Tag: buffalo bills vs. tennessee titans

Von Miller: Bills defense has ‘killer instinct’

Von Miller: #Bills defense has ‘killer instinct’

New free agency addition Von Miller has been making an impact on the Buffalo Bills defensive unit and pass rush.

And it’s showing only two games into the 2022 NFL season.

Miller, along with second-year players like Greg Rousseau and Boogie Basham and defensive leaders like LBs Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano, are attacking opposing offenses with robust energy.

Even when they’re winning.

“Whenever we’re up, we keep saying to each other, ‘Don’t blink, don’t let our foot off the gas,'” Miller said while addressing the media. “It’s a killer instinct, it’s a blood-in-the-water instinct.”

One of the most visible differences between the last two meetings between these teams was the way the Bills defense limited Titans star RB Derek Henry. He would have only rush for 25 yards on 13 carries and an average of 1.9 yards per carry. That was good for the second lowest statistical game of his career in which he had at least 13 carries.

The increase in dominance by the Bills on defense is showing in stats like these against top teams and players early this season.

“We have an attitude of domination,” Miller added. “We playing the game to dominate the game. We got a team full of killers and it’s led by our quarterback and our head coach.”

As one would expect, that coach in Sean McDermott is pulling the reigns back. It’s still week-to-week for him, but even McDermott noted how the first two efforts by his team in 2022 have been big time. 

“Ya, I think it’s a good start,” McDermott said via video conference. “The fundamentals are showing up early in the season and that’s really what games come down to early in the year is fundamentals. And taking care of the football. I thought we did a phenomenal job with that offensively and special teams and then defense got takeaways. So I just think it was all in all a good game plan by the coaches and the players executed at a high level.”

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Bills’ Stefon Diggs post-three TD outing: ‘A lot left on the bone, really’

#Bills’ Stefon Diggs post-three TD outing: ‘A lot left on the bone, really’

The Buffalo Bills have kicked off the2022 NFL season by turning heads in their first two contests of the season, besting the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 and the team that had the top seed in the AFC last season, the Tennessee Titans.

Despite missing and losing some starters before and during the game to injuries, the team notched a 41-7 victory this week in their home opener.

QB Josh Allen’s top target? That’d be WR1 Stefon Diggs, who went 11 of 12 on catches for 148 yards with three touchdowns.

“I feel like it was a lot left on the bone, really,” Diggs said to the press following the game. “I’ve been with Josh (Allen) for a couple years now. It’s just trying to fine-tune and get better in all areas. At this point, that’s two wins. Try and go get the next one.”

The Bills WR1’s three TDs tied his career best in a game, and his 12 catches were his most in a contest since arriving in Buffalo.  His 20 catches that went for 270 yards with four touchdowns in the first two games of this season, make him the first wide receiver since Steve Smith (2007) to have at least four touchdowns and 250 yards that soon.

 QB Josh Allen, who completed 70% of his throws for 317 yards with four touchdowns, found Diggs for three of those scoring tosses, making him the WR with the most touchdowns in the NFL after two weeks.

That included a 46-yard rocket for Diggs second TD catch of the day.

“He did a great job of getting open, making plays, making some great catches,” Allen said to the media. “That long one was a great catch. So he is what he is. It’s Stefon Diggs. We know he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, receiver in the game right now, and I trust him implicitly. I love that guy. He works his tail off.”

Diggs made a significant impact in helping the Bills win, as they were shorthanded at the receiver position with WR2 Gabriel Davis missing the game due to an ankle injury.

“That’s part of my job as a leader on this team, as a captain,” Diggs added. “Get us started, get us going, keep us going. Good body language. At times, I want it so bad, but keeping that good body language when things don’t go right.”

Even head coach Sean McDermott was impressed with Diggs big game.

“Yeah, that last throw that Josh made to Stef and I’m just saying, ‘Go get it man, go get it’ and he he got it,” McDermott said during his own media session. “It was fun to watch. I mean, that was awesome.”

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Sean McDermott: Titans loss will ‘make Bills stronger’

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott, Leslie Frazier on Tennessee Titans loss in Week 5.

The Buffalo Bills are regrouping following their first loss of the season on Tuesday to the Tennessee Titans. A lopsided evening to forget and, hopefully, one to build on.

The Bills looked uncharacteristic and out of rhythm in a matchup that was uncertain to take place following roller-coaster weeks of positive COVID tests from Titans players and personnel. Buffalo ended up being blown out, 42-16. 

But ever the optimist and football guy, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said his team will still find positives out of the loss. Buffalo will use what happened in Tennessee as a learning experience. 

