Titans Take Top Spot in the AFC After Complete and Utter Domination of the Bills

The Tennessee Titans soar to first place in the AFC after dominating the Buffalo Bills 42-16.

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Wow. Just…..wow. Last night’s game could’ve gone a number of different ways. The Buffalo Bills were 4-0 rolling into that game. Las Vegas had ’em pegged as 3.5-point favorites. And, all of the talk for the last two weeks was how much everyone hated the Tennessee Titans, how they should forfeit the game, and how they wouldn’t be able to recover from all the time off and losses to Big Rona. I didn’t see a single national analyst pick the Titans in this game. So, of all the potential outcomes, the 42-16 absolute beatdown that the Titans laid on the Bills was among the most shocking.

I mean, you hear all the time, “…yeah, but that game was a little closer than the final score indicates,” but this is the exact opposite of that. This is, “wait a minute – when did the Bills score 16 points?” Really, once the Titans went up 14-7, it might as well have been over. The Bills weren’t in this game much at all.

It was the culmination of a lot of things going right for the Titans. I’ve enjoyed the 3-0 start, but if you listen to The Unofficial Titans Podcast, you already know that I was still pretty critical of the team because I didn’t think the way they were winning games was sustainable, much less in the playoffs. I felt like I repeated myself every week: “good teams find a way to win when they aren’t playing their best football” and “if they can just figure ____ out, they’ll be great!” Well, newsflash pal – they sure as shit got some stuff figured out against the ragdolled Bills.

Namely, the offense was absolutely rolling. Having now scored 122 points on the season, it’s a unit that has scored the most points through the first four games of a season in franchise history. Ryan Tannehill looks like a bona fide MVP candidate. Derrick Henry is among the top of the league in rushing yardage. Jonnu Smith keeps scoring touchdowns. Now, AJ Brown is healthy. This is one of the most complete Titans offenses I have EVER seen in Nashville.

On defense, the Titans looked the best they’ve looked all season. This is what that ‘bend but don’t break’ style looks like running at an optimal level. They had defensive backs all over the place breaking up passes. The Bills had three turnovers including two Josh Allen interceptions, but really, there could’ve been three more interceptions with all of the balls that Titans defenders got a hand on. You force teams to dink and dunk, and you drop a bunch of guys into coverage….when the offense makes a mistake, you increase your chances of being there to create the turnover. I’m sure there’s some like…actual statistics and logic behind this philosophy, but you saw it in full effect last night and it worked. Not to mention, the Titans are enabled to play this style of defense because they have a top…five (maybe?)….offense in the NFL.

Plus, the special teams were fantastic – Brett Kern pinned the Bills deep on a couple of occasions. Kalif Raymond had a big return. David Long forced a fumble that Kareem Orr recovered. Just a completely dominant performance in all facets of the game. And, if you don’t think the Titans were paying attention to all the outside noise, just take a look at a quote from Tannehill after the game:

Just an all-around complete effort from the organization as a whole. They were able to channel that energy into focus, poise, and sheer determination. These Titans love each other, they play hard for each other, and to quote the great Big Jeff, “we all we got, we all we need.”

NOW – are we going to hear about this shit for another 20 years from Bills fans? Probably. But, that’s neither here nor there.

As a result, the Titans are currently in the driver’s seat in the AFC. Yep, because of a strength of victory tiebreaker over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Titans currently sit at #1 in the conference. And, really – there isn’t a team in the NFL I don’t think they can beat. This is the team we all thought we’d see heading into the 2020 season. They’ve finally arrived.

Oooohhhhhhhh I don’t want to say it. I really don’t want to say it……..buuuuuut….sure feels like this team has somethin’ special going.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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