NFL
By: Charlie Gross
Most people don’t realize that the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans are bitter rivals. The teams don’t seem to like each other and seemingly neither do the fanbases. Where did this bitter hatred start? Picture it: Nashville, Tennessee January 8th, 2000. The Wade Phillips led 11-5 Buffalo Bills with a roster that included Eric Moulds, Doug Flutie, Rob Johnson, Peerless Price, Ruben Brown, John Fina, Phil Hansen, Antoine Winfield, Sam Cowart, Henry Jones, Pat Williams, Ted Washington, and aging stars Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith, traveled to Tennessee for one last playoff run.
With sixteen seconds left in the game, Bills kicker Steve Christie made a field goal to give Buffalo a 16-15 lead over the Titans. On the ensuing kickoff, Frank Wycheck executed an Illegal forward lateral to Kevin Dyson, which the officials missed, and Dyson ran 75 yards for a touchdown. That was the last time the Bills would appear in the playoffs until the 2017 season. Further adding to the pain, 28 days after losing the Titans on February 11, 2000, Buffalo Bills released Bruce Smith, Thurman Thomas, and Andre Reed all on the same day.
Since Sean McDermott was hired in 2017, Buffalo and Tennessee have met four times, with this Monday being the fifth meeting. Previous games include a Bills 14-7 win in which Jordan Phillips and Shaq Lawson embarrassed Taylor Lewan, continually beating him with Phillips notching 3 sacks. After the game, Shaq Lawson called Lewan “a fake tough guy”. A blowout win by the Titans on Tuesday during the 2020 covid season and a heartbreaking loss in 2021 where Josh Allen slipped and fell while trying to convert a 4th and 1. Additionally, some of their fans admitted to buying Twitter bots to beat Billsmafia in a “best fans” poll that one of the big networks was conducting. Now that I’ve covered the backstory, onto the game.
When the Bills Have the Ball
Buffalo has the best offense in the NFL and the best Quarterback. Tennessee has lost its best outside pass rusher in Harold Landry. However, that doesn’t mean the Bills offense will have an easy day. The Titans’ defense still has some very talented players. Jeffery Simmons is one of the best defensive tackles in the game, a player who can wreck a game singlehandedly. Amani Hooker and Kevin Byard make up one of the league’s best safety tandems. Josh Allen must continue to be patient and not let the Titans force him into making mistakes. Stefon Diggs and the rest of the wide receivers should be able to take advantage of the Titans’ inexperienced cornerbacks. If the Titans have to give extra help to their corners it should open up the middle of the field for Dawson Knox.
Contain Derrick Henry
This offense is still centered around the massive running back. While Buffalo has done well in most games against Henry, limiting to 78 yards or less in two of the last three games, they can’t afford to let up a long run like they did last year. Tennessee’s passing game is almost anemic at this point. former Bill Robert Woods is the headliner here but he’s coming off an ACL tear and there isn’t much behind him. The corner vs wide receiver battle is looking like a rookie fest for the most part. While Dane Jackson has some experience the Bills will continue to rely on rookies Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam at the other corner position. They will face off against Tennessee’s rookie wide receivers, Treylon Burks and Kyle Phillips. Buffalo’s front seven must also be aware of the threat that Ryan Tannehill can be in the running game. While Tannehill isn’t on Josh Allen’s level, he has hurt in the past with his ability to run.
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