Bills Beat Titans 34-10; Bolster AFC East Lead: The Bills Will Likely Win the Division for the Fifth Straight Year, Though the Super Bowl Remains Elusive
Last Sunday, the Buffalo Bills crushed the Tennessee Titans to move to 5-2 on the season and received an added divisional boost as all three other AFC East teams: the Dolphins, Patriots and Jets lost.
This puts the Bills in the driver’s seat for their fifth straight AFC East division crown, they and have the potential to lock it up very early this season, as they are already 2.5 games up with two head-to-head divisional wins.
As a lifelong Bills fan, it is a surreal experience to be dominating the division like this. Before 2020, the powerhouse New England Patriots had won 11 straight AFC East titles and 16 of the past 17 dating back to 2003. As I was born in 2002, this means for the first 17 years of my life, the Patriots had won the division every year except 2008, when quarterback Tom Brady was out for the season and the Dolphins grabbed the division. It was certainly a painful childhood witnessing constant Patriots division and Super Bowl championships, while I had to wait until 2017 to even see the first Bills playoff appearance of my life.
It feels great to be enjoying this divisional domination, but the Tom Brady Patriots of the 2000’s and 2010’s didn’t just win divisions, they also won Super Bowls, six of them to be exact. Moreover, while the Bills have enjoyed recent AFC East success, this has not translated to winning in the playoffs, and they haven’t even sniffed a Super Bowl since the four straight losses of the 1990’s.
This season, it has been a rocky start so far, and the Chiefs look unbeatable at the moment, but I have not ruled out hope for the Bills to bring home the Lombardi. Josh Allen has played solid football, making the right reads and not taking many risks, which has led to him still having no interceptions seven games in, a category he led the lead in last year. I, however, think he needs to take some more risks and be willing to throw the occasional pick as the offense has looked anemic at times, like in the first half against the Titans.
This receiving core is weak, but the Bills bolstered their group by trading for Amari Cooper last week. Cooper has had a range of quarterbacks throwing to him throughout his career, going from mediocre (Derek Carr) to good (Dak Prescott) to awful (Deshaun Watson), and Josh Allen is a massive upgrade from the first six games of the season when Cooper had Watson at quarterback.
The start of the Titans game was a rough start for Cooper and the Bills offense. The Bills went three and out on their first three drives and fell behind 10-0. The second half, however, was a different story, as Cooper caught four passes for 66 yards, with his first catch being the go-ahead touchdown. Allen also started slot but was brilliant as usual after that, going 21 of 33 on passing attempts and totaling 323 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie receiver Keon Coleman played his best game as a Bill, having four catches for 125 yards, and the defense held strong after the poor start and didn’t give up a point in the second half.
Overall, it was a good week to be a Bills fan, and looking ahead they will hope to bolster their division lead in the next three games against the Seahawks, Dolphins and Colts before a huge week 11 matchup vs the Chiefs.