5 takeaways from Bills' slow, but impressive Week 7 win over Titans

Here are five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills' Week 7 win over the Tennessee Titans.

Ronnie Eastham | 2 Hours Ago

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

In this story:

Buffalo Bills | News, Scores, Schedules & Standings

It was a slow start for the Buffalo Bills in their Week 7 matchup with the Tennessee Titans, but the team's offense eventually got into a rhythm and the defense shored up, allowing Buffalo to earn an encouraging 34-10 victory to improve to 5-2 on the season. With a full week ahead of it to get Amari Cooper acclimated to the Bills' offense, Josh Allen and company should start to get on a roll as we advance through the season. That's looking a bit too far ahead, though; here are our five takeaways for Buffalo's Sunday win over the Titans.

The Bills' offense was dismal in the first half

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Buffalo amassed a total of 90 yards on 20 offensive plays in the first half and held possession for just over nine minutes. Josh Allen completed a scant four passes for 65 yards, and James Cook contributed only 26 yards on six carries. The primary concern is the limited number of carries, just six, given to Cook in the half. Buffalo has shown a strong ability to run the ball and needs to lean more into this aspect of their offense, particularly while they get the passing game in sync with newly acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper.

Josh Allen needs to be more consistent in taking what's given

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

There was a version of Josh Allen fans heard about for years: "Sugar High Josh." Maybe "Big Play Hunter" is more appropriate now. Far too many times, Allen is looking for the big play rather than simply taking what the defense is giving him. Even going back to the Week 5 loss against the Houston Texans, all three of the final pass plays that were called had an easy, open target that Allen could have hit that would have likely led to a first down. But still, 100 career starts and Allen is ignoring those easy button throws with far too much regularity. Don't get me wrong, Allen is one of the two best quarterbacks in the league, but there is still room to grow.

Amari Cooper and Bills offense came alive in second half

Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The Bills managed to put a James Cook touchdown on the board in the second quarter, but it was the second half when their offense hit its stride. After an early drop on the first drive of the game, the recently acquired Amari Cooper got into his groove. His first catch as a Bill was a 12-yard touchdown reception that put the Bills ahead 14-10, and they never looked back en route to a 34-10 victory. Cooper finished his Bills debut with four receptions, 66 yards, and one touchdown, all on a limited snap count.

Buffalo defense dominated after the first quarter

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

It's fair to continue to be critical of the Bills' run defense, but I'll also give them credit when it's due. They weren't good early; however, they quickly got it figured out and shut down Tony Pollard and the Titans' rushing attack, giving up only 89 yards on the ground and a 3.7 yards per carry average. Buffalo's defense gave up only ten points and recorded three sacks, six tackles for loss, and a whopping 11 quarterback hits, six of which came from Gregory Rousseau. The Bills also forced two turnovers, including Damar Hamlin's second interception of the year.

Keon Coleman with his first career 100-plus yard performance

Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Rookie wideout Keon Coleman was terrific, finishing the game with four receptions and 125 yards on seven targets, including two long catches of 44 and 57 yards. He even had an impressive touchdown grab in the second half (questionably) called back. Is this the effect of Cooper on the field? Perhaps, but if Coleman can continue to develop as Cooper gets more acclimated with the offense, the threesome of those two and Khalil Shakir could be magical come postseason time.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Bills from Buffalo Bills on SI —