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. Atlanta's running back Bijan Robinson fumbled and the Bills Christian Benford recovered the ball in Falcons territory. But 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 Matt Milano. They lost DaQuan Jones to an injury during pregame warmups and 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. Robinson 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 Cole Bishop(who misses tackles on a regular basis) around midfield on that 81 yard TD. Robinson would end 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 opponents number one 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 Stefon Diggs torched his former team for 10 catches and 146 yards.
The Bills defense was much better in the second half and made multiple stops in a one score game which kept giving the offense a chance to tie the contest but Josh Allen and company failed miserably. 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+ yards( three runs, four passes).
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 dropbacks. 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. They scored a touchdown on a 73 yard drive on their initial possession of both halves. Outside of that they did nothing. Those two TD 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. 54 of those came on their final possession when the Falcons were giving the Bills underneath yards while protecting a 10 point lead.
The Bills leading receiver was Josh Palmer with 60 yards. He left the game with an injury 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. Dalton Kincaid was inactive and that was a big problem.
Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady was part of the problem as well. I know Ty Johnson is the Bills third down 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 two 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 two of nine. He was also not on the field for a critical fourth and two 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, still down the one touchdown, the Bills faced a third and one at their own 48 yard line. 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 turned the ball over on downs.
Oh by the way, there were eight more accepted penalties which brings the Bills total to 30 over their last three games. McDermott also decided to punt on a fourth and three from his own 49 yard line when they were trailing 21-7 in the second.
The Bills hit their bye week with back to back losses for the first time since weeks four and five of last season. The coaches have issues all over the field to solve and hopefully Brandon Beane will be working with the phones and looking at possible trades with the deadline coming up on November 4th.
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