You may have noticed a surfeit of upstate New Yorkers around these parts over the weekend. Buffalo Bills fans are notoriously enthusiastic travelers. And why not? There's probably 14 inches of snow on the ground in the City of No Illusions, with a 70 mph wind off Lake Erie. They are largely a lovely and fun bunch of folks, what with their affection for breaking through tables like the Dudley Boyz and our mutual love of spicy chicken — but boy will they take the chance for a long weekend somewhere with a more temperate climate, like Nashville or Svalbard.
After a fairly lengthy period of mediocrity following their famous foursome of failure in the Super Bowl in the early ’90s, the Bills are back among the NFL's elite. They come into Nissan Stadium at 4-1. A win would keep them in a tie for the best record in the AFC with the Baltimore Ravens and among the handful of one-loss teams. (The only remaining undefeated team is the Arizona Cardinals, making the Two Toners' Week One loss to the Arid Avians seem not so bad.)
Remarkably, the Bills have given up just 64 points in five games, along with New Orleans (who have also just played five games), one of just two teams who've not yet surrendered 100 points total this season. And the Saints have given up 91. By comparison, among the teams who have finished six games already, the lowest points-against is 109 (by the league-best Cards).
But they aren't just a grit-your-teeth defense-only squad. They also do a fair bit of scoring, posting 172 points — good enough for the fourth-best total league-wide. (And with the caveat the three teams ahead of them have all played six games already.)
The Jumpin' General Josh Allen has 12 touchdown passes and two excellent receivers in Emmanuel Sanders and Stefon Diggs. And the Bills can move it on the ground, too, with Devin Singletary and Zack Moss both useful running backs (Allen is a capable scrambler himself).
Now, granted, Buffalo's schedule heretofore is a smidgen soft. After a Week One loss to the Steelers (now 3-3), the Bills beat the Dolphins (1-5), the Football Team (2-4) and the Texans (1-5). Of course, Buffalo also smacked around the defending Super Bowl champions at home, beating Kansas City 38-20 at Arrowhead last week.
But there's good news for the Titans — and not just that the guy wearing 22 will be in a Titans uniform. Receivers A.J. Brown and Julio Jones should both be back on the field Monday night, along with pass rusher Bud Dupree (Brown was listed as questionable with an illness on Sunday's injury report, however). While getting the Dynamic Duo back is great, Dupree should help his unit get pressure on Allen, who can pick apart a secondary when he has time to throw.
You may remember last year's game, a bizarre COVID-forced Tuesday nighter when Derrick Henry stiff-armed defensive back Josh Norman in an extinction-level event. So vicious was the fend that it erased the play from the history books. (Seriously, technically, that play never happened: After the Bills were offside and the Titans were called for holding, the off-setting penalties resulted in a replay of the down.)
The ESPN Monday Night crew of Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Brian Griese have the call (locally, the game will also be simulcast on Fox 17). Kickoff is 7:15 p.m.
