The Buffalo Bills (4-2) came into their Week 6 Monday Night Football game against the Atlanta Falcons (3-2) fresh off a disappointing loss to Drake Maye and the New England Patriots. With Buffalo once again looking to compete for the Super Bowl, they have to beat the opponents that they’re favored against, but the Bills are getting in their own way at the moment.
The Bills lost to the Falcons on Monday 24-14 after a game in which quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and Atlanta led as much as 21-7 in the first half thanks to how well they were running their offense. Buffalo had its own issues on the offensive end of the ball as superstar Josh Allen threw for as many interceptions (2) and touchdowns (2), preventing the offense from establishing and maintaining any rhythm.
The Bills’ defense was probably the most concerning element of this game as they couldn’t do anything to stop running back Bijan Robinson (238 scrimmage yards, one touchdown) or wide receiver Drake London (10 catches for 158 yards and one touchdown) from imposing their will. With that being said, here is the Bills stock report following Monday’s disappointing loss to the Falcons:
Stock Up: RB James Cook
Despite the fact that Cook did not register a catch or target for the first time this season, that doesn’t mean that he had a quiet game as he was actually the one member of the offense that could be counted on. Cook had a slow first half, but once he found his groove in the second half, Buffalo was able to gain some momentum and slow down Atlanta’s attack thanks to Cook’s 17 carries for 87 yards.
Stock Down: QB Josh Allen
The main reason that the Bills had a 4-0 record prior to the past couple of weeks was due to the fact that Allen was doing what it took to steady the ship as the team sailed towards victory. On Monday, Allen completed just 57.7% of his throws and despite averaging seven yards per rush, he wasn’t able to make the plays in the passing game that his team needed to beat Atlanta.
Stock Up: DT Deone Walker
With defensive tackle Da’Quan Jones out for the game after injuring himself during pregame warmups, Walker didn’t have much of a chance to get ready for this game in the featured role that he ended up playing against the Falcons. Despite having to perform on short notice, Walker, Buffalo’s fourth-round pick, stood out to the tune of five tackles (four solo) and added a pass deflection to boot.
Stock Down: CB Christian Benford
As the Bills’ top cornerback, Benford drew the task of matching up against London and let’s just say that Benford didn’t do much outside of the matchup other than tackling London. While Benford deserves some criticism for his performance against London, London is one of the better receivers in the NFL for a reason and he got the better of Benford.
Stock Up: WR Josh Palmer
Palmer played a huge point throughout the game as he showed his ability to be reliable for Josh Allen in terms of catching the ball and that led to some huge moments for Palmer against the Falcons. While Khalil Shakir remains the primary target within the passing offense, Palmer continues to show that his ability to create big plays may need to be expanded given Buffalo’s current losing streak.
Stock Down: WR Keon Coleman
Ever since Week 1 when Coleman went off against the Baltimore Ravens for 112 yards on eight catches, he hasn’t gotten close to that production since. Against Atlanta, Coleman was essentially a decoy as he caught 3-of-6 targets for just 11 yards despite being one of the primary receivers within an offense that needs him to play better if the Bills are going to win.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Stock up, stock down following the Bills’ 24-14 ‘Monday Night Football’ loss to Falcons
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
