Open thread for the second half of Bills vs. Titans Week 7

Things didn't go well for the Buffalo Bills, even though they won the coin toss and took the ball confidently on offense. The message was clear: our team is better than your team and we take the ball to score. Not so fast.

Another game, another overall disappointing first half performance from Sean McDermott's Bills this season. After 30 minutes of play, the Bills were on the wrong end of a 10-7 deficit. Football bounced back often enough for Buffalo, but they were woefully unprepared to do anything about their fortune.

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady scored a turnover in Tennessee Titans territory near midfield. Instead of going for a kill shot and a quick scoring opportunity, offensive coordinator Joe Brady sent rookie running back Ray Davis headfirst into two strong defensive tackles. Four plays later, the Bills had kicked the ball back to the Titans.

Admittedly, it wasn't all bad in the first half, best exemplified by Buffalo's three-play, 55-yard touchdown drive in response to a 10-0 deficit. The concern might be that Allen and his passing game were nearly invisible on planned plays, as the long pass to rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman came after a jailbreak scramble.

The previous 10 plays – the team's first 10 plays in script – went for 24 yards and resulted in three drives with three-pointers. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady needs to figure out how to put these players in a better position to succeed, and the players need to be held accountable for their poor execution. It's a recipe for disaster if things don't change.

It wasn't wise to expect anything significant from wide receiver Amari Cooper after a few days in town. His first appearance was incomplete and his role was mainly to be a decoy for 30 minutes.

In total, the Bills reached their season-high four three-and-outs before giving the ball back to Tennessee with a poorly guarded punt. That means giving the Titans the ball back just before halftime and allowing them to work their way up the field to execute a double dip in the first half. And as is often the case with the McDermott Bills, things got really interesting as the game clock expired. Luckily, Stanford Redux shouldn't be in the house with the Syracuse University marching band ready to rock out at halftime.

The Bills start the third quarter on defense. Hopefully Buffalo's coaches have a plan to help both sides of the ball get to the line of scrimmage in a more meaningful way. While Greg Rousseau was a strength on defense in the first quarter, his pressure simply allowed Rudolph to find perfect checkdowns. At one point, Rudolph was on pace for 360 yards.

The Buffalo Bills have to get better – in every phase. There are no excuses for such terrible football. Josh Allen's 4 of 11 for 65 yards is pathetic, and that's not a new development for the offense under Brady. A cursory look at the Titans' offensive game plan shows many similarities to what the Baltimore Ravens used against the Bills. Like the Ravens, it worked brilliantly for Tennessee.

Here's your second half thread to enjoy the rest of the game this afternoon. Remember to be kind to one another and in all things… Go Bills!