Two 2021 playoff teams with two totally different first impressions renew acquaintances in Western New York when Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills (1-0) host Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans (0-1) on national TV Monday night. Read on for a breakdown of the Titans vs. Bills matchups, the key injuries, and game predictions from our NFL staff.
Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills preview
There’s no other way to put it: The Titans were among the NFL’s biggest disappointments in Week 1. The two-time defending AFC South champions blew a 13-point second-half lead — at home — to the undermanned New York Giants.
The Titans’ supremely banged-up defense surrendered 21 second-half points (including a decisive two-point conversion with 66 seconds left in regulation) and allowed 394 yards (on 6.8 per play). Tannehill was what he always has been — fine, but not great — and Derrick Henry averaged under four yards per carry against a Giants defense that allowed 4.5 on the ground last fall.
[bet-promo id=”174860″ ]A far, far better effort will be needed even to be competitive this week. The Bills, with a national TV audience, demonstrated in the NFL season opener what most believed: that they’re one of the two or three best teams in the league.
They went to the home of the defending champs — the Los Angeles Rams — and demonstrated that things will probably be different this time around. The score — 31-10 — would have been far worse without three first-half Bills turnovers. Allen went off, completing 26 of 31 passes for 297 yards and three scores, and the defense sacked Matthew Stafford seven times (including two by Von Miller).
Prediction
Betting line (courtesy of Caesars)
Bills -10; Bills -480, Titans +360; O/U 47.5
Adam Beasley’s prediction
14-15-1 straight-up, 15-15 against the spread in 2022
Bills 45, Titans 20
Dalton Miller’s prediction
16-13-1 straight-up, 15-15 against the spread in 2022
Bills 35, Titans 20
Dallas Robinson’s prediction
17-12-1 straight-up, 12-18 against the spread in 2022
Bills 28, Titans 20
How to watch
- Date/Time
Monday, Sept. 19, 7:15 p.m. ET - Channel
ESPN - Live Stream
DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, FuboTV, YouTube TV, Vidgo, Spectrum TV Choice, ESPN app
Matchups
We can understand why ESPN picked up Bills-Titans for the second time in as many seasons. Last year’s game was an instant classic, won by Tennessee 34-31 on a dramatic fourth-down stop in the game’s final seconds.
Henry scored three touchdowns in that game, the last coming with 3:05 left in regulation to put the Titans ahead for good. Those pivotal final moments ultimately cost the Bills the AFC’s No. 1 seed, forcing them to play at Arrowhead in the AFC Divisional Round (a game they lost). The Titans lead the all-time series 30-19 in a rivalry that includes three playoff meetings and spans multiple cities over more than six decades.
Tennessee Titans 2022 stats/rankings
- Scoring: 20.0 (T-17th)
- Yards: 359.0 (15th)
- Yards per play: 6.0 (ninth)
- Passing: 266.0 (10th)
- Rushing: 93.0 (19th)
- Defensive scoring: 21.0 (T-17th)
- Yards allowed: 394.0 (24th)
- Yards per play allowed: 6.8 (30th)
- Pass defense: 156.0 (fourth)
- Rush defense: 238.0 (32nd)
Buffalo Bills 2022 stats/rankings
- Scoring: 31.0 (fourth)
- Yards: 413.0 (seventh)
- Yards per play: 7.1 (second)
- Passing: 292.0 (seventh)
- Rushing: 121.0 (14th)
- Defensive scoring: 10.0 (T-fifth)
- Yards allowed: 243.0 (second)
- Yards per play allowed: 3.7 (second)
- Pass defense: 191.0 (eighth)
- Rush defense: 52.0 (first)
Injuries to know
Tennessee Titans:
DE Da’Shawn Hand (injured reserve)
S A.J. Moore (injured reserve)
LB Chance Campbell (injured reserve)
TE Tommy Hudson (injured reserve)
OLB Harold Landry (injured reserve)
WR Racey McMath (injured reserve)
CB Elijah Molden (injured reserve)
LB Monty Rice (physically unable to perform)
K Caleb Shudak (physically unable to perform)
Buffalo Bills:
WR Marquez Stevenson (injured reserve)
G Ike Boettger (physically unable to perform)
CB Tre’Davious White (physically unable to perform)