PLAYER NOTES
–DL Shaq Lawson returned to the lineup in Green Bay and he played some tackle on passing downs, something that may continue moving forward.
–LB Matt Milano won the AFC’s defensive player of the week honor after Week 3, but he still shared time with Ramon Humber as he played only 75 percent of the defensive snaps against the Packers.
–WR Kelvin Benjamin continues to be one of the most disappointing acquisitions in recent Bills history. He has only seven catches for 92 yards through four games.
–QB Josh Allen’s passer rating is down to 63.8 after a terrible performance in Green Bay when he completed 16 of 33 passes for 151 yards with two interceptions.
–TE Jason Croom, who caught a TD pass in Minnesota, was held to one catch for 13 yards while playing only 13 offensive snaps.
–WR Zay Jones led all skill players as he played 91 percent of the offensive snaps, yet he didn’t make a catch until six minutes were left in the game. He ultimately finished with four in garbage time.
–RB LeSean McCoy has only 85 yards rushing in the three games he has played. He had never had less than 140 in the first three games of any season.
–SS Micah Hyde is unlikely to play against Tennessee due to a groin injury that has him listed as week to week.
–CB Dontae Johnson was signed as a free agent and DE Nate Orchard was cut. The Bills have dressed only four CBs in each of the first four games, and it has hurt them every time because players got hurt and the Bills were shorthanded.
–P Corey Bojorquez has had a solid first four games, one of the few bright spots for the Bills. He averaged 43.5 yards on eight punts in Green Bay and had four downed inside the 20.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: SS Rafael Bush. With Micah Hyde almost certainly out for the game against Tennessee, Bush will probably get the start in his place. Bush has been around the NFL for nine years and has played in 80 games with 19 starts. He came to the Bills as a free agent in March and had a good offseason and training camp to make the roster. In the first four games, the bulk of his playing time has come in dime situations, but he was also pressed into duty at nickel cornerback when injuries shortened the Bills’ depth chart, and Bush held his own. To date, Bush is fourth on the team with 22 tackles and has played on 57 percent of the defensive snaps.
GAME PLAN: The Bills have to figure out a way to get their running game going because it has been non-existent during the 1-3 start. The Bills are averaging just 88.3 yards, 24th in the league, and even that’s a bit dubious because their leading rusher is rookie quarterback Josh Allen with 110 yards, who has been running for his life. LeSean McCoy has just 85 yards in the three games he has played, and Chris Ivory is averaging just 2.6 yards per attempt. Until the Bills start hurting teams on the ground, it’s going to be very difficult for Allen to make things happen in the passing game because the Bills have zero play-action effectiveness right now.
After three ho-hum efforts on offense, Tennessee comes into Buffalo fresh off a game where quarterback Marcus Mariota produced 390 yards of total offense including 344 passing in a victory over the defending champion Eagles. Mariota is a dual threat who can make things happen outside the pocket, so the Bills will need to hold the edges with their pass rush because if ends Trent Murphy and Jerry Hughes get upfield too far inside, Mariota will get out and make plays outside the pocket either throwing or running. Making the Titans one-dimensional would help, and that means slowing down the combo of Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Bills LBs vs. Titans RB Dion Lewis. Last week, Lewis was rendered useless by the Eagles, but the Bills know that’s probably an aberration because they saw plenty of Lewis’ versatility when he was with the Patriots. Derrick Henry is the more dynamic runner, but Lewis could present some real problems for the Bills in the passing game and it will be on players like Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano to spy him and make sure they have him contained when Marcus Mariota drops the ball off on a checkdown or a quick hitch route in the middle of the field.
–Bills WRs vs. Titans safeties. Tennessee lost starting SS Kenny Vaccaro last week, leaving them thin at the position, and they may have to rely on middling veteran Kendrick Lewis who just returned after missing the first three games with a foot injury, or rookie Dane Cruikshank to line up next to FS Kevin Byard. Buffalo’s starting WRs, Zay Jones and Kelvin Benjamin, could not possibly be more ineffective than they’ve been the first four weeks, so if they, or TE Charles Clay, can finally beat man coverage and put some stress on the Titans’ last line of defense, perhaps there will be plays to be made. The Bills have to be able to throw more effectively than they have if they stand any chance of winning.
