NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Buffalo Bills can't afford to have Tyrod Taylor save the day too often, but it worked for them Sunday. After barely registering a pulse through much of the first three quarters, the Bills' offense woke up when Taylor dodged and juked Tennessee Titans defenders on a 26-yard scramble and then another 22-yard touchdown run to give the Bills their first points of the game.

Taylor was working without offensive stars Sammy Watkins and LeSean McCoy but carried his team on his back, gutting out a fourth-quarter injury to throw the go-ahead touchdown pass in a bounce-back, 14-13 Bills win. Taylor keeps taking hits, however, and the Bills' offense won't win many games with the way it played in Tennessee.

What it means: So much for that soft October schedule, right? What looked like the easiest month of the Bills' season on paper has instead turned into a grind. After losing last week to the New York Giants, the Bills were barely able to pull out a game against another team with a lesser record Sunday. A win is a win, but the Bills need to a play a lot better when the unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals come to town next weekend. The Bills will be in trouble if they drop to 1-3 at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

One reason to get excited: There wasn't a lot to choose from here for much of the game until Taylor turned it around. Here's one under-the-radar area to highlight: The Bills' run defense, outside of a 22-yard scramble by Marcus Mariota, was solid. Bishop Sankey, Dexter McCluster and Antonio Andrews were held to a total of 49 yards on 22 carries. The Titans entered the game ranked 12th in the NFL, averaging 4.25 yards per carry.

One reason to panic: The Bills' offense has been ice-cold in each of its past two first halves, a problem they were able to overcome Sunday against the Titans but a trend that will lose games -- as it did last week against the Giants -- more often than not. Getting Watkins and McCoy back and healthy will help, but when will that happen? The Bills need solutions in the interim to get the ball moving earlier and more consistently in games.

What were they thinking? The Bills decided to release punt returner Marcus Thigpen last week, replacing him with Denarius Moore. That decision backfired in Sunday's game when Moore fumbled at the end of a 27-yard return, giving the Titans the ball at the Bills' 39-yard line and setting up a Tennessee touchdown.

Fantasy watch: The Bills had few players who registered on the fantasy radar because of injuries, but they needed a lot more out of Percy Harvin (no catches) and Charles Clay (one catch, 7 yards) than they received. Taylor was impressive as a runner but had trouble moving the ball through the air until late in the game, substantially limiting his fantasy production as well.

Ouch: Already down McCoy (hamstring) and Karlos Williams (concussion), the Bills lost another running back Sunday when Cierre Wood was carted to the locker room with a knee injury and did not return. That left Boom Herron and Boobie Dixon as the Bills' only healthy running backs by the game's end.