Bills-Falcons: Who you got? Buffalo News writers make their predictions for Monday's game

Bills notebook: Offense looks to bounce back, MNF prediction vs. Falcons, Ed Oliver is ‘ready’

While LB Matt Matt Milano is likely out, who are the leaders in the clubhouse for the suspended player roster spots?

www.nytimes.com

Following their first loss of the 2025 season, the Buffalo Bills have only one more game ahead of their Week 7 bye. The last thing they’ll want is to head into a week off on a two-game losing streak.

Not only would they not want that, but it would be unprecedented for the Bills since Sean McDermott’s arrival in 2017. Since McDermott became the coach, although having only a 4-4 record before the bye, the Bills have never entered their week off on a two-game losing streak.

They’ll look to continue that on “Monday Night Football” on the road against the Atlanta Falcons, with the Falcons entering the matchup having had the weekend off for their annual bye. McDermott’s record against the NFC has also been sterling throughout his career.

Since the Bills’ playoff streak began in 2019, they have won 23 out of 29 games against NFC opponents — though they’ve taken one loss per season to an NFC opponent from 2019 through 2024. It’s happened on the road four out of those six seasons, including the last two years.

How will this Bills team enter their Week 7 bye, and what are some things to monitor going into the matchup? Here’s our Week 6 Bills notebook.

Bills’ offense is looking to bust through​

Although the defense has taken its fair share of criticism this season, it’s the offense that needed to take a critical look within over the week to find some answers. Over their first four games, there were some warning signs that a clunker, by their lofty standards anyway, could be on the way, as it happened in their Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots. Although the Bills managed 30 or more points in every game through the first four weeks, it wasn’t an overwhelming performance, with an underlying issue that they were leaving some meat on the bone.

That was magnified, as the Patriots did an excellent job against the Bills’ running game and challenged them to win through the air and downfield, which the Bills were unable to do consistently. There were some signs of life, including the first two drives of the second half, but one of those ended in a turnover and helped breathe life into the upset.

“I think it’s a wake-up call, reset, whatever you want to call it. We have been getting by, previous games, of maybe not playing our best football,” quarterback Josh Allen said this week. “And when you play a team who did everything the right way — credit to (the Patriots) for coming into our home stadium and having a really good game plan — it does wake you up in terms of like, ‘Hey, every week we’re gonna get the team’s best, whoever we’re playing’s best.’

“We’ve got to play up to our standard. At the end of the day, this is the NFL. Each and every week has got to be earned, and that starts in practice.”

For the Bills, starting quickly will be paramount, as they managed only three points in the first half against the Patriots. Part of their issue in the past game was due to penalties, misidentifying some reads, while also struggling to get out of their own way. Throughout the locker room, the Bills’ offense has spoken like a team knowing they are much better than what they showed this past week against the Patriots, and even when they had some in-game lulls during their previous victories.

Their hands will be full against a much-improved Falcons defense, but the Bills went deep into self-scouting and heightening their awareness of what let them down last week, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a big answer on the road.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6698187/2025/10/08/bills-wide-receivers-problem-trade-deadline/

The wait is over; Ed Oliver says he’s back​

When starting defensive tackle Ed Oliver suffered a mid-week injury in practice ahead of their Week 2 matchup, the team didn’t put him on injured reserve, with the hope that he could return before the minimum four-game absence a trip to injured reserve would carry. Oliver gave it a go last week ahead of the Patriots game, but ultimately wasn’t ready enough to play and was forced to miss his fourth straight game. After four games of waiting, their most disruptive interior pass rusher is strongly hinting he’s back for the Falcons game.

“I feel good. I feel a lot better than last week, a lot more confident,” Oliver said on Thursday. “I’m ready.”

Oliver had one of his best professional games during the team’s Week 1 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, and was initially forlorn about not being able to continue on his early-season success immediately due to the injury. Oliver’s return comes at a perfect time, with rookie defensive tackle T.J. Sanders looking quite likely to miss a second straight game with a knee injury.

Oliver’s return will give the Bills their first regular defensive tackle rotation since Week 1. Since Oliver’s injury, one-technique DaQuan Jones has had to moonlight at three-technique in each game, as the Bills have tried to get by. With Oliver back, it will shift Jones into his more natural role, put rookie one-technique Deone Walker back into a rotational role and allow for a three-technique, like Jordan Phillips, to be elevated for the upcoming game. Having players in their usual roles could do wonders for a rush defense and pass rush that have been inconsistent throughout Oliver’s injury.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1976727072752963685

Likely no Milano, so what’s the play at LB?​

With Matt Milano out of both practices to begin the week, it’s likely a long shot for the starting outside linebacker to play against the Falcons, especially with a full week off right after that contest. But without Milano, the Bills may have a decision ahead of them on who starts next to Terrel Bernard in Week 6. During Milano’s first injury stint this season, and all of last year when he was out, Dorian Williams was in the starting lineup for the Bills. Williams, who missed Week 5 with a knee injury, progressed to a full participant Friday, which is usually a promising sign for the player’s game availability.

