NFL Week 7 live updates: Patriots-Jaguars from Wembley, Haason Reddick holdout ends, league schedule, predictions, odds
By Joe Buscaglia, Tim Graham, Joe Rexrode and Jelani Scott
Wide receiver Amari Cooper helped his new quarterback and teammates right away with a touchdown catch en route to the Buffalo Bills’ 34-10 home victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Cooper, who was acquired by the Bills in a trade with the Cleveland Browns less than a week ago, didn’t take long to get on the same page with his new quarterback Josh Allen after the veteran wide receiver dropped his first target of the game in the first quarter. From there, Allen and the five-time Pro Bowl receiver began building a better rapport, with Cooper hauling in four catches, for 66 yards and a touchdown. Allen tallied 323 passing yards and two TD throws, both of which came as part of a run of 34 unanswered points by Buffalo (5-2).
Meanwhile for the Titans (1-5), a day that began with some promise from the offense once again ended in another outing with the team looking out of sorts.
Mason Rudolph started in place of the injured Will Levis (shoulder) at quarterback. Rudolph finished with 215 yards, one TD and one interception.
Buffalo’s D leaves stamp on win
The end result of a 34-10 Bills victory will go down as a blowout, though defensively they certainly didn’t look like a team that was going to limit the opponent to only 10 points. The Titans managed back-to-back scoring drives with a high play count to get their first 10 points on the board. The Titans were attacking them with the run and the quick game, and were having a lot of success.
But the Bills settled in after allowing what wound up as the only Titans touchdown of the game, and didn’t allow another point. From then on, the Titans running backs gained only 2.7 yards per carry through the rest of the contest on nine attempts, struggling to get both first downs and points. A slow start has been a bit of a theme for the Bills defense this year in games, but it showed dominance in the second half. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer
Cooper makes presence known
Four days after his first Bills practice, Cooper made his presence felt. The first three catches of his Bills career led to 17 second-half points, kick-starting an offense that flailed throughout the first half. On the opening drive, Cooper dropped the first pass Allen sent his way and didn’t see another one until the third quarter. He scored the go-ahead touchdown on his second target, and hauled in a 19-yard gain on the next possession along the left sideline to set up a field goal that put Buffalo ahead 17-10.
Cooper started the next drive with a 27-yard gain into Tennessee territory. Four plays later, Allen spotted tailback Ty Johnson for a 4-yard TD with 14:54 left in the game. Cooper finished with five receptions for 66 yards. The performance was the injection Buffalo’s offense was seeking after a few flimsy outings. Until he got involved, Tennessee looked like the better team despite being 9 1/2-point road underdogs. — Tim Graham, Buffalo senior writer
Rudolph performs better than Levis
Levis, a surprise questionable designation Friday with his sore right shoulder, then a surprise scratch, has struggled mightily this season. Rudolph was better than Levis, especially in an efficient first half. But he did nothing to improve the bottom line of 19.2 points per game for the hapless Titans. He does nothing to help the future, either — this team is 1-5 and going nowhere, and he’s not a consideration as the long-term answer. Levis should be back in as the starter when he’s physical able. And if his play doesn’t make a dramatic surge, the Titans will have full clarity on him — and a very high draft pick. — Joe Rexrode, Nashville columnist
Titans’ big-ticket FAs continue to provide little
L’Jarius Sneed’s health was clearly the main reason the market wasn’t bigger for him in the offseason. The Titans took the plunge, and a week after he gave up three huge plays late in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Sneed couldn’t go. That investment looks worse and worse. As does the big deal the Titans gave Calvin Ridley. Levis was an easy person to blame for Ridley’s paltry nine catches on 27 targets coming into the game, but he had three catches on nine targets with Rudolph in command. Clearly, some of Ridley’s inability to connect with his quarterbacks is on Ridley. — Rexrode
Required reading
- In-season WR trades usually flop. Here’s why Davante Adams, Amari Cooper could be different
- With Amari Cooper, here’s what the Bills are getting from their new receiver
- Why the Bills are confident Amari Cooper can buck the trend of in-season wide receiver trades
(Photo: Timothy T Ludwig / Getty Images)
