NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Titans continue battling injuries as they prepare to meet the defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at home. They’re coming off a major upset Monday night as they overcame a fourth quarter deficit and rallied for a 34-31 victory over the Buffalo Bills. The Titans won despite losing offensive tackle Taylor Lewan and wide receiver Julio Jones to injury once again, and also trying to find anyone in the secondary besides safety Kevin Byard, who had another interception, able to consistently make plays.
However they were fueled again by running back Derrick Henry, who’s having a monster season. Henry had 20 carries for 143 yards and scored three touchdowns, one of them a 76-yard run from scrimmage that’s the Titans’ biggest play all year. He also scored the game winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
The Bills entered the game leading the AFC in both points scored and fewest allowed, and their offense led by QB Josh Allen had 353 passing yards and three touchdowns. But the battered Titans’ defense made the biggest stop of the game on a fourth and inches sneak by Allen with less than a minute remaining. Bills’ coach Sean McDermott went for the win rather than a game-tying field goal and when Allen slipped initially, the Titans’ Jeffrey Simmons plugged the hole and stopped any forward momentum.The Bills also lost a kickoff return touchdown due to a holding penalty, and their usually strong defense proved unable to stop the Titans on multiple occasions.
Henry’s rushing kept the Titans in the game through a lengthy period when QB Ryan Tannehill proved ineffective. The Titans’ defense also had some critical plays, particularly another one by Simmons on a sack that stopped a Bills’ drive when they were ahead 31-27 and moving for a game-clinching touchdown. The Titans’ game-winning march in the fourth quarter was an eight-play, 70-yard march that took almost five minutes. It was capped by Henry going 13 yards for his final score.
Now the Titans await injury news on Lewan and Brown. In addition, they learned after the game that CB Caleb Farley and wide receiver Cameron Batson had suffered torn ACLs, and were most likely gone for the season. The Farley loss further depletes a secondary that already had Kristian Fulton on injured reserve and saw Chris Johnson depart the Bills’ game with a foot injury.
But they still have a two-game lead in the AFC South at 4-2, and are the only team in the division with a winning record. The Chiefs have had a slow start and are at 3-3, but are coming off a 31-13 win over Washington in which their offense once again resembled the one that has dominated the AFC the last two years.
