Don’t lose to the Bills if you want respect

Just one week ago, the Tennessee Titans and their fans were clamoring for more respect. They had just beaten the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in overtime with their best offensive performance of the season. Marcus Mariota looked like he had returned to form, receiver Corey Davis had his best game as a pro, and the defense sacked Carson Wentz four times. The Titans fan base was energized.

Left tackle Taylor Lewan put that perceived lack of respect into words after the game.

“It’s ridiculous that people don’t give the Titans enough credit,” Lewan said, via the Tennessean. “Obviously we’ve been up and down with wins the last two seasons. We’ve had winning seasons with a big playoff win. You’ve got to start giving the boys more credit, man.

“Like, there’s 32 (NFL) teams, there’s not 31. You’ve got to start respecting Nashville.”

What happened next? Buffalo happened. The Bills happened. Josh Allen happened.

The Titans traveled to Buffalo and lost 13-12 on a last-second field by Stephen Hauschka. Allen threw for 82 yards and an interception ... and won.

That’s not how you get respect. The Bills had just come off a 22-0 loss to the Packers. They are averaging just 3.6 yards per play — over 2 yards lower than the NFL average of 5.7.

They have two wins already on the season, which is a bit surprising considering how hopeless they looked in their season-opening 47-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Bills then went to Minnesota in Week 3 and smoked the Vikings 27-6 — that gave Buffalo a blueprint to use while it’s currently outmatched on offense.

Buffalo’s defense has really tightened up since giving up 47 to the Ravens and 31 to the Chargers the first two weeks of the season. In their past three games, the Bills have allowed just 13.3 points per game and have a 2-1 record over that span.

The defense ranks 16th in success rate, first in percentage of run plays ending in a gain of 0 or fewer yards, and fourth in yards per play. They’re performing much better on that side of the ball now and look closer to their 2017 defense that helped push them to the playoffs. They showed their ability by completely shutting down the Titans offense last week and making life difficult for their passing game. Mariota was only able to throw for 129 yards on 26 attempts.

Where the defense has excelled is in creating turnovers. It ranks eighth in percentage of plays that have resulted in a turnover. Back in Week 3, they were able to force two fumbles against the Vikings in the first quarter that set up short fields for the offense to work with. Both of those turnovers resulted in points for the Bills, and they didn’t look back. They nabbed a total three turnovers in that game and three more in their win over the Titans.

Also, despite Buffalo’s putrid offensive output, they haven’t been turning the ball over at obscene rate. They rank 22nd in percentage of plays that have resulted in a turnover, which is just below average. Allen being a legitimate running threat this season has been a pleasant surprise for Buffalo. His hurdle over Anthony Barr is one of his best plays this season.

Playing sound defense, taking advantage of turnovers, and not giving the ball away is an avenue to winning — one the Bills have been utilizing recently.

Losing to a team that can’t even average 4 yards per play is not the best way to gain respect and propel yourself to the top of the NFL food chain.

Buffalo’s offense is last in the league or near last in just about every regular stats category.

Yards per game: 221.2 (31st)
Passing yards per game: 121.8 (32nd)
Points per game: 12.6 (32nd)
3rd down conversion rate: 25.4 percent (32nd)

The advanced numbers aren’t much prettier. They paint the picture of an offense that just can’t get anything going. Playing on schedule with success rate, creating big plays, converting third downs — they struggle to do any of that.

The explanations for their poor offensive output aren’t too hard to find.

The Bills gave the reins to a rookie quarterback who wasn’t ready to start and has thrown only two touchdowns. Their leading receiver (Zay Jones) has just 164 yards on the season. They also give up an alarming number of sacks.

It doesn’t help that their most talented offensive player, running back LeSean McCoy, hasn’t been able to stay healthy this year. McCoy has played just 46.5 percent of Buffalo’s offensive snaps this year, though he did have 24 carries for 85 yards against the Titans, so that number might be ticking up in the near future — unless he’s traded, that is.

The Bills are a rebuilding team and we should give them credit for winning, but it’s not going to make teams with playoff aspirations look good when they lose to them. The Vikings and the Titans became punchlines with the way they lost to the Bills. The Texans are up next against the Bills and they have a chance to establish themselves as legitimate playoff contenders in the AFC with a third straight win.

Or they could join the Titans and the Vikings as teams that lost to the Bills this season — and lost some respect in the process.