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That's all she wrote on the Buffalo Bills 2020 undefeated run. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but how can a young, impressionable team learn without their fair share of bumps and bruises along the way? For the first time this season, Josh Allen showed that he is still human, the Bills showed that they are not a perfect team, we learned what Buffalo's weaknesses are, and hopefully how they'll be able to address them.
It was an uncertain week for Buffalo. Up until Thursday of last week, the Bills weren't sure if they'd even have a week 5 game to play. After multiple members of the Titans organization tested positive for COVID-19, there were rumblings from within the league that the NFL might force Tennessee to forfeit their game against the Bills. But as always, the show must go on. And for the second time since 1946, we had ourselves a Tuesday night football game.
Before the start of Tuesday's Bills vs. Titans game, there were whispers from Bills' insiders that Buffalo had spent the previous week preparing for a Thursday night week 6 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, since the status of their week 5 game was still up in the air. After the reports surfaced, there was a growing sense of pessimism that the Bills would be ready to play an undefeated Tennessee Titans team.
So with that being said, let's get right into it, and discuss the pro's and con's from the Bills week 5 embarrassment at the hands of the Tennessee Titans.
Photo Borrowed From buffalobills.com
Pros
Stefon Diggs
Diggs was the only player on the Bills worth watching Tuesday night. Diggs ran 106 yards on 10 receptions against Tennessee. Had it not been for a few misthrows from Josh Allen, Diggs probably would have had himself his best game of the season. It was very encouraging to see Diggs talking to his quarterback on the bench late in the game, giving Allen words of wisdom, and an outlet for Josh to air his frustrations. It shows that Allen and Diggs are growing with each other, hopefully they'll be a strong QB/WR duo for years to come, and that Diggs is the good teammate that all the critics said he wouldn't be.
Cons
Injuries
Injuries - specifically defensive injuries - really hurt Buffalo this week. The Bills were without two key defensive players in Tre White and Matt Milano, and one key receiver in John Brown. Without star cornerback Tre White, Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill and Tennessee receivers were feasting all over the Bills. Tannehill went 21/28 for 195 yards and 3 touchdowns. Titans' wide receiver A.J. Brown had 82 yards on 7 receptions.
The Rushing Defense... Again.
Once again, the Bills let the opposing team rush all over them. The rushing defense has been the biggest flaw on the Bills roster all season long. Sure, Derrick Henry is a top 5 running back in the NFL, and every team struggles against him, so you can't knock the Bills for that one. But when you let Ryan Tannehill rush for 42 yards and 1 touchdown on 4 carries?! That's when I draw the line. Bills general manager Brandon Beane has a lot of work to do before the trade deadline. He needs to make moves in order to shore up the defensive line. Buffalo is officially in win-now mode. Beane needs to make sure that his team is able to make a deep playoff run this year, and they aren't going to be able to if he doesn't do some serious overhauling to this defense.
Yes, it was an ugly loss. Yes, there were a few times when I almost shut the television off because my eyes couldn't fathom what they were seeing. But at the end of the day, this Buffalo team is still a championship contender. It's gut check time for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. It's time for them to prove that they can dust themselves off, put the loss behind them, go out there on Monday night and take it right to the Chiefs, (who are also coming off of their first loss of the season) and prove the naysayers wrong.
Like the title says, you can't win 'em all, Bills Mafia.
Follow me on Twitter for all your Buffalo Bills news, rumors, and updates. @NY_cth
-Chris