He had the support of the Tennessee defense this time.
Henry scored his third touchdown at 3:05, and the Titans stopped Josh Allen with a fourth down quarterback sneak in the final seconds. The victory ended Buffalo’s four-game winning streak.
On their last possession, the AFC East-leading Bills drove up to the Titans 3, and could have sent it to overtime with a field goal. Instead, they went for the win — but didn’t execute.
First, Allen was a short of the scramble’s first-down marker. The rugged quarterback took the snap under center on fourth down after moving from the shotgun. Tennessee’s defensive line surged forward in pursuit of Allen before Titans tackle Jeffery Simmons subdued him.
With 12 seconds remaining, the Titans (4-2), took control to begin a much-needed celebration of the battered AFC South champions.
Henry spoke of Tennessee’s defense, saying “We got some dogs there.” They fight until the end. They did it right there.
Henry was the NFL’s leading rusher despite the league having only played six games. He finished the game with 143 yards and 100 yards for the fifth straight week. This streak is the longest in the NFL since DeMarco Murphy’s eight-straight in 2014 for Dallas.
He also ran a 76 yard TD and a 3 yarder to become the 2020 AP Offensive Players of the Year. The Titans were trailing 6-0 in the second due to his long TD. This was thanks to the defense that held the Bills to a pair field goals.
Mike Vrabel, Titans coach, stated that “We continue jumping on Derrick’s back and he’s willing and capable to carry us.” It’s something you always have in your front pocket or back pocket. It’s easy to pull out and use. It gave us a huge shot of life.”
Ryan Tannehill, Quarterback, added another TD run to a Buffalo defense that was ranked third against the run.
Harold Landry had two of three Titans’ sacks. Kevin Byard caught a pass.
The Bills (4-2), wanted to win, not play for OT. However, the fourth down caught Buffalo somewhat off-guard. Sean McDermott, Bills coach, said that officials initially indicated Allen received the first down in his third-down scramble. McDermott stated that he spoke with Clete Blakeman after the game, and that a referee radioed down to inform him that Allen had lost.
McDermott stated, “We didn’t get it done.”
Allen, who has converted 24 NFL-best quarterback sneaks for first downs in 2018, admitted that he wasn’t very good at footing.
Allen stated that he was simply trying to find a way to get in, and that quarterback sneaks weren’t the most fun play.
The Bills have now led at halftime for 15 consecutive games, extending their NFL record. Their defense allowed a league-best 12.8 point per game and gave up a record number of points for the season.
Allen ended the game with 353 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a 1-yarder for Tommy Sweeney, which was in the last minute of the third quarter. Allen then caught a pass from Dawson Knox for the 2-point conversion. Buffalo didn’t score again.
Allen’s 29-yard touchdown pass to Cole Beasley, just before halftime, saw him surpass Aaron Rogers who had 108 combined TDs in 49th starts. Rogers’ 107 TDs was the highest number of TDs by a quarterback in his 50 first starts since the NFL merger.
Henry now has 11 touchdowns over 50 yards, which is tied with Chris Johnson, former Titans runningback, for fourth-most NFL history. Barry Sanders (15), Adrian Peterson (16) and Jim Brown (12 respectively) have more. Henry’s 94-yard scoring run was one year ago.
The Titans dug into the past to find a play that beat Bills in the AFC wild-card game of January 2000, known as the Music City Miracle. Frank Wycheck threw a lateral to Kevin Dyson, resulting in the play being called “Home Run Throw Back”.
Chester Rogers was able to catch a late-inning punt in the first quarter, and he threw it across the field for Chris Jackson. What was the problem? The Titans were penalized because his pass was not a lateral but a forward pass.
It was a costly match for Tennessee. Taylor Lewan, a three-time Pro Bowl left tackle, was taken off the field and assessed for a concussion in the second quarter. Caleb Farley was the Titans’ first draft pick and rookie cornerback. He couldn’t gain weight because of the injury to his left knee.
Julio Jones, a receiver, was unable to catch a ball from Micah Hyde’s helmet for 43 yards. He also injured his hamstring, having missed the previous two games. Chris Jackson, defensive back, didn’t return to the field with an injured foot.
Cameron Batson was injured on a kickoff return shortly before halftime. Tennessee entered this game with 16 players on injured reserve.
Knox suffered a hand injury and was unable to play for the Bills in the fourth quarter.
Buffalo will be hosting Miami for Halloween, but Buffalo has some downtime.
On Sunday, Tennessee will host Kansas City.
