Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Woof!
I think that accurately sums up the Buffalo Bills' performance on Monday night in Atlanta in a 24-14 loss to the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The offense had its worst game of the season. The defense had a historically bad first half. It all added up to a second-consecutive loss, which knocked the Bills out of first place in the AFC East and sent them into the bye week wondering what in the world is going on.
We didn't know it at the time, but the very first snap of the game was a portent of things to come.
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson fumbled, and Bills cornerback Christian Benford recovered the ball in Atlanta territory. However, defensive end Greg Rousseau lined up offside, which negated the takeaway.
The Falcons would go right down the field for a touchdown following that gift.
Now the Bills did answer back with a touchdown on their first possession, but it was all downhill after that.
For the record, the Bills defense went into the game without linebacker Matt Milano. They lost defensive tackle DaQuan Jones to an injury during pregame warmups, and linebacker Terrel Bernard was done for the night after suffering an injury in the second quarter.
But that shouldn't have caused what happened over the first 30 minutes.
The Falcons offense dominated the Bills, and their 335 total yards was the most given up by a Bills defense in a first half since 2001.
Robinson ran roughshod over the run defense, which entered the game ranked 28th in the NFL. He had an eye-popping 138 yards on just 12 carries, which is an average of 11.5 yards per-carry.
His half was highlighted by an 81-yard touchdown run.
The Bills did their part with numerous missed tackles, including safety Cole Bishop (who misses tackles on a regular basis) around midfield on that 81-yard touchdown.
Robinson ended the night with 170 yards rushing and a career-high 238 yards from scrimmage.
For the second-straight game, the Bills had absolutely no idea how to stop the opponent's No. 1 wide receiver.
Drake London had, what would be considered, a great game in just the first 30 minutes with nine catches for 147 yards and a touchdown. He finished the evening with 10 receptions for 158 yards.
London's big game came just eight nights after New England Patriots wideout Stefon Diggs torched his former team for 10 catches and 146 yards.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott has always designed defenses that don't give up big plays. But in this game, they were burned for seven plays of 20-plus yards (three runs, four passes).
The Bills defense was much better in the second half, and made multiple stops in a one-score game that kept giving the offense a chance to tie the contest. However, Josh Allen and company failed miserably.
Allen did not have a good game. He was also under siege, as the protection against the blitz-happy Falcons broke down numerous times. According to Next Gen Stats, Allen was pressured on 47% of his drop backs.
The "everyone eats" philosophy with the Bills' passing game turned into everyone going hungry.
The Bills' 14 points scored is their lowest total over the last 22 games.
The offense had two good drives in this game.
They scored a touchdown on a 73-yard drive on their initial possession of both halves. Outside of that, they did nothing.
Those two touchdown drives accounted for 146 yards. On the other nine drives, which resulted in six punts, two interceptions and a turnover on downs, the Bills totaled 141 yards, with 54 of those coming on their final possession when the Falcons were giving the Bills underneath yards while protecting a 10-point lead.
The Bills' leading receiver was Joshua Palmer with 60 yards. He left the game with an injury, though, on the third play of the second quarter, but still led in receiving yards.
Khalil Shakir, Tyrell Shavers and Keon Coleman combined for 11 catches that produced just 71 yards. There were numerous plays where Allen was moving around to buy time, but never threw the ball, perhaps indicating that guys weren't able to get open.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid was inactive, and that was a big problem for Buffalo.
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady was part of the problem as well.
I know Ty Johnson is the Bills' third-down running back, but James Cook has been one of the best backs in the NFL this season, and needed to be on the field more. Cook's 52% snap count was his second-lowest of the season. The lowest came against the Jets in Week 2, but that game was a blowout win and the Bills were able to pull starters early.
According to ESPN, Cook was not on the field for any of the Bills' third-down plays, of which they converted just 2-of-9 attempts. He was also not on the field for a critical 4th-and-2 at the Falcons' 47-yard line with the Bills trailing 21-14 late in the third quarter.
The Bills did not convert that either.
For the second-straight game, Brady called for a highly questionable end-around. Early in the fourth quarter and still down the one touchdown, the Bills faced a 3rd-and-1 at their own 48-yard line and Brady opted to keep Cook off the field. He also decided not to use Allen, who is one of the best rushing quarterbacks in the league.
Instead, he called an end-around to little-used wide receiver Elijah Moore, who promptly dropped the handoff.
The Bills eventually turned the ball over on downs.
Oh, by the way, there were eight more accepted penalties in this game, which brings the Bills' total to 30 over their last three games.
McDermott also decided to punt on a 4th-and-3 from his own 49-yard line when they were trailing 21-7 in the second quarter.
The Bills hit their bye week with back-to-back losses for the first time since Weeks 4 and 5 of last season.
The coaches have issues all over the field to solve, and hopefully general manager Brandon Beane will be working the phones and looking at possible trades with the deadline coming up on Nov. 4.
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