In a Monday Night Football battle, the Buffalo Bills suffered a heart-wrenching 34-31 loss to the Tennessee Titans.

With 22 seconds left on the clock, Josh Allen and the Bills found themselves stationed on the 3-yard line, 4th-and-1. Rather than kick for a field goal to tie the game, head coach Sean McDermott opted to run a QB sneak for Allen. After the snap, Titans’ defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons was ready, firing off the line like a cannon and crashing with full force into the offensive line. Allen lost his footing, falling short of the line to gain, securing a Titans’ victory.

The Bills departed Tennessee with their second loss of the season and a 4-2 record—having gone on a four-game winning streak since their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first game of the season.

Despite obvious disappointment from the team and fans, the Bills are going to be just fine. There are three reasons why this loss was important to the future success of the team.

The last play of the game was a significant showing of trust between the coaches and players

Executing a quarterback sneak with 22 seconds remaining on the clock was not a “Hail Mary” call by McDermott. It was a calculated risk he and his team were willing to take based on their shared trust in each other. McDermott trusted Allen and the offensive line to execute, and the rest of the team trusted in the coach’s call as well as the offense’s capability.

Despite being unable to secure a win, the play was an excellent opportunity for the Bills to work as a cohesive unit and truly embrace the “win together, lose together” motto.

Highlighted weak spots in the defense

The Bills came into this game with a powerhouse defense, leading the NFL in 11 defensive categories. Some of the categories are: total yards allowed per game, total yards allowed per play, first downs allowed, points allowed, and the list goes on. The Bills defense has only allowed for 538 rushing yards and 1,083 passing yards for a total of 1,621 offensive yards allowed overall. The defense had limited teams to an average of 16.3 points per game.

Enter Derrick Henry.

Henry was the Bills’ worst nightmare, kryptonite, a man playing against boys—whatever you want to call it. He rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns. In one play, Henry ran for a 76-yard touchdown to reinvigorate the Titans’ offense and give them the lead in the second half.

It was quite evident that the Bills’ defense was ill-equipped to handle such an explosive player. Specifically, the Bills’ defense was unable to match Henry in strength, size, or speed which is what allowed for him to account for so many rushing yards. Additionally, in an attempt to corral Henry, the defense opened the passing game for the Titans.

All in all, the defense did not execute as well as they could have, but they learned valuable lessons that will be crucial as the season progresses.

With a team as talented as the Bills, this loss will only motivate them

Even in the wake of the loss, there is no debate that the Bills are a talented team through and through. This loss will only serve as motivation for the team to continue to improve week to week. Despite not having the best offensive showing this past week, there were still some positives. Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley, and Emmanuel Sanders each had solid showings against the Titans. As for the quarterback, Josh Allen had a great night, lighting the offense on fire, passing for 353 yards, three touchdowns, and completing 35-of-47 passes.

Ultimately, the Bills are dominating the AFC East and can be considered as serious Super Bowl contenders. Heading into a bye week, the Bills will have ample time to rest, recover, practice, and hit the ground running in Week 8 against the Miami Dolphins.