The Buffalo Bills absolutely handed it to a lesser Tennessee Titans team at home in the first half of a “Monday Night Football” doubleheader to wrap up NFL Week 2 action.
Tennessee kept it close for a while before Buffalo’s offense went next level with Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs connecting on three passing touchdowns.
For the Titans, Monday’s performance in a blowout 41-7 loss came after they fell to the lowly New York Giants in the season opener. Ryan Tannehill was benched after throwing a pick-six. Tennessee’s defense offered little resistance. Below, we look at the five biggest winners and losers from Buffalo’s humiliation of Tennessee on Monday night.
Related: Buffalo Bills standing in Sportsnaut’s updated NFL power rankings
Winner: Stefon Diggs continues to dominate for the Buffalo Bills
It’s insane to look at. Diggs didn’t even play three full quarters Monday night before his Bills put it away. Despite this, the All-Pro receiver was able to catch 12-of-14 targets for 148 yards with three touchdowns, absolutely dominating the overmatched Titans in the process.
Through two games this season, the recently-extended Diggs has been on a completely different level. That included making quick work of Jalen Ramsey and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1.
- Stefon Diggs stats (2022): 20 receptions, 270 yards, 4 TD, 87% catch rate
Diggs, 28, might be in the initial stages of an all-time great season for a wide receiver in NFL history. Sure two games is a small sample size, but it’s absurd what he’s been able to accomplish.
Related: Buffalo Bills star Stefon Diggs and the NFL’s top wide receivers of 2022
Loser: Derrick Henry goes AWOL for the Tennessee Titans
Here’s a friendly reminder. This was a 10-7 game until Allen hit Diggs for a touchdown late in the second quarter. Tennessee still had a chance if it was able to play ball-control football on the offensive side of the ball. Unfortunately, one of the best running backs in the game was not able to do that.
Henry tallied a total of 25 yards on 13 attempts for his second consecutive ho-hum performance to open the season. Remember, he averaged 3.9 yards per run and fumbled the ball in the Tennessee Titans’ Week 1 loss to the Giants. One has to wonder if Henry’s workload of the past few seasons has impacted him early on during the 2022 campaign.
Related: Buffalo Bills schedule and game-by-game predictions
Winner: Greg Rousseau providing Buffalo Bills with another pass-rush threat
Von Miller dominated in his Bills debut last week, recording three quarterback hits and two sacks against his former team. If Buffalo can somehow get consistent pressure opposite Miller from this 2021 first-round pick, it will loom large moving forward.
That’s what we saw from this Miami (F) product against Ryan Tannehill and the Titans on Monday night. Rousseau recorded two tackles for loss, one QB hit and a sack in Buffalo’s dominating win. Through two games, he has tallied three quarterback hits, two sacks and three tackles for loss. This comes after a pedestrian rookie season in which Rousseau tallied four sacks.
Related: Tennessee Titans schedule and game-by-game predictions
Loser: Ryan Tannehill benched for the Tennessee Titans
Whether it was the Tennessee Titans waiving the white flag or something else, quarterback Ryan Tannehill didn’t even finish up three quarters against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
Tannehill was benched by Mike Vrabel and Co. after throwing a pick-six into the hands of Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano with Tennessee down 34-7 in the third quarter.
Ryan Tannehill stats (Week 2): 11-of-20 passing, 117 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 32.7 QB rating
This quarterback just has not been the same since the start of the 2021 season. He struggled in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs this past January and seems to be regressing right in front of us early during the 2022 campaign. Monday’s brutal performance was a prime example of this.
Related: Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen and NFL’s top QBs of 2022
Winner: This just in, Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen is pretty good
What can we say about Josh Allen that has not already been said? The NFL MVP favorite vastly outplayed Matthew Stafford and the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in Week 1. He started out on fire against a lesser Titans team on Monday night and went into full-scale domination mode as the game progressed.
When all was said and done Monday night from Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, Allen completed 26-of-38 passes for 317 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. What’s even better here is the fact that Allen attempted only one run. This was a major point of contention after he was hit so many times in Week 1. Now through two weeks, Allen has accumulated 670 total yards and eight total touchdowns. That seems pretty good.