Undefeated Bills, Titans to meet — if virus cooperates
The NFL’s ranks of undefeated teams should thin by one Tuesday night when the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans finally meet in a rescheduled game.
If testing and the coronavirus allow.
The Bills ( 40) have had only their schedule disrupted as they try to extend their best start in years. The Titans ( 30) have become pariahs while dealing with the NFL’s first virus outbreak that kept them out of their building much of the past two weeks with 24 players and personnel testing positive.
Tennessee safety Kevin Byard said it has been tough watching teammates test positive and worrying about them and their families while not knowing when they would play again. The NFL first postponed, then rescheduled their Oct. 4 game with Pittsburgh to Oct. 25, and their game with the Bills pushed back two days.
“At the end of the day, we’re not going to make any excuses, man,” Byard said. “We’re going to come in here and focus on what we need to focus on, and that’s winning the ballgame.”
The Bills beat the Raiders 3023 on Oct. 4. This franchise hasn’t won five straight since 2004, and another win would give Buffalo its best start since 1991, a Bills Super Bowl season.
“As a team that’s off to a good start, we feel like we’ve got a good thing rolling here and we want to play,” Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen said.
Buffalo has won three straight in this series, including a 147 win in Nashville a year ago as the Titans stumbled to a 24 start. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott has made clear Tennessee made it to the AFC title game in January.
These Titans are rested, with their previous game Sept. 27 in a 3130 win at Minnesota.
The Bills will be the first team to play the Titans since the NFL closed Tennessee’s facility Sept. 29. The Vikings have not had a positive test result since playing the Titans.
Falcons’ new boss: Atlanta named defensive coordinator Raheem Morris interim head coach after firing Dan Quinn.
Morris is in his sixth season with the Falcons and his first as defensive coordinator.
The Falcons fired Quinn on Sunday night, hours after the team fell to 05 for the first time since 1997 with a 2316 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Falcons owner Arthur Blank also fired longtime general manager Thomas Dimitroff.
Can Morris be a candidate for the fulltime job?
“Absolutely,” Blank said, adding with a smile, “if Raheem ends up 110, he’ll certainly be a candidate.”
He added, “This is not just a response to 05,” referring to the Falcons’ 1423 record under Quinn since the beginning of the 2018 season.
Blank said Quinn and Dimitroff agreed there was a mandate to make the playoffs “or bust” this season following consecutive 79 finishes the past two years. “It’s pretty clear when you go 05 that is not going to happen,” Blank said.
Jets off course? Adam Gase might be ready to call an audible on playcalling duties.
With the Jets off to an 05 start for the first time since 1996 and struggling mightily on offense, the head coach acknowledged he is considering handing off calling plays during games so he can take a widerangle view of the team.
“I don’t think I’m ever opposed to trying something to change things,” Gase said on a conference call. “I’d say everything’s on the table.”
Briefly: Giants edge rusher Lorenzo Carter is done for the year after rupturing his left Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Sunday’s 3734 road loss to the Cowboys. ... Cincinnati defensive tackle D. J. Reader had a seasonending knee injury. Freeagent defensive tackle Xavier Williams was signed to replace him.