Monday, October 22, 2012

Buffalo Bills Lose Close Game to Tennessee Titans

It was the tale of the running game as the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans faced off Sunday in a 35-to-34 Titans’ victory.

Running backs for both teams had strong games, which was evident by the Titan’s first drive of the game.

Running back Chris Johnson capped off an eight play, 77 yard drive with a touchdown to put the Titans ahead.

But the Bills would soon answer, as running back Fred Jackson scored on a three-yard pass from quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The scoring drive featured a number of different plays from the Bills’ offense, including utilizing both Jackson and running back C.J. Spiller, passing to wide receiver Stevie Johnson and the Wild Cat.
However, the tied game wouldn’t last long, as Johnson again scored for the Titans. On the first play of the Titan’s second drive, Johnson broke free for an 83-yard score to put the Titan’s ahead again.

On the ensuing kick-off, Bills’ quarterback/wide receiver Brad Smith returned the kick-off for a touchdown.

The scoring wouldn’t stop there. Titan’s running back Jamie Harper scored a touchdown to start the second quarter. The Bills’ answered with a Ryan Lindell field goal after a drive which featured several strong runs from Jackson and Spiller.

With two seconds left in the first half, Lindell hit a 42-yard field goal to bring the score to 21-20 Titans.

While the Bills had a strong first half running the ball, the half also exposed the team’s poor defense. There were several times when Bills’ defenders could have sacked Titans’ quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for a loss of yards. The defense also couldn’t stop the Titans’ run game, and it seemed they didn’t have an answer for stopping Johnson.

The Bills also had several penalties which stunted drives and benefited the Titans.

Offensively, Fitzpatrick had a good half. He had a 110.9 quarterback rating, according to ESPN, and was 14-for-18 passing for 111 yards. He threw for one touchdown.

Things didn’t start out too well for Fitzpatrick and the Bills offense at the beginning of the second half. The Bills fumbled the ball in their own zone. Harper, the Titans’ running back, would soon score another touchdown. But, the Bills, again, came back with a touchdown of their own to make the score 28-27 Titans.
Chris Kelsay brought the Bills’ defense some life half way through the third quarter after he sacked Hasselbeck. The Bills then stopped the Titans on the ensuing third-down to force the Titans’ to punt.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bills marched down the field to score a go-ahead touchdown catch by Stevie Johnson. That score but the Bills up 34-28.

Late in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick was intercepted. The resulting drive saw the Titans score the game-tying touchdown and kick an extra point to put them ahead by one. The Bills were left with just over a minute to try and get the lead back.

With 31 seconds left in the game, the Bills faced a fourth and two, but Fitzpatrick could hook up with Johnson. The Titans took over with 26 seconds left and ran out the clock.

The loss drops the Bills to 3-4. They will be on their bye week next Sunday.
Be sure to check out other great articles at Sports Media 101.

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