I believe it was the 1983 Chicago White Sox baseball team that originally coined the phrase “Winning Ugly”, but on Sunday the Buffalo Bills’ performance in defeating the Tennessee Titans 14-13 certainly fit that expression. Based on their play for most of the first three quarters, the Bills had no business winning this game. Their defense, expected to dominate rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota, looked passive and was ineffective at getting stops on third down, and as a result the Titans built a huge advantage in time of possession. Pair that passive defensive effort with the team’s almost totally inept offense (it took until a little over six minutes were left in the first half for them to register a first down) and this looked like it was going to end in an upset. Despite not being able to get off the field, Buffalo’s defense did manage to at least hold Mariota and his teammates off the scoreboard for the most part. The Titans dominated play in the first half but went to the locker room with only a 3-0 lead. Once the Titans extended their lead to 10-0 in the third quarter, Bills’ QB Tyrod Taylor took matters into his own hands. Buffalo’s offensive game plan hadn’t worked all day, with running backs Boobie Dixon and newly-signed Boom Herron looking slow and plodding in the run game, and the Titans shutting down the two main weapons in Buffalo’s depleted offense, Charles Clay and Percy Harvin. Taylor then went into semi-playground mode as he led the Bills on a pair of touchdown drives starting late in the third quarter. He ran 22 yards for his team’s first score, then led a game-winning 80 yard scoring drive that he capped off with a 2 yard TD toss to Chris Hogan. That drive included a 24 yard scramble by Taylor on a 3rd and 23 play, and even featured a 4 yard reception by him on a trick play, setting up the throw to Hogan. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore then sealed the win by making an alert play to intercept a Mariota pass as Tennessee attempted to drive for a winning field goal at the end of the game. Buffalo’s defense, when all was said and done, didn’t dominate as they expected but their “bend but don’t break” approach was good enough to keep the team close until Taylor took matters into his own hands (and feet). The Bills now return home next week to face the undefeated, red-hot Cincinnati Bengals, and will certainly have to improve in all phases if they expect to win.
NFL – Bills’ Game Review
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