For the first time since Week 2, the Buffalo Bills (1-3) return to New Era Field, welcoming the Tennessee Titans (3-1) for a 1 p.m. Eastern clash Sunday afternoon.
This game has huge implications for the Bills, who bring an 0-2 record against AFC foes into the contest. Falling to 0-3 against a team with playoff aspirations such as the Titans would mean the Bills would have lost all three AFC games against potential playoff teams: the Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Titans.
Which version of Brian Daboll’s offense will show up, the one that relied on quick passes and got the ground game going early in a 27-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings? Or the one that dialed up a ton of deep passes and failed to get into any kind of rhythm in a 22-0 shutout loss to the Green Bay Packers?
Pro Bowl RB LeSean McCoy should be close to 100 percent healthy. Look for Daboll to get Shady involved early and often against the Titans.
Defensively, with both Micah Hyde and Rafael Bush listed as questionable, the Bills will be precariously thin at safety, which could prove problematic against an improved Titans passing game, directed by Marcus Mariota.
Mariota, who threw for 330 yards and two touchdowns while adding 46 yards and one TD on the ground in a 26-23 overtime win over the Philadelphia Eagles, is rounding into form and seems to have found a new threat in second-year wideout Corey Davis (nine catches 161 receiving yards in the win over the Eagles).
This will be the 46th meeting between these teams. The Titans lead the all-time series 28-17. The last time the Bills hosted the Titans, Tennessee rallied for a 35-34 win on Oct. 21, 2012 as Matt Hasselbeck connected with Nate Washington on the game-winning touchdown with 1:03 remaining.
The last time the Bills won, it was a 14-13 triumph on Oct. 11, 2015. In that game, Tyrod Taylor engineered one of the few fourth-quarter comebacks of his Buffalo career, hitting Chris Hogan for a two-yard touchdown strike with 4:25 remaining to put the Bills on top for good.
Here’s how to watch the game from home:
TV Schedule
Date: Sunday, October 7, 2018
Time: 1 p.m. Eastern
Channel: The game will be carried locally on CBS on WIVB 4 in Buffalo, WROC 8 in Rochester, WTVH 5 in Syracuse and Utica, WRGB 6 in Utica and Albany, WCWN3 in Albany, WENY 36-2 in Elmira, and WBNG 12 in Binghamton and Elmira. View the broadcast map.
Announcers: Spero Dedes (play-by-play) and Adam Archuleta (analyst).
Location: New Era Field | Orchard Park, NY
Radio: WGR 550AM (Buffalo), WCMF 96.5 FM and WROC 950 AM (Rochester), Fan 590 AM (Toronto), WTKW 99.5 FM and WKTV 105.5 FM (Syracuse), and the rest of the Buffalo Bills Radio Network.
Radio Play-by-Play: John Murphy and Mark Kelso in the booth with sideline reporter Sal Capaccio.
Online: NFL Game Pass, NFL.com Game Center
Friday Injury Report: Buffalo Bills: Full participant: TE Charles Clay (ankle), DE Shaq Lawson (hamstring), RB Marcus Murphy (rib). Did not practice: S Rafael Bush (shoulder), S Micah Hyde (groin). Game day status: Questionable: Bush, Clay, Hyde. Tennessee Titans: Full participant: Corey Davis (illness), RB David Fluellen (groin), QB Blaine Gabbert (concussion), T Dennis Kelly (illness), QB Marcus Mariota (right elbow). Did not practice: S Kenny Vaccaro (elbow), LB Wesley Woodyard (shoulder). Game day status: Questionable: Kelley. Out: Vaccaro, Woodyard.