It wasn't pretty and third quarter woes continue to be a problem, but the Buffalo Bills will head into the bye week on a high note after their 14-7 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
In a game where penalties, injuries and a third quarter where Buffalo totaled just 24 yards, the Bills still edged out a victory to improve to 4-1 on the 2019 season.
Josh Allen was mostly efficient after last week's turnover-happy performance, going 23-of-32 for 213 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while adding 27 yards on the ground.
Frank Gore was quiet in the first half, but closed out the game with 60 yards on 14 carries.
John Brown led the Bills in receiving once again with five catches for 75 yards, while Duke Williams reeled in his first career touchdown pass that proved to be the game-winner in his first career game.
Defensively, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips had three of Buffalo's five sacks on Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota.
The game started off with no scoring in the first quarter as the teams mostly exchanged punts in the opening 15 minutes, with the Bills turning the ball over on downs once in the opening quarter.
The second quarter started off with a missed field goal from Titans kicker Cairo Santos, the first of four misses overall on the day. Buffalo would start off the scoring after a 60-yard drive, where Allen was a perfect 5-for-5 for 58 yards and an eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Lee Smith to cap off the drive and make it 7-0.
The Titans looked poised to respond, but Santos missed his second attempt of the game just before both teams went into the locker room for halftime.
The Bills have struggled in the third quarter in most of their games this season, and this week in Tennessee was be no different. Buffalo's offense gained just 24 total yards in the third quarter, with an interception to safety Kevin Byard mixed in from Allen.
The Titans would take advantage of the blunder, tying the game at 7-7 with a one-yard touchdown run from Derrick Henry.
Tennessee threatened to take the lead, but two touchdowns were called back by penalties and Santos' third field goal attempt was blocked by Darryl Johnson, keeping the game deadlocked at 7-7.
The Bills finally put points on the board again in the fourth quarter, with a 77-yard drive that ended with Williams reeling in a seven-yard pass for his first career NFL touchdown.
After the fourth missed field goal from Santos, the Bills capped off the game with a final drive that ate up the final 4:12 of the game, thanks to first down runs by T.J. Yeldon, Frank Gore and Allen.
Buffalo's defense forced six three-and-out series for the Titans offense and allowed just 252 total yards in the contest.
Buffalo suffered several injuries on both the offensive and defensive side of the football in the win. Center Mitch Morse, offensive tackle Cody Ford, linebacker Matt Milano and defensive end Trent Murphy all were injured and did not return to the game.
- 0-0 TIE - Bills turnover on downs - The Bills go for it on 4th-and-2 on the Tennessee 31-yard line, but cannot convert after the quarterback sneak only gets one yard.
Second Quarter:
- 0-0 TIE - Titans missed field goal - Cairo Santos' 50-yard field goal attempt is no good
- 7-0 BILLS - Bills touchdown - Josh Allen tosses an 8-yard touchdown pass to Lee Smith (Stephen Hauschka's extra-point attempt is good)
- Drive info: 6 plays, 60 yards, 2:46
- 7-0 BILLS - Titans missed field goal - Cairo Santos' 36-yard field goal attempt is no good
Third Quarter:
- 7-0 BILLS - Titans interception - Josh Allen is intercepted by safety Kevin Byard, returns the ball to the Buffalo 38-yard line
- 7-7 TIE - Titans touchdown - Derrick Henry punches in a 1-yard touchdown run (Cairo Santos' extra-point attempt is good)
- Drive info: 7 plays, 38 yards, 3:28
Fourth Quarter:
- 7-7 TIE - Titans missed field goal - Cairo Santos' 33-yard field goal attempt is no good
- 14-7 BILLS - Bills touchdown - Josh Allen 7 yard touchdown pass to Duke Williams
- Drive info: 6 plays, 77 yards, 2:37
- 14-7 BILLS - Titans missed field goal - Cairo Santos' 53-yard field goal attempt is no good
LoTempio Complete Stats of the Game
Josh Allen: 23-of-32, 219 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Marcus Mariota: 13-of-22, 183 yards
Frank Gore: 14 carries, 60 yards
Josh Allen: 10 carries, 27 yards
T.J. Yeldon: 2 carries, 15 yards
Andre Roberts: 1 carry, 7 yards
Derrick Henry: 20 carries, 78 yards, 1 TD
Marcus Mariota: 5 carries, 13 yards
Dion Lewis: 2 carries, 11 yards
John Brown: 5 receptions, 75 yards
Isaiah McKenzie: 2 receptions, 52 yards
Duke Williams: 4 receptions, 29 yards, 1 TD
Cole Beasley: 3 receptions, 21 yards
T.J. Yeldon: 4 receptions, 13 yards
Dawson Knox: 2 receptions, 12 yards
Frank Gore: 2 receptions, 9 yards
Lee Smith: 1 reception, 8 yards, 1 TD
Jonnu Smith: 1 reception, 57 yards
Adam Humphries: 4 receptions, 30 yards
Corey Davis: 2 receptions, 28 yards
A.J. Brown: 2 receptions, 27 yards
Dion Lewis: 2 receptions, 19 yards
Tajae Sharpe: 1 reception, 12 yards
Delanie Walker: 1 reception, 10 yards
Lorenzo Alexander: 6 tackles, 1 sack
Ed Oliver: 6 tackles
Jerry Hughes: 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss
Jordan Phillips: 3 tackles, 3 sacks
Darryl Johnson: 3 tackles, 1 sack
Logan Ryan: 9 tackles, 1 sack
Harold Landry III: 7 tackles, 1 sack
Kevin Byard: 5 tackles, 1 interception
Daquan Jones: 3 tackles, 1 sack
Reggie Gilbert: 3 tackles, 1 sack
BUF: 313TEN: 252
BUF: 204TEN: 150
BUF: 109TEN: 102
BUF: 18TEN: 14
BUF: 11 for 78 yards TEN: 8 for 60 yards
BUF: 31:12TEN: 28:48
The Bills get the week off for their bye week before returning to New Era Field to begin a three-game homestand, starting with the the Miami Dolphins (0-4) on October 20. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. with John Murphy, Eric Wood and Sal Capaccio on the call.