Key matchups for Week 2 showdown

The Tennessee Titans (0-1) head to Buffalo in Week 2 to take on the Bills (1-0) in a Monday night primetime showdown.

If you listen to the national media outlets, the narrative that’s largely going around is that this game will essentially be a cakewalk for the Bills.

Despite what you may hear, there are a few reasons for Titans fans to be optimistic about their chances in this Week 2 matchup between perennial AFC contenders.

For starters, The Titans are 8-2 over their last 10 games on “Monday Night Football”. They’ve also won two straight games against Buffalo, both matchups occurring during primetime as well (2020, 2021).

Lastly, Tennessee often thrives in moments like these where no one besides their fanbase believes in them. The Titans tend to excel in the underdog role. Last season, they beat NFL powerhouses like the Bills, Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs when essentially nobody thought they would.

This game feels a lot like last year’s “Sunday Night Football” game in Los Angeles, where everyone just assumed the Titans’ season was over after losing Derrick Henry.

Tennessee isn’t facing that type of adversity this time around, but the amount of doubt surrounding the team combined with the injury to Kristian Fulton resembles that unfortunate time period that was full of unknowns.

In order for the Titans to continue their trend of quieting the naysayers in an emphatic fashion, they must find a way to leave Buffalo with a road win, one way or another.

Let’s take a deeper dive into these six matchups that will largely determine Monday’s outcome.

Ryan Tannehill vs. Josh Allen

AP Photo/Brett Carlsen

This individual matchup is a lopsided one on paper. Josh Allen is a superstar quarterback who possesses legitimate MVP potential. Ryan Tannehill, on the other hand, is a very good starting NFL quarterback who probably won’t be in many MVP conversations anytime soon.

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that Tannehill is incapable of having a productive day of his own. The Texas A&M product finished Week 1 as the sixth-most efficient quarterback in the league (0.161).

This efficiency rating is based on a composite metric that uses a combination of “Expected Points Added” (EPA), and Completion Percentage Above Expected (CPOE).

Unfortunately for Tennessee, Buffalo’s quarterback finished with the highest efficiency rating out of all Week 1 quarterbacks with a 0.272

Regardless, Tannehill…