“As we go through through the week and certainly the next game, and on through the season, and these are the moments that make you stronger,” McDermott said on Monday via video conference. “You learn from adverse times in your life, and I’ve said to the players before- I’d rather have a player that’s been through things, been through stuff in their lives, than a player who hasn’t because I know they’ve had to deal with some stuff in their life. And I think that builds that resiliency, and that mental fortitude if you will, that mental toughness that we all need to accomplish what we’re trying to accomplish here.”

Overall, the Bills defense this season has yet to reach the level of performance and consistency the team has been known for on that side of the ball in recent memory. Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier detailed on Monday exactly where the Bills defense has come up short. 

“We’ve struggled to play good man coverage at times & even in our zone coverage,” said Frazier said. “We haven’t been able to put together a consistent rush with good coverage, so we’ll have to continue to work on it to get there.”

Moving forward, the Bills will have to put the Titans in the rearview mirror almost immediately. A big test awaits ahead and the Bills and Frazier know it. The defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs will visit Buffalo next in Week 6. But again, there’s another silver lining to be found: A strong performance against the Chiefs will make any shortcomings earlier this year by Buffalo’s defense a distant memory. 

“Limit the explosives and try to take the football away. Those are the priorities when playing an Andy Reid offense so you can limit their time on the field,” Frazier said. “Those guys are pretty good, that’s for sure. The good thing is we get to line up again and play another game.”

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Power rankings: Bills see slight tumble, but not all is lost

Buffalo Bills in NFL power rankings following a Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

It was a tough day at the office , who recorded their first loss of the season against the Titans and are now 4-1 overall.

The Bills have risen in the power ranking polls during the early weeks of 2020 thanks to their hot start. So where did the team fare in the national rankings following after that one? Despite the loss, the Bills are hanging around the top-10 in most lists even after losing some ground. 

Here is a look at where the Bills fall national power ranking polls following their loss to the Tians: 

USA TODAY

11. Bills (8)

In fairness to them, Tennessee’s situation dealt Buffalo a very tough hand. But no one expected P Corey Bojorquez to be Bills’ best player Tuesday night. If defense is Buffalo’s Achilles’ heel, it appears to be quickly fraying.

Touchdown Wire

8. Buffalo Bills (4-1. Last week: 2)

A couple of things happened on the way to the Bills’ rush to their status as perhaps the NFL’s best team: Cornerback Tre’Davious White, one of the best players at his position, missed Buffalo’s Tuesday game against the Titans due to a back injury. Second, and impressively after missing a ton of practice reps following a COVID outbreak that affected a total of 24 players and staff, Tennessee’s defense did many of the same things to Bills quarterback Josh Allen that they did to Lamar Jackson in the divisional round of the 2019 playoffs — be patient, give the young quarterback one coverage look before the snap and another one after, stay in your lanes, and wait for the kid to press when he shouldn’t.

However! On this 22-yard touchdown pass to running back T.J. Yeldon, Allen was able to counter Tennessee’s intelligent strategy with a counter that very few quarterbacks can pull off — wait out the three-man rush, and throw a 100-MPH heater. That didn’t erase his two interceptions, nor did it to nearly enough to affect the 42-16 final score.

Allen is a great young quarterback, and the Bills are a top-tier team, but this should be a course correction for Sean McDermott’s squad. The Bills next face the Chiefs, who can also throw all kinds of coverage looks at opposing quarterbacks, so it’s safe to say that the next phase of Allen’s education has begun.

Sports Illustrated 

10. Buffalo Bills

Last week: Loss at Tennessee 42-16
Next week: vs. Kansas City (Monday

Josh Allen is still a touch streaky and it showed up Tuesday night. The second interception was due to some combination of indecision and inaccuracy, and while it shouldn’t have resulted in an interception, the first-quarter throw behind Andre Roberts that resulted in an INT was simply a miss. The absence of John Brown, the deficit after a slow start, and the Titans’ approach took away the big play (a late-in-the-down TD to T.J. Yeldon was the only 20-plus-yard play Allen got all night). All that said, Allen will be fine. The issue in Buffalo is the lack of depth in that secondary. The Bills needs Tre White back in the lineup with Mahomes coming to Orchard Park on Monday.

NFL.com

Previous rank: No. 4

The Bills had been so stellar this season that it was jarring to watch them struggle so mightily on Tuesday night in Nashville. Ill-timed penalties, killer turnovers, defensive lapses; Buffalo was not nearly sound enough against a Tennessee team that played crisp football despite a long layoff. Josh Allen made his usual collection of big throws, but was held back by accuracy issues that recalled his first two seasons. The defense struggled mightily in the red zone, playing without starters Tre’Davious White, Matt Milano and Levi Wallace. The Titans scored a touchdown all six times they entered inside Buffalo’s 20-yard line. A night to forget.

