Scouting the Opponent is a weekly preview series looking ahead to the Titans upcoming matchup.
At long last, it is Titans gameday again. After an intensely stressful couple of weeks, the Tennessee Titans (3-0) will finally get back on the field — in front of a limited home crowd — against a tough conference opponent in the undefeated Buffalo Bills (4-0).
The Bills and Titans of course go way back in terms of rivalries, with the most infamous play between the teams being the Music City Miracle in the 1999 AFC Wild Card Playoffs. More recently, the Titans efforts have been less heroic, with a Nick Williams drop costing the team the 2018 matchup and 4 missed field goals derailing the game for Tennessee last year.
The Titans hope for a better outcome on Tuesday Night Football on CBS. This game could have playoff seeding implications between these two AFC contenders later in the year.
The Stats
We’re now a quarter of the way through the season (though the Titans have only played three games), so while the stats are still a very small sample size, Football Outsiders’ DVOA numbers are officially being adjusted for opponent. No more need for DAVE in my tables.
| Titans/Rank | Metric | TEAM/Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | Total Yards/G | 4th |
| 11th | Passing Yards/G | 2nd |
| 10th | Rushing Yards/G | 28th |
| 12th | Total Points/G | 5th |
| 28th | Total Yards Allowed/G | 20th |
| 22nd | Pass Yards Allowed/G | 27th |
| 29th | Rush Yards Allowed/G | 8th |
| 15th | Points Allowed/G | 17th |
| T-2nd (+5) | Turnover Differential | T-13th (+1) |
| 17th (42.5%) | 3rd D Conversions | 6th (51%) |
| 8th | Penalty Yardage | 27th |
| 14th | DVOA | 10th |
| 13th | Offense DVOA | 5th |
| 18th | Defense DVOA | 22nd |
| 20th | Rush DVOA – Offense | 31st |
| 5th | Pass DVOA – Offense | 3rd |
| 22nd | Rush DVOA – Defense | 20th |
| 13th | Pass DVOA – Defense | 17th |
The Bills offense is no joke, and the Titans pass defense hasn’t exactly been stellar. With Adoree Jackson still at least a game away, the Titans will have their work cut out for them to slow down this passing attack.
An area that could be exploitable for the Titans is Buffalo’s run defense. They haven’t done a great job stopping the run this year, and Tennessee of course wants to rely on Derrick Henry and the running game.
Personnel and Players to Watch
The Bills have a talented roster on both sides of the ball. Here’s some key personnel members and players to know going into the game:
- Head Coach Sean McDermott is now in his 4th season with Buffalo after serving as the defensive coordinator of the Panthers. His record with the Bills is 29-23 with two postseason appearances (0-2).
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