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Bills (11-5) at Titans (13-3)
Posted: Friday January 07, 2000 11:29 PM
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| Edges |
| Titans | | Bills |
| Titans have depth, with a great athlete in Steve McNair backed up by a veteran playoff/Super Bowl quarterback in Neil O'Donnell. But it's doubtful O'Donnell will play in the game. | QB
 | Would have given this edge to Buffalo until Rob Johnson was named the starter over Doug Flutie. Once Flutie comes off the bench, edge switches to Buffalo. |
| Quality depth in Rodney Thomas, who had a big day last week, plus one of the top running backs in the league in Eddie George. | RB
 | Jonathan Linton and Antowain Smith are two big power backs who split time and whose combined production is about equal to George's. Addition of Thomas in a playoff game gives edge to Buffalo. |
| Bruce Matthews will be asked to undertake a difficult assignment -- blocking Ted Washington -- and will have to help center Kevin Long. | OL
| Tackles, John Fina and Robert Hicks, have a tough hard job, too -- blocking wherever Jevon Kearse lines up. |
| Dyson, Thigpen and Wycheck (the move tight end) are a nice set of receivers, but ... | Rec
| They don't provide the deep, dangerous threat that Eric Moulds, Peerless Price and Andre Reed provide for Buffalo. |
| Kearse is the best pass-rushing defensive end in the NFL and leads a young Titans defensive line that also features fellow rookie John Thornton. But Bills will find a way to block Kearse. | DL
| Titans won't fare so well against tough trio of Bruce Smith, Ted Washington and Phil Hansen. |
| Very close, because Tennessee's linebackers -- Joe Bowden and Barron Wortham -- are very good run-stoppers, as is Eddie Robinson. And Robinson can come off the corner and rush. | LB
| Outside linebackers Sam Rogers and Gabe Northern are good enough to fend off the block of the tight end and be there to contain the running game. Buffalo's inside linebackers Saw Cowart and John Holechek have a better player in front of them (Washington) than do their Tennessee counterparts, so they'll make a lot of plays. |
| If Marcus Robertson can play, he and Blaine Bishop give Tennessee a better safety tandem than Buffalo has. | DB
 | Cornerback edge goes to the Bills. Antoine Winfield is turning into an Aaron-Glenn type corner, while Titans Samari Rolle draws difficult assignment of matching up with Eric Moulds. |
| K Al Del Greco and P Craig Hentrich are two of the premier kickers in the NFL. | ST
| Kevin Williams is a good return man, not a great one. |
| Jeff Fisher's team is playing at home, but he has to prepare for two quarterbacks. If McNair falters, does Fisher have courage to bring in O'Donnell off the bench? | Coach
| Wade Phillips surprised many by making the move to Johnson so early in the week, but the wily veteran has created an advantage for himself by putting extra pressure on Tennessee coaches. | |
Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years in the NFL as a coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/SI. He previews each of this weekend's wild-card playoff matchups.
The Bills will win if: They can confuse Titans quarterback Steve McNair in the passing game and get him to hold the ball. The Bills also must slow down the run production of Tennessee running back Eddie George.
The Titans will win if: They can block Buffalo tackle Ted Washington and establish the running game for George. Wide receivers Yancy Thigpen and Kevin Dyson also must dominate their one-on-one matchups on Bills cornerbacks Thomas Smith and Antoine Winfield.
The key matchups: Buffalo offensive tackle Robert Hicks vs. Tennessee defensive end Jevon Kearse ; and Bills safety Henry Jones vs. Titans tight end Frank Wycheck. Kearse is leading the AFC in sacks (with 14.5) and has become the dominant player on the Titans defense. Kearse's pass-rush-forced-fumble-
turned-into-a-touchdown last week is the kind of play Tennessee needs to spark a win in the playoffs. Hicks is going to need some help from either a back or a guard to prevent Kearse from playing like the All-Pro he's become this season. Wycheck, who has 421 yards after the catch this season, is the move tight end for the Titans and is a guy the quarterback will go to when he's in trouble. Jones will be responsible for covering Wycheck man-to-man.
Don't be surprised if: George has a tough time running the ball inside because of Washington, a player the Bills consider their most valuable defender. Also, don't be surprised if Doug Flutie comes off the bench to replace Rob Johnson , who will be playing in his first playoff game and could be nervous.
X factor: Switching quarterbacks the week of a playoff game -- from Flutie, who won 10 games, to Johnson -- has put a lot of pressure on Tennessee's defensive personnel to have two game plans ready. I expect Thurman Thomas , who hasn't received much attention lately, to have a big game. The playoff experience of the Bills is another factor. True, the game is in Tennessee, but Buffalo is bringing a team that has been to many playoff games, and is playing against a team with only six or eight guys who have seen action in the playoffs as legitimate starters.
Prediction: Tennessee has won the turnover battle this season. They're plus-18 in turnovers, and they have created 54 sacks -- but that has been against teams like Cleveland and Cincinnati. Buffalo comes out of the AFC East, the hardest division in football, and I think they will go into Tennessee and win the game. Flutie will come off the bench and old veterans Bruce Smith, Andre Reed and Thomas will show they still have a game left in them.
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