Instant analysis: Bills fall just short in loss to Titans

Instant analysis: #Bills fall just short in loss to #Titans (via @jdiloro):

A stellar back-and-forth affair between the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans ended with the Bills being stuffed on a fourth-and-inches play from the two-yard line with 22 seconds remaining. It ensured a 34-31 win for the Titans.

Buffalo’s offense had another solid evening, putting up 417 total yards. The Bills offense had 28 first downs and completed 22 of those through the air.  Quarterback Josh Allen moved the ball efficiently through the air, going 35-of-47 for 353 passing yards and three touchdown passes.

Nevertheless, the Bills offense didn’t make the most of their opportunities, and it might have doomed them in the end.

The unit started slowly, settling for field goals on two of their first three drives.

The offense got things moving along in the second half, as Allen found wideout Stefon Diggs for a 14-yard touchdown reception. Allen ended the half by rolling to his right and finding a wide-open Cole Beasley for a 29-yard touchdown. Buffalo entered halftime with the lead, 20-17:

Buffalo added another field goal with their opening drive in the third quarter. Tyler Bass was perfect, hitting his third field goal of the night, a 52-yard field goal to pull the Bills ahead by six points early in the third quarter. Buffalo responded to a Tennessee touchdown, as Allen found tight end Tommy Sweeney in the back of the end zone for a one-yard touchdown reception. The Bills were successful on their two-point conversion, flourishing with their version of the Philly Special.

After this, Buffalo’s offense failed to put up any points. The Titans outscored Buffalo 10-0 in the fourth quarter.

The Bills defense struggled as the game went on. Unsurprisingly, this is what happens when facing Derrick Henry. Henry broke out, scoring three touchdowns on the evening. Henry ran for a 76-yard touchdown to open the scoring for Tennessee. The All-Pro ended the game with 143 yards rushing on 20 carries.

The defense, which hung with the Titans early in the game, could not find a way to get Tennessee’s offense off the field. The Titans scored on their final six drives in the game.  Four of those drives ended with a touchdown.

With both teams putting up some offensive excitement, it was the final drives that made the game an instant classic. Tennessee took the lead on a 13-yard rush from Henry with three minutes remaining in the game.

The Bills would have the ball in Josh Allen’s hands moving forward.  However, some unfortunate events led the Bills down a road that ultimately found them on the wrong side of the scoreline.

On the subsequent kickoff return, Isaiah McKenzie returned a kick 101 yards only to have it wiped out by a holding penalty by Andre Smith. Still, Allen drove the Bills into Titans territory.

On third down with 38 seconds remaining in the quarter, Allen scrambled to the sidelines and dove over multiple defenders, eventually crashing down out of bounds. He was ruled just short of a first down, setting up an instant classic ending for a Monday night game.

Instead of playing for the tie, Bills head coach Sean McDermott went for the victory. The combination of Buffalo’s line failing to get a good push in conjunction with Allen not getting a firm push off for his dive eventually ended with him short on fourth down, essentially sealing the victory for Tennessee.

The faith in Allen was a part of making the call to go for it on fourth down. However, Buffalo’s failure to keep Tennessee off the board played a greater role in trying to end the victory in regulation.

This game delivered the heavyweight battle that was lacking in last week’s dominance over the Chiefs. In the end, Buffalo was one play short. The Bills head into their bye week 4-2, comfortably ahead in the AFC East standings. However, this loss could have playoff-seeding implications, as the Titans hold the tie-breaker with Sunday night’s victory.

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