Sporting News

5. Buffalo Bills 4-0 (4)

The Bills have seen their Week 5 game move to Tuesday and their Week 6 game move to Sunday. Beating the Rams and the Raiders back to back have padded the resume nicely with Josh Allen balling out. Just imagine how high they can end up should they beat the Titans and Chiefs.

Yahoo! Sports

8. Buffalo Bills (No. 3; 4-1):

Josh Allen has left the MVP chat, at least for now.

CBS Sports

8. Bills (-4)

They got caught in a tough situation because of the Titans’ COVID-19 issues, and it showed. Now they have to try and regroup against the Chiefs.

Bleacher Report

High: 8
Low: 12
Last Week: 6
Week 5 Result: Lost 42-16 at Tennessee

Over their first four games, the Buffalo Bills were an offensive stampede.
Tuesday evening in Nashville, the team spit the bit.
Against the undefeated Titans, Josh Allen looked less like the potential MVP candidate we saw over the first month of the season and more like the talented but inconsistent passer we saw the first two seasons of his career. His completion percentage was way down, he missed more than one open receiver, and he threw a pair of costly interceptions.

It wasn’t all on Allen, though. A Buffalo defense short top cornerback Tre’Davious White was carved up by Ryan Tannehill. Buffalo looked like the team that hadn’t practiced in two weeks, committing mental lapse after penalty after…well, you get where this is headed.

It absolutely wasn’t what the Bills were hoping for in their biggest test to date this season, especially with the Kansas City Chiefs headed to Orchard Park in Week 6.

The AFC is confusing right now. Like Advil-inducing confusing.

ESPN

5. Buffalo Bills (4-0)

Week 5 ranking: 5
Biggest Weakness: Pass defense

Death, taxes and an elite Bills pass defense. Those are the absolute truths we have become accustomed to over the past two seasons, when Buffalo finished fourth and first, respectively, in passing yards allowed. In typical 2020 fashion, the Bills are polar opposites from their previous selves in that regard, allowing the fourth-most passing yards per game through four games this season. They have battled injuries in both the secondary and at linebacker, neither of which have helped their case; fortunately for Leslie Frazier’s unit, Buffalo’s offense has proved more than capable of winning a shootout.

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What Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs said about COVID impact on game with Titans

The Buffalo Bills are preparing to head into a Week 5 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. This despite continued news of Titans players testing positive for coronavirus, creating uncertainty about whether the game will be played. The Titans have …

The Buffalo Bills are preparing to head into a Week 5 matchup against the Tennessee Titans. This despite continued news of Titans players testing positive for coronavirus, creating uncertainty about whether the game will be played.

The Titans have 23 total positive tests since Sept. 24 which puts postponement or a Tennessee forfeit on the table due to an illegal workout organized by Titans players a day after positive COVID-19 test results showed a breakout amidst their organization.

So how are the Bills handling the uncertainty regarding the game this week? Some of the team leaders shed some light on their game plan.

“If the game does happen, I trust our staff and trust what Coach (Sean) McDermott and the league kind of tell us to do,” quarterback Josh Allen said via video conference. “We’re not writing anything off yet, we really don’t know what’s gonna happen but the best thing that we can do is prepare like we’re playing a game on Sunday.”

Receiver Stefon Diggs echoed a similar attitude towards the team’s advance preparation.

“We can only control our end of it, we can’t control the other side,” said Diggs while addressing the media, “trust that they are going to put us in a safe environment if there’s a game or if not, but for us, we’re going to prepare like there’s a game, anticipate it being a game and practice like there’s going to be a game… So even if there isn’t, we’ll be preparing for every opponent and we want to stay on point.”

Allen spoke further on safety measures that help to ensure that teams not find themselves in this predicament.

“It takes one guy to go to the grocery store, it’s as simple as that sometimes,” said the QB. “You don’t ever suspect anybody to have it in the facility but you’ve got to hope that guys are wearing their masks… That’s one of the great reasons we’ve been okay with what’s going on right now because we are accountable and we trust the guys in this locker room to do the right thing.”

“Unfortunately it takes two to tango and it is what it is. We’ll figure it out, the league will figure it out and then we’ll move forward from whenever we get the news if we’re playing if we’re not playing.”

In awaiting the status of the Week 5 game, stay tuned to Bills Wire for the latest updates.

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