The Atlanta Falcons had to be really sharp to win this one, or they had to make the Buffalo Bills look shaky, or both. While there were hiccups along the way, the Falcons did look pretty sharp, and they did make the Bills look very shaky. The result was a signature win, one that reinforces that these Falcons are closer to the team that played the Bucs tough, stomped the Vikings, and pushed past the Commanders then the ones that were embarrassed by the Panthers.
It’s early for that, of course, but
we saw what this team can be. Bijan Robinson ran for a preposterous 170 yards on 19 carries—81 of those on a single tote—and added another 68 yards on six receptions. Tyler Allgeier added 32 yards on 10 carries, most of those on a pair of big rumbles, one of them an early touchdown. Michael Penix Jr. overcame a long, shaky stretch where he nearly threw interceptions to finish with 250 yards and a touchdown. Drake London ate the Bills defense alive, particularly early, to the tune of 158 yards and a touchdown on ten grabs. The offense did all of that with Darnell Mooney out, Ray-Ray McCloud a healthy scratch, and no one outside of London and Bijan got over 20 yards receiving. Hell, Jake Matthews missed a huge chunk of the game, and #4 and #5 tackles Elijah Wilkinson and Mike Jerrell held up just fine.
And yet for all that, for the 24 points and the stellar stretches, it was the defense that really impressed the hell out of me. They held Josh Allen to 180 passing yards and picked him off twice, managed to keep the Bills ground game to “very good” instead of “game-ruining,” and sacked Allen four times while consistently bringing enough heat to throw him off his game. They held Buffalo to 14 points; the last time the Bills scored 14 or fewer was Week 4 of 2024 against the Ravens. Jeff Ulbrich called a masterful game, that deep defensive front kept delivering when it needed to, and a banged-up secondary did more than enough to win. It was magical, and I think we have to consider that this Falcons defense might actually be this good. I know, weird feeling.
What stands out for this team overall is the physicality. It’s more than Bijan and Allgeier leaving defenders in the dirt, though they did plenty of that. It’s much more than the guys up front jostling a talented Bills defensive line and buying time to keep the offense moving. It’s the bone-rattling hits on special teams, the aggression and physicality on defense, and the fact that the Falcons were still swinging those hammers deep into the fourth quarter. It’s easy to get tired and the Falcons have long been known as a finesse football team, but this is something different and welcome.
They’ll need to clean up the Penix misfires, the penalties at bad times, and whatever is going on with their kickers where they’re good for one heart attack per week. Nobody is going to tell you with a straight face that the Atlanta Falcons are an elite team. But I think I can pretty comfortable tell you that they can be—and right now, are—a good one, a couple of healthy pieces and adjustments away from piling up wins and making a meaningful playoff push. You don’t beat the Buffalo Bills, injury-marred or no, by accident or by virtue of luck. These Falcons are finding their footing, and once they do, they just need to keep climbing to make something worthwhile out of the 2025 season.
On to the full recap.
The Good
- The first half was terrific for Michael Penix Jr., who was on schedule, on target, and largely unflappable. He delivered a ton of sharp targets to Drake London and Bijan Robinson, complementing the effective ground game to keep the Falcons offense moving and help them score 21 first half points. It was Penix as he looked against Washington, strong and accurate. Now he just has to stay in that flow state on a more consistent basis.
- We said the Falcons had to run early, and they took it to heart. After that heart-stopping Bijan Robinson fumble was wiped out by a Buffalo penalty, Robinson put together three carries for about a dozen yards to soften up the Bills and Tyler Allgeier ran them over for a touchdown. That easy, and Allgeier’s ability to make five defenders hit him makes him the ideal back to grind defenses to dust.
- And Bijan kept making it look easy, of course. Arguably the best back in the NFL, Robinson showed rare vision, elusiveness, and tackle-breaking ability multiple times in this one, with the career-long 81 yard rushing touchdown where he flew through a crowd, broke a sideline tackle attempt, and took it to the house representing his standout play. But he had, per Tori McElhaney with the Falcons, a team record for primetime game rushing yards, a career-high number of total yards per The Athletic’s Josh Kendall, and countless would-be negative plays turned into hugely positive ones. He’s an elite player, this team’s best player, and someone who can single-handedly turn the tide of any game he appears in. He certainly did his job and then some in this one.
- With Darnell Mooney out and Ray-Ray McCloud a healthy scratch, you knew Drake London was going to be featured. Even if you know, though, you have to be able to stop it, and that’s where Buffalo struggled early. London made a number of nice grabs and spun out of contact on a late first quarter touchdown where he stretched across the plane, looking really impressive in the slot. He was quieter in the second half but still had a few impressive grabs en route to one of the finest days of his career; I’d put this up against any other effort when you consider how much Buffalo was able to key on him.
- Penix took a couple of ugly sacks and the big push up front fizzled a few times, but this line held up remarkably well yet again. Considering Mike Jerrell had to step in for Jake Matthews, that’s even more impressive, and I thought he looked far better at left tackle than he had any right doing on short notice against a quality opponent. The Falcons have done an incredible job of weathering attrition on this line via free agency and injury, but we’ll hope Matthews is back next week against the 49ers.
- Ruke Orhorhoro was a player I liked a year ago, but we saw very little of him. This year, he’s quietly looking quite good, finding his way as a pass rusher and turning in quality run defense. His sack on Josh Allen was just relentless pursuit, flushing Allen out of the pocket and then finished things off after David Onyemata slowed Allen down. Onyemata was also terrific on Monday night, getting a sack of his own and showing some relentless pursuit.
