Bills make Titans’ Derrick Henry look ordinary; Josh Allen dominates in 41-7 MNF win (Report card)

The Buffalo Bills are here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and the team is all out of bubblegum.

After a bit of a sloppy start, the Bills put on a show on both sides of the ball in front of a raucous crowd at Highmark Stadium.

On offense, Josh Allen could do no wrong as he threw four touchdowns and went over 300 yards in the air. His main target, Stefon Diggs, hauled in three of the scores.

Defensively, the Bills allowed a touchdown on the opening drive before tightening up. The unit forced some bad decisions out of Ryan Tannehill and made Derrick Henry look average. Late in the second half, the Titans waved the white flag and put in their backups.

Even the special teams unit got in on the fun. Sam Martin finally got to make his debut as the team’s punter and uncorked two punts that were both muffed by the Titans. The Bills recovered one of the punts.

The end result for Buffalo on Monday night was a 41-7 win. Through two weeks, the Bills have outscored the reigning Super Bowl champion Rams and the Titans, last year’s No. 1 seed in the AFC, by a score of 72-17.

Following back-to-back dominant wins, Buffalo will now head to Miami to take on the undefeated Dolphins. Before looking ahead to Sunday’s showdown, here is how Buffalo graded out on Monday Night Football.

QUARTERBACK: A+

Buffalo tried running the ball in the first half and it just didn’t work. Eventually the team seems to scrap the run and let Josh Allen move the ball with his arm. It was the right decision.

Allen went 18-of-23 in the first half for 208 yards and two touchdown passes, one to Reggie Gilliam and one to Stefon Diggs.

In the second half, Buffalo continued to let Allen move the ball through the air and it paid off. A 46-yard throw to Stefon Diggs opened up the scoring in the second half and he added a 14-yard score to the team’s No. 1 receiver before getting pulled for reserves.

Allen finished the night completing 26-of-38 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns.

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK: B-

Devin Singletary opened the game with a nice 16 yard run, but from that point on the Bills could not do much on the ground. Buffalo’s top back ended with 19 yards rushing.

Zack Moss had a 17 yard run in the second half, but his struggles in short yardage situations are alarming.

James Cook looked like he was in for a quiet night, but he was able to rip off a 33-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. It’s the type of run that Cook can use to build confidence going forward. He also moved the chains late to allow Buffalo’s final kneeldowns.

Don’t forget about fullback Reggie Gilliam. Gilliam opened the game with a touchdown reception. The fullback did a great job of staying on his feet after taking a few hits by Titans defenders. After staying upright, Gilliam was able to rumble down the left sideline for a score.

It was an uneven night for the backs, but there were some positives for each back and the fullback.

WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END: A+

Without Gabe Davis, the Bills’ receivers and tight ends still caused fits for the Titans.

Stefon Diggs was unstoppable. The young Titans secondary had no answers for Diggs. That resulted in another big night for Buffalo’s top receiver. Diggs found the end zone three times and recorded 12 receptions for 148 yards.

Jake Kumerow saw an increased role with Davis out and he made a few big plays of his own. Kumerow caught two passes for 50 yards with a long of 39 yards.

Dawson Knox (4-41), Isaiah McKenzie (2-37) and Jamison Crowder (1-16) all made notable plays as well.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A

Buffalo’s offensive line has room for improvement in run blocking, but the unit was excellent in terms of protecting Josh Allen. Allen had plenty of time to scan the field throughout the evening which factored into his big night. He was sacked once and took just three hits in the victory.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A+

Greg Rousseau was eating gasoline and gunpowder before tonight’s game. Rousseau is playing with no shortage of confidence and it shows. The second year pass rusher was a force for the team. Rousseau recorded a sack in the first half and recorded two tackles for loss overall.

Jordan Phillips added a QB hit in the effort and Von Miller had a pass defensed.

While the pass rush did not get home as much this week, the defensive line was excellent against the run. Despite missing two key contributors, Ed Oliver and Tim Settle, the Bills made Derrick Henry look ordinary. Henry finished with 25 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries (1.9 YPC).

LINEBACKER: A+

Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds had terrific games for the Bills.

Milano recorded a pick-six and almost had another interception in the win. He also laid a “welcome to the league” type of hit on Malik Willis. Tremaine Edmunds also filled the stat sheet with a productive outing. Edmunds had one sack, two tackles for loss and one pass defensed.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: A+

First and foremost, our thoughts go out to Dane Jackson. Jackson exited the game after Edmunds accidentally made contact with the cornerback’s helmet. Jackson was taken from the stadium via ambulance, but had movement in his extremities.

Jackson recorded a pass defensed in the win and the team’s rookie cornerbacks also stepped up. Christian Benford had a tackle for loss on Henry and Kaiir Elam recorded a big third down tackle for the team in the first half.

Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer stole the show for the unit, as usual. Poyer recorded an interception in the win with Hyde playing a role in the ball staying up in the air long enough for Poyer to make the play.

Taron Johnson, one of the best nickel cornerbacks in the league, also had a strong effort.

Holding the Titans to just 107 passing yards speaks to the dominance of the defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A+

Sam Martin’s first two punts both resulted in fumbles by the Titans. Buffalo recovered the first, but the Titans were able to gather the second. In addition to creating potential turnovers, Martin averaged 48.3 yards per punt in his punting debut.

Tyler Bass was a perfect 2-of-2 on field goals and 5-of-5 on extra points.

Jamison Crowder added 40 yards on four punt returns.

READ MORE

Stefon Diggs destroys Titans in 3 TD performance to lead Bills on MNF

Dane Jackson leaves Titans game in ambulance after scary hit to neck area

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