ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills face the Tennessee Titans for a week seven matchup on Sunday afternoon. The Bills are back at home after playing three straight weeks of games on the road.
The Channel 2 sports team each gives a key to the game before things get underway inside Highmark Stadium.
Jon Scott – Amari Cooper’s Debut
I’ll start off with the obvious.
The Bills made a big move this week by trading for Browns WR Amari Cooper.
Sunday against the Titans should be our first look at some of what Cooper can bring to this offense.
I say some because it is absolutely going to be a work in progress for Cooper to learn the playbook, one which we’ve heard from many players (past and present) is quite complex.
Expect offensive coordinator Joe Brady to simply ask Cooper what he feels most comfortable with and roll him out there to do just that.
Josh Allen said this week that a wide receiver the caliber of Cooper just knows how to get open, which can make up for some of the lack of chemistry out of the gate.
The debut is a good litmus test as to where that chemistry is after just a few days and can set the tone for where it could go as the season moves on.
I also have interest in the ripple effect to the addition of Cooper.
When he is on the field, who isn’t anymore?
Does the ball find Cooper more from the jump than other WRs who have been here all season?
The Titans defense tops in the NFL overall along with being best against the pass.
A challenging opponent to begin working in a new key piece.
Jonathan Acosta – Turnover Battle
One of the more eye-opening stats from the Bills first six weeks is how well Josh Allen has been able to take care of the football, posting a 10:0 TD to INT ratio.
For Titans QB Will Levis, his second season has gone much differently.
Levis leads the NFL in interceptions with seven, as opposed to just five touchdown passes. Among quarterbacks with at least five starts this season, Levis is next-to-last in passing yards at 139.8 per game.
Levis’ struggles have led to the Titans ranking 31st in the NFL so far in turnover margin.
Sunday will present an opportunity for an increasingly healthy Bills defense to potentially flex its muscle, and help the Bills win in the complementary football style of play that Sean McDermott always preaches.
The Bills defense has forced 10 turnovers this season, including at least one in each game. Last week, it was Taron Johnson, in his first game back from a four-game injury absence, with a game-sealing interception against Aaron Rodgers and the Jets.
After getting Johnson and Taylor Rapp back last week, the Bills will get another defensive piece back this week in Ed Oliver, who returns after missing two games with a hamstring injury. At almost full health, the Bills have the potential to take over a game the way it did in Week 2 at Miami, when it forced three interceptions from Tua Tagovailoa that included a Ja’Marcus Ingram pick-six.
The numbers say there will be opportunities for McDermott and Bobby Babich’s defense to create takeaways against Levis and the Titans offense.
If they can do that, it would provide even more short-field opportunities for a Bills offense that has been mostly efficient at translating points into turnovers (the loss in Houston being a notable exemption).
Combined with Allen’s ability to take care of the ball, winning the turnover battle is a viable path to victory for the Bills as they return home to Highmark Stadium.
Lindsey Moppert – Bass Back on Track
It's no secret that Bills kicker Tyler Bass has been evidently struggling since the start of the season and more specifically over the last few weeks.
Bass has only made 75% of his field-goal attempt and 90% of his extra-point attempts which ranks 32nd in the NFL through six games.
The Bills veteran kicker is 9 of 12 on field goals this season and 18 of 20 on point-after tries.
The most recent example of these inconsistencies came in week six against the New York Jets. Bass missed a kick from 47 yards out in the third quarter and an extra-point attempt in the second.
This performance resulted in the Bills bringing in some competition for his job this week.
Buffalo signed kicker Lucas Havrisik to the Bills practice squad on Thursday after general manager Brandon Beane was fairly straight-forward when discussing potential options if Bass continues to struggle.
Bass himself was also incredibly open and honest when asked about his recent lack of consistency.
"At the end of the day it's a results-based business," Bass said. "A couple of my games this year haven't been great and not the results we've desired. You understand it, it's a business, it's a results-based league and at the end of the day you just got to keep putting in your work and control what you can control."
Head coach Sean McDermott reiterated his confidence in Bass despite adding a new face to the practice squad by announcing him as the week seven starter.
It will be critical for Bass to make his kicks on Sunday afternoon not only for his own self-confidence, but also to ensure that when his team needs to rely upon him in game-sealing scenarios, he can and will answer the call.