- Sam Roberts had to play with LaCale London and others banged up, and he made a huge play bringing a would-be scrambling Josh Allen down for a sack at the line of scrimmage via leg tackle. If he hadn’t, Allen was getting a massive pickup on the play, and good for Roberts stepping in and playing pretty well.
- Dee Alford was pressed back into action with Billy Bowman out, and if the results have been inconsistent this year, we were reminded of the value of a player who can step into multiple roles and has both starting experience and an aggressive mindset. Alford chipped in a sack, made an excellent interception where he read Allen the whole way to make a big play, and delivered a couple of nice tackles. He’s CB4 on this team and has bounced back in a big way from a lackluster 2024 season, delivering a terrific game in coverage back in Week 3 on the outside and then stepping into his familiar nickel role with aplomb in primetime.
- I thought both A.J. Terrell and Mike Hughes played well. Hughes was on the wrong end of a couple of big plays, but also had excellent, tight coverage on a couple of deep balls to prevent big Allen completions. Terrell was customarily physical and swatted down a pair of passes en route to a shutdown evening, especially important on a day where Jessie Bates and Xavier Watts had their scuffling moments.
- The prime example of how Jeff Ulbrich has this team playing more aware, aggressive football came on the final Bills drive. With Josh Allen bringing the Bills deep into Atlanta territory, Zach Harrison came rumbling in to get his hand up and force Allen to make an off-kilter throw that DeAngelo Malone was able to settle under and pick off. Malone then immediately made the smart decision to kneel and end the game, a big thing from a player who has become a little notorious for ill-timed penalties and decisions. That’s just smart, quality football, and you can credit Ulbrich for installing it and guys like Harrison and Malone for executing at a high level.
- The zero hesitation challenge flag on that beautiful Josh Allen sideline ball to Khalil Shakir in the first quarter was a great decision. Sure, it was an obvious one, but we want coaches to be decisive and smart about their challenges, and the officiating crew appeared to be so smitten with the throw that they were going to let that slide.
The Ugly
- Michael Penix Jr. had a very good first half and delivered a couple of big throws in the second half, but luckily his attempts to give the game away in the second half were unsuccessful. Penix hung in a bit too long and took a couple of costly sacks, threw multiple balls into double coverage with nonexistent windows that could have easily been picked, and had a couple of low arm angle throws that were tipped. Penix had been really good for six straight quarters, but this was a reminder he’s still a relatively young quarterback who can be frazzled. He’ll need to be sharper for all four quarters against the 49ers next week.
- The defense put together admirable stretches, but early on and coming out of halftime, they fizzled. There were missed tackles, pressure arriving a half second too late, and bad angles to the ball that enabled Buffalo to move when they might have otherwise scuffled. The all-too-easy second half opening drive was an example of the Falcons failing to do all of those things, and it ended with Buffalo climbing back within a score. Fortunately, that was the exception to the rule.
- The Falcons have a habit of coming unglued at the wrong time, and it’s always a comedy of errors. In the red zone, Kyle Pitts slipped on a screen, Penix has a pass batted, the next pass slipped out of his hand, and then Parker Romo’s field goal try was blocked late in this one. The result? An obvious scoring opportunity and a chance to go up by two scores turned into Buffalo’s ball, the kind of thing the Falcons do far too often to squander momentum and ruin their chances. Fortunately, it did not burn them badly, but Atlanta needs to salt these games away earlier when they can.
- On Romo: I suspect the Falcons will keep shopping for kickers. He’s now 8/11 for the year, a forgettable 72.7% conversion rate, and might have missed the gimme field goal that was blocked even if a defender hadn’t gotten a hand on it, based on how it looked coming off his foot. The Falcons got rid of Younghoe Koo because they felt they could no longer trust him to consistently hit kicks, and since Romo went 5/5 in Week 2 against the Vikings, he’s just 3/6. Ben Sauls is on the practice squad and Lenny Krieg is still an option if the Falcons feel he’s progressed, but don’t be shocked if there’s a move ahead of Week 7.
- I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the Falcons hadn’t been quite so cavalier about letting time run down before the half. Raheem Morris was trying to balance giving the Falcons time on their drive with not leaving the Bills with much time, which I understand, and it was hard to predict that A) Dee Alford would pick a pass and B) Drake London would nearly score. But having 10 seconds on the clock to kick a chip shot after that or try for a touchdown before the half would have been very nice, and it’s fair to argue that the Falcons either needed to focus on getting into the half or scoring, and weren’t aggressive enough in either direction. Atlanta has trained us to start worrying when they only have a 14 point lead at the half; let’s hope we can put that worry behind us sooner than later.
The Wrapup
Game MVP
Great efforts by Drake London and the whole defense aside, it’s once again Bijan Robinson. He accounted for over half of Atlanta’s yardage by himself, turned some go-nowhere plays into big gains, and had the most impressive single play of the day. He’s a monster.
One Takeaway
The defense is for real. If they can do that against the Buffalo Bills and run together five weeks of largely impressive defense, they should be able to keep this thing going.
Next Week
Another primetime game, this time on Sunday Night Football against the unbelievably banged-up San Francisco 49ers. It’s a prime opportunity to keep this streak going and earn an important NFC win.
Final Word
Lovedit.
