The Buffalo Bills had a shot at righting the ship against the Atlanta Falcons Monday night, as they hoped to avoid a losing streak heading into their bye week. Instead, a poor effort against the New England
Patriots in Week 5 spiraled into another subpar effort this week, and the Bills lost 24-14 to a good Falcons team that they made look great.
In the first half, Buffalo’s defense was inept, to put it lightly. They were gashed to the tune of 340 net yards, an absurd number that almost doesn’t even show how dominant Atlanta was. As if that wasn’t enough, the offense was putrid, as well, as they netted just 48 yards in five possessions following an opening-drive score. The game looked like it was going to be a blowout, so it’s a testament to their will that the team was able to claw back into it and keep it a game.
That battered defense recovered in the second half, giving the beleaguered offense multiple chances to tie the game. However, the Falcons were able to put together a back-breaking drive late in the fourth quarter to seal the deal with a field goal.
In a game this rough, there are plenty of fingers to point and plenty of people at which to point them. Here’s how our five players to watch performed this week.
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QB Josh Allen
I understand that the receiving corps isn’t great. I understand that the Falcons have a very good defense. I understand that every game can’t be a Josh Allen Superman game. However, it shouldn’t have been necessary for Allen to be Superman in Atlanta, and yet, the Bills never felt like they were going to win that game.
Allen was under duress all night, as the Falcons blitzed him more than he’s been blitzed since his second year in the league. The blitz was beyond effective, as they hit, harried, and demoralized ALlen, and by proxy, Buffalo’s offense. The protection scheme was poor, and Allen looked uncomfortable in the pocket even in the rare moments when he did have time to throw. He doesn’t appear to be trusting that his line will keep him upright, and he certainly doesn’t appear to trust his pass-catchers to make any space to throw—more on that below.
However, Allen had chances to make plays, whether via throwing the ball to players who were open or by more decisively taking off and running. Too often, he’s seemed caught in between of late, and that goes for his scramble/throw decisions and his checks at the line of scrimmage as it relates to protections. He and the offensive linemen have especially had trouble identifying edge blitzers from the secondary, and on a key fourth down, Falcons corner A.J. Terrell came free on a blitz, forced Allen out of the pocket to his left, and prevented him from hitting an open Ty Johnson.
Allen also threw interceptions on the final possession of each half. Granted, it wasn’t all bad — he passed for two scores, dropped an absolute dime on Khalil Shakir that the reliable slot man just couldn’t keep his second foot in-bounds for, and he had a completion to Elijah Moore inexplicably called incomplete that could have extended a late first-half drive. But, just like last Sunday’s loss against New England, Allen, and the offense were too inconsistent to sustain any sort of solid attack.
Allen finished his night 15-of-26 for 180 yards with those two scores and two interceptions, adding 42 rushing yards on six carries. He also took four sacks, which is his highest sack total since the opening game of the 2023 season.
Wide Receivers
Initially, this space was dedicated to Curtis Samuel, but since he did not play — an all-too-common theme in his Bills tenure — we’ll talk instead about the general lack of talent at the position. The Bills cannot beat good man coverage. This has been a theme for years. They do not have receivers who can create separation, and they seem to have an offensive coordinator who is either unable or unwilling to scheme that separation consistently.
In the last two games, the Patriots and the Falcons did essentially the same thing on the back end. They put their top corner on Keon Coleman, thereby erasing the second-year man from the game plan. Then, they bracketed Khalil Shakir. That dared the Bills to beat them with players like Tyrell Shavers, Elijah Moore, and Joshua Palmer. The latter of that trio actually looked like he was going to be successful in that endeavor Monday night, but a bad tackle from behind led to Palmer’s body going one way and his ankle going another. I’ve seen that tackle characterized as a hip-drop tackle by some, but more people seem to be of the opinion that it was merely a bad break for the Bills, not the banned tackle that so many people talk about but few can define clearly.
The truth is that the Bills either need to change their approach to how teams are guarding them, or they need to find players who can do the things that the offensive coordinator is asking the current personnel grouping to do. They can’t have Keon Coleman out there for 86% of the snaps only to see six targets, catch three passes, and gain 11 receiving yards. That after a night where he played on 62% of the snaps and caught four of seven targets for 23 yards and a touchdown. Coleman has caught seven passes for 34 yards and a score in the last two games. That’s unacceptable.
With Palmer termed “week-to-week” thanks to that ankle injury he suffered, many of us will likely clamor for a trade here. However, I have a feeling that the best general manager Brandon Beane is going to be able to do is call up Gabe Davis from the practice squad. Once again, this is a positional group in need of help.
DT Ed Oliver
Oliver was fairly disruptive in his return from injury, and he appeared on 79% of the team’s defensive snaps. He played 55 total snaps, which is his highest total since that overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2023. I’m sure that wasn’t the plan, but when fellow defensive tackle DaQuan Jones “popped his calf” in warmups, it left the Bills with just three defensive tackles dressed for the game. Oliver, Deone Walker, and Jordan Phillips did what they could, but that was a less-than-ideal situation against a team that rosters arguably the best running back in the NFL in Bijan Robinson.
Oliver had three tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack on the night. Side note, however: hats off to Deone Walker, who had five tackles, four of which went for a loss, as he continues to show himself to be a strong addition to the squad. He and Oliver likely have a solid future together.
LB Joe Andreessen
Well, Andreessen did end up playing as the third linebacker in base formations, but not for the reason I thought he would. Matt Milano was out, and while Dorian Williams missed last week’s loss to New England, he returned for this one, so Andreessen began the game on special teams only. He stood out there, making two big hits on kickoff returns.
However, after middle linebacker Terrel Bernard suffered a foot/ankle injury, it was Andreessen’s time to slot in as the third linebacker. Shaq Thompson wore the green dot as the middle linebacker, with Williams slotting in as the second option in nickel formations.
Andreessen played just eight defensive snaps, with Thompson playing 63 snaps and Williams playing 39. Andreessen had one quarterback hit on defense and those two special teams tackles. Thompson led the Bills with 10 total tackles, and if he could have held onto a pass that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw right to him in the fourth quarter, he might still be running. Williams had five total tackles, including one on special teams.
S Taylor Rapp
I’m not even sure what to say anymore. Rapp has not been anywhere close to adequate this year. He played well in a fill-in role behind franchise icons Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, but he was just okay as a full-time starter last season, and this year, he’s been anything but. Sure, the Bills entered the game as the league’s No. 3 pass defense, and after yet another game where a team had but one top-end receiver and the Bills still couldn’t slow him (Drake London caught 10 passes for 158 yards and a score), they exited it only losing one spot in those rankings.
However, the eyes don’t lie, and Rapp has been so far out of position so often that he either takes himself out of plays entirely in the passing game or takes putrid angles in run support. While second-year man Cole Bishop has missed tackles on long scoring runs twice in primetime games this season, he has shown flashes of the athleticism that led the Bills to draft him in the second round two years ago.
Rapp, who was a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 2019, has looked like a liability throughout the season. He had seven tackles on the night, but he missed a few tackles in what is a troubling trend this year. He led the Bills in missed tackles entering the game, totaling four on the season according to Pro Football Reference.
Last season, Rapp had the lowest missed tackle percentage of any safety in the league, so he was at least a net positive in that key area. Without that going for him, it’s been a rough watch overall.
