WGR

‘I’ll get to Allen’s game in a moment because the story of the game was the Bills defense. They dominated their matchup with the Titans offense holding quarterback Marcus Mariota and company to one touchdown and a grand total of 252 yards. The Titans had 11 possessions on offense and six of those were three and outs. They didn’t convert a third down until the second half and were just 1-3 in the red zone. The Bills defensive line was too much for Tennessee’s offensive line. Buffalo recorded five sacks of Mariota, three of which came from Jordan Phillips. The Bills defense has now allowed only six touchdowns in the first five games and no opponent has scored more than 17 points.’

‘Dominant is the word. 252 total yards for the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. One touchdown allowed and that came on a short field drive following a Josh Allen interception. Yes, the Titans missed 4 field goals as Cairo Santos had a very tough day, so that was helpful. At least one of those misses was partially blocked by Darryl Johnson but still, it’s pretty rare to see a kicker miss that many kicks in one game and in a tight low scoring affair it was a big deal.’

‘Taking into consideration his decision-making and passing all together, the Bills QB played probably his best overall half football for the first thirty minutes, going 17-for-21 for 146 yards and a TD pass. He made one crucial mistake by throwing a ball he shouldn’t early in the third quarter that resulted in an interception. But, otherwise, Allen took what the defense gave him, didn’t try to force the issue, took sacks, and threw the ball away when needed. He finished the game 23-for-32 (71.8%) for 219 yards and 2 TDs passing, plus another 19 yards on the ground. A solid performance for Allen coming off a week of being in concussion protocol.’

‘Players have to pass through five phases of the NFL’s concussion protocol, wtih stage four being non-contact football related drills, with stage five being medical clearance from an independent neurological consultant and team doctors.’

‘“I would have to say unselfish team defense. I think this team does a good job of playing team defense and I think our unit, I’m probably biased, but I think our unit does a good job and playing team defense also.”‘

‘Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is the only QB in the league who has started four games and yet to give the ball away. In fact, he currently has the league’s longest active streak of passes without a pick (169) and the last time he threw an interception was December 6 of last year, in Jacksonville. The Bills are tied for 2nd in the NFL with five interceptions. They are 6th in the league intercepting the ball at a 3.11% rate per pass attempt. Somethings gotta give.’

‘”Special teams is a big part of playing good football, and complimentary football, where all three phases link up to get the overall result. We feel really good about our special teams units. We feel really good about our kicking game. It’s an area we need to continue to develop, but, it’s an area that this weekend, could come into play, with respect to the type of game that we expect. We expect it to be a physical, field position-type of game. And so, special teams usually plays a big part in those types of games.”‘

‘The Bills are left with just Dion Dawkins, Ty Nsekhe, and rookie Cody Ford at offensive tackle. Although, Ryan Bates is capable of playing all five positions on the offensive line.’

‘“Yeah, it was,” McDermott responded when asked if that was part of the reason the Bills worked in the rain. “We’ve done some work in the spring, as well, to prepare for potential weather. This was another day of it, which was good. We didn’t have to fabricate wet ball drills. We had the elements of it out there today.”’

‘Bills quarterback Josh Allen remained in concussion protocol Wednesday, but was on the practice field doing individual position drills. Allen was hit in the head by Patriots defensive back Jonathan Jones Sunday in the fourth quarter. He left the game and didn’t return. Head coach Sean McDermott didn’t provide any further updates when he met with the media for his weekly Wednesday press conference.’

‘Obviously, it’s the defense. Absolutely incredible play from this unit through four games so far. They are ranked second in the league in yards allowed per game, leading the NFL in three-and-outs against opposing offenses, and have only allowed 45 points through the first four games (not counting TDs scored against the offense or special teams).’

‘”We feel good. It was a hard fought loss. We know what we have here. No one is backing down, we’re 3-1, we’re fine… These are the kind of games everyone gets worked up for. We just gotta bounce back.”‘

‘If there’s one thing we’ve learned over an almost two-decade run of dominance for the Patriots over the Bills, it’s that you need every edge you can find and then maybe even some good luck to go along with it if you intend to beat them. That blocked punt touchdown was that opportunity Sunday and for whatever reason, the Bills were not prepared to take advantage of it.’

‘While that would be it for the scoring, the game still had plenty of drama. Josh Allen’s day would end early in the fourth quarter, as the second year quarterback was placed in the league’s concussion protocol after a helmet-to-helmet hit by Patriots safety Jonathan Jones. Matt Barkley would finish the game under center for the Bills, leading the Bills down to the Patriots’ 3 yard line. However, a pass on fourth and goal to Zay Jones would wind up incomplete and the Bills turned over the football on downs.’

‘There was a time in this game the defense had Brady in four three-and-outs and one 16-play-93 yard drive, but guess what happened on that one? Micah Hyde intercepted Brady in the end zone to stop the drive.’