ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five thoughts on the Buffalo Bills’ game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Highmark Stadium:
1. The most, if not lone, appealing aspect of this game is that it’ll be Amari Cooper’s Bills debut.
There’s no time to waste in determining exactly what the Bills have from the receiver they acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Browns Tuesday. He’s under contract for only the 11 remaining games of the regular season and for however long the postseason lasts for them.
Cooper, 30, has a reputation for being a quick study, something on which he has had to lean heavily given this is the third time he has been traded in his 10 NFL seasons. The Bills’ offense isn’t overly complicated, so Cooper should be able to get up to speed quickly enough to be immediately featured in a passing offense that has so far had no primary target.
“It’s definitely a fast turnaround,” Cooper told reporters. “So, I don’t know if I’ve had enough time to really process it, but at the end of the day, it’s just football.”
The football he and his teammates in Cleveland played through a 1-5 start has been bad. Cooper only caught 24 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. The Browns’ quarterback, Deshaun Watson, has been terrible. Cooper will need to promptly show the Bills were wise to give up a third-round pick for him by taking advantage of the fact that he has a much better QB in Allen.
“One of the things that we harp on as football players is to just be where your feet are,” Cooper said. “I mean, yeah, you can look back at the past, but only to learn from it. So, you know, this game comes with a lot of ebbs and flows. Yeah. We weren’t having the best season over there in Cleveland. But this season is long, you know what I mean? But obviously I'm not there anymore, so I’m hyper-focused on my situation now. So, I can only go from here.”
2. The Bills are getting healthier on both sides of the ball, which couldn’t come at a better time.
The closer teams get to midseason, the more injuries tend to pile up. The Bills have been somewhat fortunate (if that’s the word) that so many of the injuries they’ve had have come early in the schedule. That has allowed for most players to heal and be a part of the push through the rest of October and into November to place a lock grip on first place in the AFC East, which Buffalo leads by 2 ½ games.
Monday night’s win against the New York Jets was a perfect example of the impact of having players return to action after being sidelined with injuries. Safety Taylor Rapp, back from a concussion, made multiple touchdown-saving plays. Nickelback Taron Johnson made a late interception that all but sealed the outcome.
The interior of the defensive line should get a boost with the return of tackle Ed Oliver from a hamstring injury. With James Cook expected to return from his injured toe, the Bills should be able to continue their ability to take control of the game with their solid rushing attack. It could prove even more vital given that Ray Davis, who performed exceptionally well against the Jets, is questionable with an ankle injury.
After snapping a two-game losing streak, the Bills could conceivably go on a win streak with their next four games against beatable opponents (Tennessee, Seattle Miami and Indianapolis) before facing Kansas City and, after a bye, San Francisco.
3. There’s plenty for the Bills to clean up after a game they could have easily lost.
Beating the Jets could prove to be one of the more important wins of the regular season, because it got the Bills out of a tailspin and allowed them to take firm control of first place in their division. However, the performance was not without ugly blemishes.
The biggest were penalties. Eleven were called on each team, which says more about the officiating than the players, but not all the flags were bogus. The Bills’ offensive line showed some discipline issues, the worst of which was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Dion Dawkins drew BETWEEN the third and fourth quarters with the MetLife Stadium lights out.
Then, there was the mishandling of the end of the first half, where the Bills, leading 20-10, had no business allowing Aaron Rodgers to complete a 52-yard Hail Mary for a touchdown to put the Jets back in the game.
The Jets game should serve as a reminder that the Bills, while still very much in the thick of the battle for AFC supremacy, must play as close to perfect as possible because there generally isn’t much that separates most of the teams in the NFL.
4. All of that said, the Bills should easily dispose of the 1-4 Titans.
They are an error-prone club with little hope of becoming relevant through the balance of the season. Their quarterback, Will Levis, is a turnover machine. He leads the NFL with seven interceptions and 10 total giveaways. He's also listed as questionable with an injury to his throwing shoulder.
Meanwhile, since the start of the 2023 season, the Bills have forced 40 takeaways, which is third-most in the league. They’ve also generated an NFL-best 140 points off of turnovers in that span.
Given the way they played against the Jets, the Bills certainly have no cause for a letdown but something to watch for against a struggling opponent.
5. Not surprisingly, the Bills added a kicker, Lucas Havrisik, to their practice squad Thursday.
Somewhat surprisingly, Tyler Bass is going to remain their kicker, at least for Sunday. Bass, who has been struggling all season, had figured to boot himself off the roster after missing an extra point and a field goal against the Jets.
The acquisition of Havrisik clearly places additional pressure on Bass to straighten out his game, but it’s fair to wonder if Bass’ issues are fixable. His confidence could very well be shaken beyond the point of no return.
Another poor showing by him Sunday could lead to Bass being an ex-Bill.