ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – The Titans lost 41-7 the Bills on Monday night at Highmark Stadium.
Here's a look at six things that stood out from the contest:
Nowhere to Run
Running room has been tough to come by for Titans running back Derrick Henry so far this season, and that was especially true on Monday night. Henry ran for just 25 yards on 13 carries against the Bills, an average of just 1.9 yards per carry. Henry scored on a two-yard touchdown early in this one, but his longest carry was just nine yards and time and again he was hit in the backfield. "I pride myself on making plays for the team and being a playmaker, and I didn't do that tonight," said Henry, who has 107 yards on 34 carries through two games. "We have to watch the film and correct it. I wasn't good enough. It takes all 11, and we have to get better collectively."
Four Turnovers and Too Many Penalties
Make no mistake, the Bills are good. But the Titans made them look even better on Monday night by setting them up with turnovers. The Titans turned the ball over four times against the Bills. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw two interceptions, including a pick-six, and rookie Kyle Philips also muffed a punt for the second week in a row. Philips, who was limited in practices during the week with a shoulder injury, didn't make any excuses. "I'm disappointed," Philips said. "You never want to let your team down and that's what I did. … There's no excuses. Bad technique, and I let the team down." The Titans also hurt themselves with penalties – they were flagged nine times for 87 yards against the Bills.
Injuries
The injuries came early for the Titans – running back Trenton Cannon suffered a knee injury on the opening kickoff, and he was carted off. Then came a knee injury to left tackle Taylor Lewan, who was on crutches in the locker room after the game. Outside linebacker Bud Dupree suffered a hip injury, outside linebacker Ola Adeniyi suffered a wrist injury and defensive back Ugo Amadi suffered an ankle injury. "I thought Dennis Daley went in there at (left tackle) and tried to compete, and did some things," Coach Mike Vrabel said. "Obviously we lost some other guys unfortunately. You never want to see guys down on either side of the football field. … We'll see where we're at when we get back and evaluate everybody's health and figure out which 48 guys we're going to take to the game."
Shaky Pass Defense
Bills quarterback Josh Allen had a day. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of the Titans. Allen completely 26-of-38 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns. Allen found Bills receiver Stefon Diggs open for 12 catches for 148 yards and three scores against the Tennessee secondary. "A couple of situations we just weren't playing aggressively enough," Byard said. "A couple of little RPOs on the sideline … and then obviously the shots over the top that he had. We knew (Diggs) was the top target and I don't feel like we did a good enough job limiting his big plays."
Malik Steps In
Malik Willis stepped in for Tannehill, who completed just 11-of-20 passes for 117 yards and two interceptions in the contest. Willis ended up completing 1-of-4 passes for six yards after entering late in the third quarter, and he also ran four times for 16 yards. At that point in the contest – it was 41-7 Buffalo – the game was out of reach. "It's a long season, and obviously we were out of it at that point," Tannehill said. "(We) didn't want to subject myself and some of the guys to injury." Vrabel reminded the team replaced more players than just Tannehill. "We're just trying to get guy through this game," Vrabel said. "Nobody wants to go out there and lose that way, but I'm also a realist and I understand where we were at, and the situation that we were in. We were trying to take some guys (out) that I feel like are going to help us win next week, and everybody is valuable. I wanted to get Ben (Jones) out of there and Derrick and some other guys. I just felt like that was the time to get Malik in there and get Hassan (Haskins) in there and get some other guys in there."
Need to Bounce Back
The Titans are 0-2 for the first time since 2012. The start isn't what anyone had in mind, of course. But the season is young, and the AFC South – and the AFC for that matter – is still wide open. The Jaguars currently lead the division with a 1-1 record, ahead of the Texans (0-1-1), Colts (0-1-1), and Titans. Only three teams of the AFC's 16 teams are currently 2-0 (Buffalo, Miami and Kansas City), while eight teams have one win. The Titans, Bengals and Raiders are all 0-2, but five teams are winless. On Sunday, the Titans and Raiders will try and avoid starting 0-3. "It's still early in the season. … We are 0 and 2, and it's the start of the season still. We have the right men in this group, and the right men on this team to get the job done. We are not going to fall apart after this. We are going to take to coaching, we are going to hold each other accountable and we're going to get back in the lab and get to it."
