Bills score 34 unanswered points in win against Titans; Damar Hamlin gets interception
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills are now 5-2 thanks to a season-best performance from quarterback Josh Allen, an interception from safety Damar Hamlin, a touchdown from the newest Bill, and other plays that thrilled Bills Mafia on Sunday.
The Bills offense scored 34 unanswered points in a win against the now 1-5 Tennessee Titans at Highmark Stadium. The final score was 34-10. The Bills were playing with their new all-star wide receiver, former Clevland Brown Amari Cooper, who proved to be a valuable part of the team after getting a touchdown early in the third quarter.
News10NBC was at Highmark Stadium. Here’s a recap of the game and some of its most memorable plays:
Fourth Quarter
The Bills found the endzone on the first play of the final frame as Allen found Ty Johnson out in front for his second passing touchdown of the game. The extra point made it 24-10 Bills.
The Titans’ offense was still unable to get anything going, punting after three plays. Buffalo’s offense drove 59 yards on six complete passes and one James Cook run. Allen fired a ball on 3rd & 3 to Keon Coleman which was initially ruled a touchdown but was overturned after review. Tyler Bass made it 27-10.
On the ensuing drive, safety Damar Hamlin picked off Rudolph running a 12-play drive from Tennessee.
On the next play, Allen found Coleman on a slant and the rookie raced for 57 yards, a connection that put Coleman over the century mark for the first time in his NFL career and put Allen’s passing tally to 313 yards, a season-best.
After the two-minute warning, Ray Davis took the ball, skirted by a few would-be tacklers before burying himself into the endzone and giving the Bills a 34-10 lead.
The Titans didn’t get anything going as the clock hit zero and the final score read Bills: 34, Titans: 10. Buffalo ended the game on a 34-10 lead after trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter.
Ray Davis was Buffalo’s leading rusher with 41 yards on five carries. Keon Coleman’s late spurt gave him the honor of leading receiver with 125 yards on four catches while Ameri Cooper matched his catch tally for 66 yards. Khalil Shakir had seven catches for 65 yards.
Josh Allen ended his day 21-for-33 for 3232 yards and two touchdowns.
Third Quarter
The Buffalo Bills lead after three. Amari Cooper scores his first touchdown as a Bill and Buffalo leads 17-10 on the doorstop.
The Titans started the second half, receiving the ball and getting to a 3rd & 1 scenario early. Tennessee lost a yard, but still opted to go for it on 4th & 2 from their own 41-yard line.
DaWayne Carter and Taylor Rapp came up and stopped Tony Pollard on the 4th down try, giving the Bills the ball in Tennessee territory.
On the ensuing drive, Buffalo found itself on a 3rd & 12 situation before Josh Allen found Dalton Kincaid for 17 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Allen found Amari Cooper for the first time, in the endzone to give the Bills a 14-10 lead after the extra point.
Buffalo’s defense continued its streak of defending possessions with zero points with its first straight as the Titans were unable to get anything going despite two penalties on the Bills. Greg Rousseau and Dawuane Smoot combined for a sack to push the Titans to a 2nd & 18 after a false start.
Ray Davis started the next drive with just his second touch of the day, going 23 yards to around midfield. He picked up another six yards on the next play after a dump-off from Allen.
Amari Cooper picked off where Davis left off, picking up a 19-yard catch as Allen squeezed the ball in between the defender and the sideline. The drive ended with a 28-yard field goal from Tyler Bass.
The Titans followed that up with a three-and-out. The Bills ended the third quarter with a 27-yard pass to Cooper over the top of the defense followed by a big grab by Kincaid sandwiched between two defenders and falling down right at the goal line. The Bills enter the fourth inside the five-yard line.
Second Quarter
To start the second quarter, Tennessee produced its second-consecutive scoring drive, capping off a 75-yard drive with a 3rd & 3 touchdown pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine from Mason Rudolph.
On the ensuing drive, Buffalo moved the sticks for the first time all day with a 44-yard pass downfield to Keon Coleman. On the next play, James Cook punched it in from 11 yards out. Tyler Bass made the extra point to make it 10-7.
The Titans looked like they’d keep handing the Bills momentum as Rudolph fumbled at his own 43-yard line with Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard recovering it. However, the Bills couldn’t move the ball much, Josh Allen was sacked for a loss of eight yards and Sam Martin punted.
The inept offense continued as the Titans lost 20 yards on one play when Rudolph fumbled and the ball spiraled backwards until Tennessee fell on it inside their own 20-yard line. They punted two plays later.
The Bills punted for the fifth time in the first half after a three-and-out. The Titans attempted a two-minute drill, getting to Buffalo’s 46-yard-line, but the last ditch effort with laterals ended with zero point.
First Quarter
Buffalo’s first three drives ended in three-and-outs with drive #1 being halted by an Amari Cooper drop on third down. Josh Allen started the day 1-for-5 with the lone pass being completed to tight end Dawson Knox. James Cook has rushed four times for 13 yards.
Tennessee picked up a first down on their first play from scrimmage, but ended up punting on that drive. Their next possession saw two third down conversions, both passing before Tony Pollard ran for 14 yards to bring the Titans inside the Bills 30-yard-line. On 3rd & 13, the Bills defense managed to get off the field, giving up a 10-yard grab by Tyler Boyd. Titans kicker Nick Folk knocked in the 25-yard field goal to give Tennessee a 3-0 lead with 2:57 left in the quarter.