Buffalo Rumblinks, 10/15: What went wrong for the Bills vs. Falcons

SB Nation

The Buffalo Bills (4-2) were thoroughly outplayed during Monday night’s 24-14 road loss against the Atlanta Falcons. Bijan Robinson and the Falcons rushing attack ran wild, Drake London came up with big

catch after big catch against Buffalo’s secondary, quarterback Josh Allen had little time to throw against a blitz-heavy Falcons pass rush, Buffalo once again was sloppy and committed too many penalties, and now, heading into their bye week, Buffalo is looking up at the New England Patriots in the AFC East standings.

Today’s edition of Buffalo Rumblinks examines what went wrong in Atlanta and discusses why the Bills are a flawed Super Bowl contender.

What went wrong for the Bills vs. Falcons

On the very first snap, the Bills appeared to have recovered a fumble that would have set them up with fantastic field position, only for an offside penalty to negate the turnover. The Falcons would go on to score a touchdown en route to a 21-7 lead just four minutes into the second quarter. It was a harbinger of things to come, as Buffalo committed eight penalties, which ups the total to 30 over the last three games.

Buffalo’s defense surrendered an 81-yard touchdown run by Bijan Robinson, who finished with 238 rushing and receiving yards, and allowed Atlanta to roll up 299 yards of offense…in the first half alone. Robinson and wide receiver Drake London went on to burn Buffalo’s defense for 396 yards of total offense.

Things weren’t much better for reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense, which looks nothing like the unit that scored 30-plus points in four straight wins to open the season. Allen was under pressure for much of the night, Buffalo’s wide receivers were unable to create much separation once Joshua Palmer exited with an injury, offensive coordinator Joe Brady dialed up some bizarre plays that did not work (including a botched handoff for wide receiver Elijah Moore on a pivotal third-down play), and running back James Cook was criminally under utilized in this game.

Add it all up, and head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane will be busy this week trying to find answers to what has gone wrong with the Bills through six weeks.

Injuries piling up for Bills

As if heading into the bye week on a two-game losing streak wasn’t bad enough, the Bills continue to lose key contributors on both sides of the ball. Before the game, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones injured his calf, and once the game began, wide receiver Joshua Palmer (ankle), linebacker Terrel Bernard (ankle) and others suffered injuries.

On Tuesday, McDermott said Jones and Palmer are “week-to-week,” while Bernard, tight end Dalton Kincaid (oblique), wide receiver Curtis Samuel (neck/ribs) and linebacker Matt Milano (pectoral) are all considered day-to-day with their injuries.

Bills react after loss to Falcons

Hear from head coach Sean McDermott, offensive coordinator Joe Brady, defensive coordinator Bobby Babich, quarterback Josh Allen and others following Buffalo’s second straight loss in primetime.