couldn’t get out of their own way in terms of penalties on both sides of the ball and Ryan Tannehill threw a pair of picks, one of which was returned for six.
And, adding injury to insult, the Titans had at least eight players get hurt during the game. It’s possible there were more and we missed them, though.
We also got a look at Malik Willis, who came in after the Titans waved the white flag in the third quarter. Willis fumbled and couldn’t do much, but nobody on Tennessee could.
In all, Tennessee’s offense mustered up just 187 total yards. If you can stomach it, let’s take a deeper dive and see what exactly went wrong to send Tennessee to an 0-2 start.
Final score: Bills 41, Titans 7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| TEN | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| BUF | 7 | 10 | 24 | 0 | 41 |
It was over when...
The Titans stepped on the field tonight. Yes, Tennessee did run with the Bills somewhat in the first half, but this game never really felt close. The Titans were completely overmatched and it’s clear this isn’t a good team right now.
Injuries
RB Trenton Cannon (knee): Cannon was injured on the opening kickoff and was carted to the locker room. He did not return.
LT Taylor Lewan (knee): Lewan hurt his knee on the first offensive play of the game and had to be helped off the field. He was carted to the locker room and didn’t return.
OLB Ola Adeniyi (wrist): Adeniyi suffered the injury in the second quarter. He would return, though.
OLB Bud Dupree (hip): Dupree suffered the injury in the second quarter. He did not return.
DB Ugo Amadi (undisclosed): Amadi went to the locker room at one point but we didn’t see an update.
DB Lonnie Johnson (undisclosed): Johnson was spotted hobbling off the field at one point. We didn’t see an update on him, either.
LB Joe Jones (wrist): We didn’t see an update on Jones.
CB Chris Jackson (undisclosed): This one happened late but we didn’t see an update.
Titans' top performers
WR Treylon Burks: 4 catches, 47 yards
DL Denico Autry: 1 sack, 2 QB hits, 1 pass defensed
P Ryan Stonehouse: 6 punts, 332 yards (55.3 yards per)
Instant analysis: Offense and special teams
-Before his pick-six, Ryan Tannehill actually wasn’t bad when he had time to throw; the problem was he didn’t have time to throw. Taylor Lewan exited early with an injury, giving way to backup Dennis Daley, and Tennessee’s pass protection suffered mightily after that. Tannehill was sacked two times and was under constant pressure all night long. He also threw a pair of picks, one of which hit off the hands of Robert Woods, but the other was just a horrible decision that was returned for six.
-Derrick Henry simply couldn’t get anything going. The blocking upfront was bad again and Buffalo routinely met him in the backfield. Todd Downing continues to call toss plays to Henry that simply never work.
-Speaking of Downing, he made better decisions on third and short, but his play-calling was nothing to write home about overall. The personnel decisions continue to be head-scratching, and that along with his play-calling continues to make this offense predictable.
-Treylon Burks was the lone bright spot on offense. He once again flashed his yards-after-catch ability and was heavily involved, at least early on. I love what I’ve seen from Burks thus far. He’d likely be doing even better if he was part of a more competent offense.
-Kyle Philips and Amani Hooker both muffed a punt, but Philips’ was the only one recovered by Buffalo. It was the rookie’s second muffed punt in as many games. As if the Titans didn’t have enough issues, now they need to a find a new punt returner. Robert Woods had a return, also, and he caught it.
-Malik Willis was 1-for-4 for six yards, had four carries for 16 yards and lost a fumble. I won’t even bother evaluating the rookie with what was going on around him; he had no shot.
Instant analysis: Defense
-Caleb Farley desperately needed a good game but had quite the opposite. He was burnt for a big play by Jake Kumerow and was in no man’s land on one of Josh Allen’s touchdown passes. Tre Avery, who got the start opposite Farley while Roger McCreary played inside, was not good, either. All three had a rough night and Stefon Diggs was unstoppable. Buffalo’s passing attack took what it wanted, when and where it wanted it, and there was nothing Tennessee’s secondary could do to stop it.
-The Titans lost Bud Dupree early in this game and the pass-rush simply couldn’t get anything going, making things even harder for an already overmatched secondary.
-How about a few bright spots? Tennessee’s defense was better against the run when the starters were still in and Denico Autry played well with one sack and a PBU after being quiet in Week 1.
What's next?
With the loss, the Titans now fall to 0-2 and sit alone in last place in the AFC South. The good news is the rest of the division has stunk so far, so at least there’s that.
The big question is: will this butt-whooping force the Titans into some action somewhere? We shall see, but I wouldn’t bet on it with how hard-headed head coach Mike Vrabel is.
Tennessee will have another tough matchup in Week 3 at home versus the Las Vegas Raiders, who are also 0-2 after a brutal Week 2 loss.
