ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 34-10 victory against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Highmark Stadium:
1. Amari Cooper’s Bills debut did not disappoint.
Except for a drop on the first throw that came his way, Cooper made his presence felt while playing 17 snaps (plus two negated by penalties) after entering the game on the Bills’ second play from scrimmage. He caught four passes on five targets for 66 yards, 12 of which came on a touchdown on his first reception as a Bill. His longest catch covered 27 yards.
“I didn’t really know what to expect as far as the percentage of plays that I would actually play,” said Cooper, who joined the Bills on Tuesday in a trade with the Cleveland Browns. “Obviously, I knew I wouldn’t be able to play the whole game. … But I got, I traded on Tuesday, I drove here on Tuesday, but I didn’t really start to learn the playbook until Wednesday. So, I do have an impressive memory, I think, but these playbooks, they have sometimes hundreds of plays. So, I knew I wouldn’t be able to learn all of them, so I just tried to learn as much as possible.”
“It looked pretty good,” Josh Allen said. “I mean, it’s a huge shout out to him for putting in the extra hours of getting ready for this game. It’s not easy being traded in the week and playing a game and playing real live reps, where he played quite a bit. … So, yeah, that’s huge to have him out there.”
The crowd enjoyed having him out there as well, with chants of “Coop!” each time he made a play.
His biggest came on his eighth snap, when he caught a TD from Allen to give the Bills a 14-10 lead in the third quarter they never relinquished.
“It’s good to have him here,” Sean McDermott said. “He made an impact just in four days, right? Really four teachable, learnable days. And then to come out on Day 5 and execute like he did was impressive.”
2. For the Bills’ offense, it was a tale of two drastically different halves.
It looked woefully disjointed and out of rhythm from the start of the game, both with execution and the play-calling of offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
The Bills started with three straight three-and-outs. At the end of the first quarter, the Titans had 118 yards to the Bills’ 18. The Bills’ first first down didn’t come until Allen connected with Keon Coleman for a 44-yard reception on Buffalo’s first possession of the second quarter.
Though the Bills would score 34 unanswered points after spotting the Tennessee a 10-0 lead, their first-half numbers were ugly. They only had three first downs to the Titans’ 13 and 90 yards to Tennessee’s 217.
“Yeah, not ideal to start the way we did,” said Allen, who finished with 323 passing yards and two touchdown throws, with a 116.1 passer rating, after throwing for only 65 yards, with a 57.0 passer rating, in the first half.
“Our defense kept us in it long enough where we figured it out. I think first and second down efficiency was just really poor. I mean, something I got to clean up, make better decisions early on, getting us into the right plays. I do love and appreciate our guys, how we came out in that second half.”
3. Tyler Bass did a good job of shouldering mounting pressure after last Monday night’s win against the Jets.
Bass has struggled for much of the season. After missing a field goal and an extra point against the Jets, his job appeared very much on the line. The Bills added to the heat by signing kicker Lucas Havrisik to their practice squad Thursday.
Against the Titans, Bass was two-for-two on field-goal attempts, hitting from 28 yards in the third and 30 in the fourth. He also converted all three of his extra-point tries.
“T-Bass executed,” McDermott said. “You know, not an easy week for him, but I thought he showed some mental toughness and came out and executed good, solid kicks.”
It was particularly impressive that Bass rebounded on a day when winds were whipping furiously in the stadium.
4. The Bills’ defense also started slow. However, it wound up giving a dominant showing, albeit against a weak Titans offense, and provided the game’s turning point.
The Bills held the Titans to 289 yards, came up with an interception (by Damar Hamlin) of a pass by Mason Rudolph, who was starting in place of injured Will Levis, and a fumble recovery.
But the game’s big shift to the Bills’ advantage came after consecutive stops, on third and fourth down, early in the third quarter. On third-and-1 from the Tennessee 45, Tony Pollard took a direct snap and Terrel Bernard (who later left the game with an ankle injury) threw him for a one-yard loss. On fourth-and-two from the Titans’ 44, Pollard again got the carry and this time DeWayne Carter dumped him for a three-yard loss.
The Bills took over at the Tennessee 41 and, six plays later, Allen found Cooper for a touchdown. From there, the rout was on.
Greg Rousseau was as disruptive as force as he has been since his three-sack season-opener against Arizona. He had a game-high six quarterback hits and a half sack.
5. With two wins in a row after a two-game losing streak, the Bills seem to have righted the ship and have an opportunity to build on the momentum.
They face the beatable Seahawks at Seattle next Sunday, then are home against the Dolphins (who lost to Indianapolis Sunday) before traveling to Indianapolis.
It is easy to see the Bills carrying an 8-2 record into what figures to be their most challenging game of the season, Nov. 17 against Kansas City at Highmark Stadium.
That game figures to be another measuring point for the Bills’ worthiness as a Super Bowl contender.