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Words From The Herd: Buffalo Bills Crush MNF

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8 months ago

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For the second week in a row, the Buffalo Bills won in convincing fashion on national TV, this time demolishing the Tennessee Titans 41-7.

It was the first time in 28 years that Buffalo won a Monday night game at home. (Their last MNF win came against the Broncos in 1994.) Monday also marked the Buffalo Bills’ 20th-straight win by 10 or more points, which tied an NFL record set by the Chicago Bears over 80 years ago. Taking it even further, the Bills now have three games with 40+ points and four forced turnovers since the start of last season. The rest of the NFL has combined for three such games.

And taking one more step, because why not… the Bills have now outscored their opponents 72-17 through two games and a whopping 45-0 in the second half… FORTY FIVE TO NOTHING.

On the Bills Offense

One of the biggest reasons for this incredible start is because of Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. The duo has connected 20 times for 270 yards and 4 TDs through two games, including three touchdowns on Monday night.

“He is what he is… that’s Stefon Diggs. We know he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest receiver in the game right now. I trust him implicitly. I love that guy, he works his tail off.”

Josh Allen on his WR1

Allen completed 26 passes against Tennessee, with 46% of them going to Diggs. Mike Vrabel and the Titans had no answer for the two, who barely needed three quarters to do their damage. Diggs had all of the moves in his arsenal working Monday night, as he was connecting with Allen on short, intermediate, and deep routes.

“As a receiver, you want to be able to do everything, especially if you consider yourself a wide receiver one. Like, you gotta be everything for your quarterback. I got a quarterback that can do everything, so for me, I just gotta do my job.”

Stefon Diggs on being WR1

Bills head coach Sean McDermott was very pleased by his two star players.

“That last throw that Josh made to Stef, I’m just saying ‘go get it man, go get it,’ and he got it. It was fun to watch. That was awesome,” McDermott said.

Allen finished 26/38 for 317 yards, 4 TDs, and a 128.9 rating, all while missing his WR2 Gabe Davis (ankle). The run game never got going — Singletary had six carries for 19 yards — but Allen said that was because of the game flow and how the Titans struggled defending the pass. However, he did say that they want to get the run game more involved moving forward.

On the Bills Defense

Not to be outdone, the Buffalo Bills defense put together another strong effort to say the least. They held the Titans to just 187 total yards, forced four turnovers, and kept them off the scoreboard for the last three-plus quarters.

“We just played our style of defense… we really didn’t leave any T uncrossed or any I undotted,” DE Von Miller said in the beginning of his press conference. He later described how appreciative he is to be able to play in front of a “crazy” and “loud” atmosphere in Highmark Stadium.

McDermott credited all of his coaching staffs when asked about the defensive performance.

“I thought both coaching staffs, with the defense, offense, special teams… They did a great job… I thought it was good fundamental football. I thought we were a little… maybe erratic early and we settled in and started playing good, disciplined… fundamentally strong football. We still need to add some discipline into what we do there.”

Sean McDermott on the defensive performance

Stopping Derrick Henry

Probably the biggest question going into the game was if the Buffalo Bills would be able to stop RB Derrick Henry, especially after losing DT Ed Oliver (ankle) and DT Tim Settle (calf) to injuries. Well, the Bills held the Titans’ bell cow back to just 25 yards on 13 carries (1.9 yards per carry). Yes, Henry had a touchdown early on. However, that was the only bright spot for him and the Titans, who couldn’t muster anything the rest of the night.

The Buffalo Bills elevated DTs Brandin Bryant and C.J. Brewer from the practice squad prior to the game, and they rotated in with DTs DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips throughout the game.

“Real proud of the way the guys that filled in stepped up,” McDermott said.

SS Jordan Poyer credited the coaching staffs when asked how they were able to slow down and contain Henry and the Titans offense.

“The coaches just prepared us really well throughout the week to play well. We were ready and understood what they were going to try to do… how they were trying to attack us. When you have a front like we do, it makes our job on the back end a lot easier, forcing him [Ryan Tannehill] to make some throws he probably didn’t want to make… we were able to make plays on the ball and take advantage of the opportunities.”

Jordan Poyer on the team’s preparation

LB Matt Milano shared his perspective on stopping Henry.

“The biggest thing for us was just getting some pressure on him. Making him stop his feet and making him go lateral and not north to south,” Milano said.

Milano and Edmunds

As for Milano himself, he and Tremaine Edmunds put together one of their best games as teammates. Milano had two passes defended, one TFL, and a pick-six late in the third quarter that really put an exclamation point on the game. Edmunds had two TFLs, one sack, a pass breakup, and a QB hit.

“Tremaine was really tackling well, he’s flying around, physical, leading our defense, getting us lined up. And then Matt to make that play… that comes from film study. That’s his preparation and you see those two putting in a lot of time even when meetings are over. They’re in there watching film and getting themselves ready to go.”

Sean McDermott on Milano and Edmunds’ performances

Von Miller said he’s always been a fan of Edmunds since the Bills drafted him in 2018.

“He’s one of the best inside linebackers in the league. He goes sideline to sideline, he’s 6’5”, he’s rangy, he can play the run, he can play the pass… He has what it takes to be the best linebacker in this league.”

Von Miller on Tremaine Edmunds

Defensive Backfield

As we know by now, the Buffalo Bills DBs are pretty banged up. CB Dane Jackson and S Micah Hyde both exited due to injury and CB Tre White is still on the PUP list. Going up against an electric Miami offense, led by Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, will be no easy task. But the Bills are confident in rookie corners Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford, who may see extended playing time this Sunday.

“Those guys continue to battle, they really embrace that growth mindset, they’re working to get better every day. They’re coachable, they listen; they not only listen to their coaches but they listen to the veterans that are around them.”

Sean McDermott on the rookie CBs

One of the veterans that Elam and Benford listen to is Jordan Poyer, who said he will go to war with those guys any day of the week.

“They just bought in from the moment that those guys stepped in the Bills uniform. Those guys have just bought into the system, bought into the way we talk, the way we walk, our attitudes. There’s a standard around the facility here and those guys have lived up to it.”

Jordan Poyer on Kaiir Elam and Christian Benford

Injury Report

Aside from another throttling win, the biggest storyline that came from Monday night was the number of injuries that the Bills sustained before and during the game, specifically Dane Jackson.

“You go from being a coach to just being a human when I’m out there watching him get loaded into the ambulance. That’s a real moment,” McDermott said.

Thankfully, the Buffalo Bills reported that Jackson had full movement in his extremities after getting taken to the hospital.

And, better yet, it was reported Tuesday morning that Jackson walked out of the hospital the night before without any major injuries.

McDermott even said at his Tuesday afternoon press conference he saw Jackson in the training room earlier in the day; that he was in “good spirits” and that they had a “good conversation.”

As for the rest of the injuries, McDermott said they will know more in the coming days, but described everyone as day-to-day (including Jackson).

Aside from the three who were already out, Mitch Morse left the game with an elbow injury, Micah Hyde injured his neck, Jordan Phillips pulled his hamstring, and Matt Milano left with a stinger.

McDermott clarified that Hyde was also taken to the hospital Monday night just to make sure everything was okay.

Poyer said he texted Hyde and Jackson after the game, and they both gave him encouraging responses.

“I texted Micah, he said he’s alright. Dane said he was alright too,” Poyer said.

Next Up

Hopefully the Buffalo Bills can heal fast because we know what week it is, Bills Mafia…

*All quotes come from the postgame press conference (via the Buffalo Bills YouTube channel).

Featured Image: Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat & Chronicle-USA TODAY Sports

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