Buffalo Bills: Should bad night against Tennessee Titans be concerning?

The Buffalo Bills travelled to Tennessee for a rare Tuesday night game against the Titans.  It didn’t go well – the Bills dropped the game 42-16.

The Buffalo Bills looked far from a contender against a strong AFC opponent in the Tennessee Titans.  This had to be a wake-up call for a team that started the season with a 4-0 record.

Certainly, three turnovers did not do the team any favours.  This was the Bills’ first loss of the season, so not all is lost and it is not time to hit the panic button.

With that being said, there are certainly some areas for head coach Sean McDermott to clean up.  This is especially true considering they play the defending-champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6, who are coming off their first loss since November 2019.

The defense has been a problem for the Bills this season

Great defensive play has been a hallmark of the Buffalo Bills’ success under McDermott, but the unit has been struggling through five games.  Per Football Outsiders, the team is ranked 27th in defensive efficiency through Week 5.

That puts them worse than the Jets, and just ahead of the Lions and Falcons – ouch.  An excuse could be made that the team has dealt with injuries on that side of the ball, but what team hasn’t?  This video off Derrick Henry stiff-arming cornerback Josh Norman kind of sums up the Bills trip to the Music City:

Buffalo’s offense has improved enough that the team does not need a top-five defense anymore, but they also will not survive being towards the bottom of the league either.

The Bills secondary also struggled to keep receiver AJ Brown in check as he was Tennessee’s only legitimate threat to catch passes in this contest.  Brown had seven receptions on nine targets for 82 yards and a touchdown.

Allen reverted back to his 2018 and 2019 self

This was not a banner night for Josh Allen, who was drawing praise as a possible MVP candidate in the early season.  On Tuesday, he looked a lot more like the roller coaster we have seen in his first two years in the league.

Allen came into the game as the league’s most efficient passer through four weeks, according to Football Outsiders.  But after a tough outing, he slid back to third, which still puts in company with Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes by that metric.

What has to scare Bills fans, was how careless he was with the football again at times in the game.  The first quarter pick he threw was not his fault, but his second interception definitely was.

The key for Allen and the Bills, is to hold on to the football – not unlike every other team in the league.  But when they lose the turnover battle, it seems to be particularly devastating for the group.

The Bills will have to quickly erase Tuesday night’s game from their memory as an angry Kansas City Chiefs squad is coming to Buffalo for a 5 PM ET start on Monday.

What did you think of the Buffalo Bills effort against Tennesee on Tuesday?  What does the team need to change heading into their Week 6 matchup with Kansas City?  Let us know in the comments below.