How Kevin Byard views Tennessee Titans' rivalry with Buffalo Bills? 'A respect thing'
All-Pro safety Kevin Byard sees the Tennessee Titans’ rivalry with the Buffalo Bills as a “respect thing.”
The teams will meet for the fifth straight year Monday night in Buffalo (6:15 p.m. CT, ESPN), including the third consecutive year in a primetime slot and second straight on Monday Night Football. The Titans have won the last two matchups, with last year’s Week 6 victory coming after defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons stopped the Bills’ Josh Allen on a fourth-and-1 goal-line stand.
Byard drew similarities in the mentality of the two teams.
“Guys play hard," he said via Zoom. “Josh Allen, he plays hard. Their running backs run hard. (Stefon) Diggs plays hard. I think it’s just the entire team and I think that’s what makes the matchups exciting. It’s not like two divas playing each other, you know what I’m saying? These are two blue-collar cities, two blue-collar teams. And I think we represent that on the football field.”
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The Bills (1-0) walloped the defending Super Bowl-champion Los Angeles Rams in their season opener Thursday, adding jet fuel to their preseason hype. The Titans (0-1), meanwhile, collapsed against the New York Giants on Sunday.
In Week 2, Tennessee looks to rebound against the early season favorite to win Super Bowl LVII.
“They’re probably playing that play when Jeff made the goal-line stop,” Byard said. “I know the mentality of that team. They’re not just leaning on that win against the Rams. They’re going to come out here – especially Monday night in front of that home crowd – and be super amped up and excited to play us. We have to bring that same type of energy.”
Byard expects the atmosphere in Buffalo to be electric and anticipates a “big-time college football” atmosphere.
“That’s kind of how their town is. It’s a college town,” he said. “The whole city is probably going to be shut down for this game on Monday night.”
Ben Arthur covers the Tennessee Titans for The USA TODAY Network. Contact him at barthur@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @benyarthur.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Kevin Byard views Tennessee Titans' rivalry with Buffalo Bills
