ATLANTA – It was right around this time last year when the Buffalo Bills went into a tumultuous two-game losing streak where they looked like a playoff pretender rather than a Super Bowl contender.
They suffered a 35-10 blowout loss to the Ravens, then went down to Houston and Josh Allen played one of the worst games of his career in a 23-20 loss to the Texans.
Well, here we are again, one season later, Weeks 5 and 6 rather than Weeks 4 and 5 in 2024, and the Bills are licking their wounds following a second straight defeat, this one 24-14 to the Atlanta Falcons on a manic Monday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Last year, the Bills pulled out of their short tailspin and ripped off seven straight victories and won 10 of 11 before a Week 18 mail-it-in with their fifth straight AFC East division title and No. 2 conference playoff seed already secured.
As dire as it delt when they flew home from Houston, things turned quickly and they got rolling the way we have come to expect. Can they do it again, starting in two weeks at Carolina after they’ve had a bye week to reset and perhaps get a little healthier?
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to go back now, in addition to getting guys healthier, and we’ll see how that goes,” coach Sean McDermott said. “We’ll figure out things on offense, defense and special teams. We’ve got to start over and start from ground zero and figure this thing out and work our tails off to do it.”
The thing is, this year’s team does not feel like last year’s team. There are glaring holes on the 2025 iteration, and right now, everything feels a little stale in Buffalo. This is going to be a difficult endeavor for McDermott and his coaching staff because it’s clear that this team lacks true upper end talent and is fielding units in all three phrases littered with players who really don’t scare opposing teams.
Here’s how I graded the Bills’ performance:
PASS OFFENSE: D
This was as bad as Josh Allen and the pass offense has looked since the debacle in Houston last year when he completed just 9 of 30 passes. The Falcons overmatched Buffalo’s offensive line and finished with four sacks, six QB hits, and double-digit pressures. The key was their reliance on blitzing, which the Bills never figured out.
Every bit as problematic was the continued nothingness the wide receivers are giving the offense. It was a complete no-show from players like Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Elijah Moore and Tyrell Shavers. They combined for nine catches for a measly 71 yards. Unfortunately, Joshua Palmer finally did something as he had a 45-yard catch and then a 15-yarder, but on the latter he suffered an ankle injury that knocked him out of the game.
Also, with Dalton Kincaid out, Dawson Knox caught a 19-yard TD pass, and that was it. The Bills’ passing game is in disarray, and moving forward, teams are going to blitz Allen because they know he doesn’t anyone who can get open quickly to give him an outlet.
RUN OFFENSE: C+
The grade would have been higher if Joe Brady had utilized it more because when he did, the Bills moved the ball. James Cook gained 87 yards on 17 carries, and both totals should have been higher. He averaged 5.1 per attempt and that sure seemed like a better way to move the ball than trying to throw to receivers who weren’t open.
Allen scrambled for 42 yards which inflated the final total to 134 yards and a 5.6 average per attempt. Brady needs to get back to basics because he has been showing off a little too much the last couple weeks and it has backfired. Cook is one of the best RBs in the league, so the prudent thing would be to use him.
PASS DEFENSE: D
In the first half, the Bills were torched for 335 yards, 171 of that through the air as Michael Penix had all day to throw, and he was finding targets who were wide open whether the Bills were playing zone or man. It was hideous, and to further complicate matters, the Bills’ defensive backs and linebackers continued their awful tackling which has been an issue all season.
Drake London finished with 10 catches on 16 targets for 158 yards, quite a thing when he was pretty much the only viable wideout the Falcons had with Darnell Mooney and Ray-Ray McCloud inactive. It was amazing to watch London run through the Buffalo secondary with no one on him, giving Penix easy button throws.
Robinson had six catches for 68 yards, but no one else did anything in the Falcons passing game. Penalties were again an issue as the defense handed the Falcons three third-down conversions via penalty, two on pass interference penalties on Tre’Davious White and Christian Benford.
The pass rush did have some affect and Ed Oliver and Javon Solomon had sacks and Penix was hit four times, but there wasn’t nearly enough from edge rushers Greg Rousseau, Joey Bosa and AJ Epenesa.
RUN DEFENSE: F
Everyone knew Bijan Robinson was going to be a problem, and he was as he broke an 81-yard TD run on his way to 170 yards, while Tyler Allgeier had a 21-yard TD and the Falcons finished with 210 yards on the ground.
Injuries certainly didn’t help as the Bills lost DT DaQuan Jones in the pregame warmup, then lost LB Terrel Bernard in the second quarter meaning Jordan Phillips – who simply isn’t good – and Dorian Williams had to play extra snaps.
Oliver returned after missing four games and seemed fine, and rookie Deone Walker was a stud as he had four tackles for lost yardage on running plays. But the rest of the defense was brutal as there were players out of their gaps, and then missing tackles everywhere.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
Joe Andreesen made a nice solo tackle on Buffalo’s second kickoff, and it was ruined when Sam Franklin committed an unnecessary roughness penalty so the Falcons got a drive start at their 42.
In the second quarter, Franklin redeemed himself as he made an excellent play to keep a punt from going into the end zone by leaping into the end zone and tossing it back to be downed at the 5.
The big play, of course, was Rousseau blocking a 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter which kept it a one-score game, the Bills’ first blocked kick since 2023. Sadly, the offense went three-and-out on the ensuing possession.
Brandon Codrington was back on kicks and punts with Curtis Samuel inactive and he had a decent night, but also had a nice return nullified by a holding call that cost the Bills 21 yards in field position.
Matt Prater made his two extra points and was once again fine with kickoff placement, while punter Mitch Wishnowsky had four punts downed inside the 20 and finished with a solid 43.8 net.
COACHING: F
The Bills are a poor tackling team, and they committed eight penalties for 64 yards and most of them felt critical. That’s 30 penalties in the last three games and coaching has to take some of the blame for that.
On defense, the Bills’ scheme just feels old and tired, not to mention ineffective. There are simply too many big plays allowed, especially on third downs as Atlanta went 5-for-12, though it started 5-of-7. Bobby Babich calls things too passively and the zone defense is getting chewed up with one of the problems being that safeties Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop are terrible in space.
On offense, the shine is wearing off Joe Brady. His game management has been lacking the last two weeks, and while it’s difficult given the lack of playmakers he’s operating with, it’s on him to find things that will work.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills report card: Buffalo sputtering after being outplayed, outcoached by Falcons
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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