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Taylor, Bills start slow, finish strong vs. Titans

Sal Maiorana
@salmaiorana
Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) runs for a first down during the second half against the Tennessee TItans.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. There was no sign of a limp, and all of his body parts seemed to be in functioning order, particularly that smile he wore on his face as he slipped on his sport coat amidst the near emptiness of the Buffalo locker room.

"I'm doing good, nothing major, so I'm ready to roll," Tyrod Taylor said.

There is no telling how much longer Taylor can play the way he did Sunday because in the NFL, quarterbacks who run out of the pocket and down the field with reckless abandon as often as he did typically don't last too long. But for as long as he can, it sure is a sight to behold.

On a day when their injury-ravaged offense was about as awful as it could possibly be, the Bills pulled out a hard-to-believe 14-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans because Taylor did things that no Bills quarterback has ever done, not even Doug Flutie.

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Tyrod Taylor's late heroics bail out Bills

In rushing for a quarterback team-record 76 yards, Taylor rallied the Bills from a 10-0 deficit by making two plays that will forever be etched on this season's highlight reel. The first was his dazzling 22-yard touchdown run to get the Bills back into the game in the third quarter. And then there was his 24-yard scamper to convert a near-impossible third-and-23 in the fourth quarter that keyed a drive that ended with him throwing a game-winning two-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan on third and goal.

"He willed us, man," said running back Boobie Dixon.

That he did, because without Taylor's improvisational running and scrambling, the Bills would never have won this game against an improving, but certainly not ready-for-prime-time Tennessee team.

"He made a couple really good plays that saved the game for us," said center Eric Wood. "He's a heck of a player and a great leader and we expect those things from him."

For as dynamic as Taylor can be in the open field, he's just as laconic in his post-game press conferences. He doesn't say much of anything that would interest anyone, the classic example of a guy who lets his play speak for him.

"He's not a real rah-rah guy or a loud speaker," said Percy Harvin. "He gets us up in the huddle and gives us confidence that way, but he's not a big rally the whole team guy."

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Throughout two and half quarters, though, Taylor's play spoke nothing, and it was making Bills fans scream in aggravation because he couldn't get anything going. The Bills had four first downs and 51 yards of offense in the first half, and when newcomer Denarius Moore fumbled a punt early in the third quarter to set up a short touchdown run by Tennessee's Antonio Andrews, the Bills were in what looked like an insurmountable 10-0 hole.

And then Taylor went to work. Over the next nine plays, the Bills matched their first-half first down total as Taylor ripped off a 26-yard scramble up the middle, and followed that with a designed rollout run that ended with him tip-toeing along the sideline and into the end zone.

"There were two plays called in the huddle and we got up and they gave us the look we wanted and I was able to make a play," said Taylor. "There was a bunch of great blocking on that play."

Maiorana: Bills showed some true resiliency in victory

But that was only the beginning of the heroics. After the Titans put together a 72-yard drive that ended with a Ryan Succop field goal, Taylor took it to a new level and almost single-handedly won the game.

"The quarterback has the biggest heart," said coach Rex Ryan. "Man, it was tough sledding, but he has guts. He wasn't playing great, but at the end of the day, he's the reason we won."

Here's why. After back-to-back penalties on Seantrel Henderson, the Bills were in a third-and-23 hole at their own 7. As you know, the odds of converting that are about slim and slimmer. However, Taylor bought time in the pocket and when nothing was available, he took off up the middle and weaved his way just past the first-down marker, a 24-yard gain that became 39 when Tennessee's Zach Brown horse-collared him for a personal foul.

"He busted it wide open with his legs and teams have to respect that," said guard Richie Incognito. "That one where he took off and then got the personal foul, they were playing two-man (two deep safeties) and that thing just opened up. He had the presence to take off and hurt them up the middle. It was a game-changing play for us."

Taylor hurt his already sore ankle and had to come out for a play. He then returned and fired a perfect 46-yard strike down the left sideline to Hogan to the Titans 7. After catching a pass from Hogan on a trick play, Taylor returned the favor and found Hogan alone on the right side for a two-yard touchdown, and Dan Carpenter added the go-ahead extra point with 5:25 to go.

Ryan, who was beating his chest over the way his defense played, and for the most part, he had a right to as the Titans managed just 276 yards, which enabled Buffalo to stay close. But he was simply overjoyed by the way Taylor hung tough and found a way to win.

The defense then went out and made two stops to secure the victory. The first came after the Bills overcame Corey Graham being nailed for a highly-questionable personal foul that gave the Titans a first down. And then, the Titans had one more chance after a Buffalo punt with 1:41 to go, but Stephon Gilmore picked off a Marcus Mariota pass on first down and it was over.

"He's got such resolve," said Ryan. "That's the mark of a great one. Is he a great quarterback yet? No, but I'll tell you what, he's got those types of characteristics that'll give him a chance to be great."

Several players remarked how this win was not pretty. They were right, it was downright "nasty" as Incognito said. But down the stretch, the Titans could not cope with Taylor, and the Bills strutted out of Tennessee with their first win since the old Houston Oilers moved to Rocky Top in 1997.

"That's as resilient a win as you're probably going to find," said defensive tackle Kyle Williams. "To win this game on the road, against a team that's coming off a bye, is healthy, and we're missing some key guys, it can kick start us, and when we get guys back that's really going to help."

MAIORANA@Gannett.com

Video: Sal's recap from Nashville