However, the dynamics have changed a bit since Milano’s last injury stint, which kept him out of both their Week 3 and Week 4 victories. Since the start of the season, veteran Shaq Thompson has taken advantage of any opportunities he’s received on defense. He has routinely made impactful plays in a third linebacker role on base defense when offenses trot out heavier personnel and has quickly earned the trust of the coaching staff.

Then, with Williams unavailable against the Patriots and Milano injured for the second half, Thompson was one of their better defenders in the second half as he played next to Bernard in all scenarios. There is a bit of stability with Thompson that Williams may lack, specifically in coverage when teams have been able to take advantage of Williams in play-action opportunities. Thompson has loads of experience and plenty against this exact opponent, having played in the NFC South his entire career. With his recent play, there is a lot of momentum building for Thompson to potentially replace Williams in the outside linebacker role. The Bills love Thompson, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get the start on Monday.

Leaders in the clubhouse for suspended player roster spots​

With only one game left in the suspensions of defensive end Michael Hoecht and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, it means the Bills will need to make a roster spot for each player after they return from their Week 7 bye. Last week, we went over some candidates to find those roster spots, but the situation has changed slightly since the weekend of the Patriots game. As it stands today, there are now two very clear candidates for removal.

The first is return specialist Brandon Codrington. Codrington has been a healthy scratch each of the last two weeks, and that streak may continue into Monday night, even with the sudden injury to Curtis Samuel. The Bills trust Khalil Shakir to return punts, and have used both Ty Johnson and Ray Davis to return kickoffs, which makes Codrington’s hold on the 53 tenuous.

The other likely candidate for roster removal appears to be Jimmy Ciarlo, whom the Bills signed to the 53-man roster ahead of the Patriots game. Ciarlo was brought up for special teams purposes only, but now that Williams is likely back, his hold on a 53-man roster spot is on shaky ground. As both players are more special teams luxury pieces at this point in the year, barring injuries in Week 6, they are the likeliest path to Hoecht and Ogunjobi.

Bills practice squad call-ups: DT Jordan Phillips, S Jordan Poyer

Bills projected inactives: WR Curtis Samuel, OT Chase Lundt, DT T.J. Sanders, LB Matt Milano, LB Jimmy Ciarlo, S Damar Hamlin, KR/PR Brandon Codrington

(**Subject to change following Saturday’s practice)

Prediction: Bills 34, Falcons 23​

The Falcons boast an impressive collection of talent, with their offense standing out most. Led by running back Bijan Robinson and a plus offensive line, Robinson can challenge defenses in all ways. He’s patient, explosive, makes the right reads and can jump cut a defender out of his socks. On top of that, his contact balance is outstanding, which will test the Bills’ season-long challenge with securing tackles in a big way. Additionally, his pass-catching is a nightmare in one-on-one man coverage settings, so expect the Bills to try to avoid that as much as possible.

Ultimately, I think where the Bills can find their footing the most is in how they defend quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who will be making only his eighth career start this week. Penix can certainly throw the ball well when he has time, but the Bills’ biggest key will be to move the quarterback off his spot. If they’re able to do that, his accuracy and decision-making could wane, creating opportunities for turnovers. That’s where the Bills could get back on track, and with a few more shortened fields and successful offensive drives, I think they’ll head to the bye week with a 5-1 record.

 

[HipKat]

Bills coach Sean McDermott on Joe Brady's third-down play: 'We're better than that'

Bills coach Sean McDermott expressed his frustration to offensive coordinator Joe Brady as they rewatched the game Tuesday morning at the Bills’ practice facility. For the second time in as many weeks, Brady called an end around that resulted in a fumble.

buffalonews.com

For the second time in as many weeks, Bills coach Sean McDermott watched from the sideline Monday night in Atlanta as his offense fumbled a play that he wished wasn’t called.

“I feel we’re better than that and we need to handle that better next time,” McDermott repeated to reporters Tuesday following the Bills’ 24-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

McDermott expressed his frustration to offensive coordinator Joe Brady as they rewatched the game Tuesday morning at the Bills’ practice facility. For the second time in as many weeks, Brady called an end around that resulted in a fumble. The Bills were facing third-and-1 with 11:08 left in the fourth quarter when the reigning NFL MVP, Josh Allen, handed the ball to wide receiver Elijah Moore.


Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady hugs wide receiver Keon Coleman before a loss to the Patriots at Highmark Stadium.
Derek Gee, Buffalo News

The Bills were forced to punt because they fumbled the exchange. One week earlier, amid a loss to the New England Patriots, Brady’s offense fumbled when Allen tried to hand the ball to tight end Dawson Knox on an end around. Afterwards, McDermott lamented that the play calls were “too cute at times.” He wanted to see the Bills win the line of scrimmage with their offensive line and run downhill with one of the best backs in the NFL, James Cook.

Cook touched the ball seven times in the first half Monday night, and he averaged 5.7 yards on his 10 carries during the second half. In consecutive losses, the Bills averaged 17 points and 2½ turnovers. Allen has thrown four interceptions over the last three games, and he’s already been sacked 12 times through six games. Allen was sacked 14 times in 17 games last season.

McDermott expressed confidence in Brady during a video conference call with reporters Tuesday and both agreed that it was the wrong play-call at the wrong time given how the Falcons were defending.

“Joe’s a great offensive coordinator,” said McDermott. “He’s a great play-caller. No one’s going to be perfect, right? But there are always calls you want back. He knows how I feel about that situation. We talked about that and had a great conversation again this morning.”

“Those are ones in the heat of the moment that you’re like, ‘Ah, I want that one back.’ Listen, at the end of the day, whatever play we call, we have to execute at a high level as well. That’s a piece of it. But I remain confident, very confident in Joe and his ability to put us in the right situations and put our players in good positions on offense.”

Here are other takeaways from McDermott’s video conference call.

Injuries​

Reinforcements may be waiting for the Bills (4-2) next week when they return to practice to prepare for the Carolina Panthers.

Tight end Dalton Kincaid (oblique), wide receiver Curtis Samuel (neck/ribs), linebacker Terrel Bernard (ankle) and linebacker Matt Milano (pectoral) are considered day to day. Bernard was the only one in the group to play in the game Monday, but he exited late in the second quarter and did not return.

Defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf) and wide receiver Joshua Palmer (ankle) are considered week to week after both were injured in Atlanta. Both injuries put the Bills in a precarious situation because they were down to three defensive tackles – rookie Deone Walker had four tackles for a loss while playing a career-high 56 snaps – and Palmer was one of the few players on offense who was getting open for Allen against the Falcons.

Jones’ injury will be worth monitoring because the Bills’ defensive tackles were problematic Monday night while the Falcons rushed for 210 yards.

“That hurt us, but it’s not an excuse,” McDermott said of Jones’ injury. “We’ve got to step in, and we have full confidence in the guys that went in there. We were only able to rotate three of them for the most part, but I think all three of them had some good moments and all three of them had some moments that they can grow from. I remain confident in them.”

Returners​

Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and edge rusher Michael Hoecht are officially cleared to return to practice next week following their six-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s policy against performance-enhancing drugs.

The Bills will count on both to be part of their rotation on the defensive line. Ogunjobi should help them, especially against a running back like the Panthers’ Rico Dowdle, and Hoecht is a pass rusher who can also line up inside. McDermott isn’t counting on either one to be in late-season form, though, because both missed six weeks of practice and they haven’t played in a game since the preseason.

“Somewhat unique when you practice in training camp and you go on this hiatus, if you will, and then you come back and practice again,” said McDermott. “It’s natural to expect there’s going to be a knocking off of the rest, so we have to manage our expectations with that.”

In other news Tuesday, the Bills released linebacker Jimmy Ciarlo from the 53-man roster and released cornerback Jalen Kimber from the practice squad.

Practice window​

Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston, the team’s first-round draft pick, has made enough progress in his recovery from an LCL sprain that he may be ready for his practice window to be open next week.

Hairston has been out since late July with the noncontact knee injury that he suffered during training camp at St. John Fisher University. He was competing with Tre’Davious White for a starting job. The Bills used the 30th pick of the draft on Hairston because he has elite speed and playmaking ability. Once Hairston’s practice window is opened, the team has 21 days to add him to the 53-man roster or place him on season-ending injured reserve.

Second-year safety Cole Bishop was slow to adjust once he returned from an injury last season that occurred during his first training camp, so the Bills are aware that Hairston may face similar struggles.

“Just trying to be realistic with it and manage expectations on, ‘Hey, let’s just go out there and take it one day at a time when we do open up the window and it’s not going to be perfect,' ” said McDermott. “He’s got to understand that and we have to understand that.”

 

[Victor7]

I dont know if you've seen the replays but even if the exchange had not been fumbled Atlanta had it covered. We were not going to get the first down.

Just have Josh run a sneak or give Cook the ball.

We also used to run a play back in the Dabol days that was very effective. In fact we ran it all too much I remember complaining it was becoming predictable. Josh is in shotgun and he just takes off, usually to the right of the line accompanied by a lead blocker. I'll try to find one and post it. Pretty effective play that has been eliminated from our arsenal.

 

[Victor7]

Here's a version of it at about the 1:30 mark

 

[HipKat]

Uh oh. Bickering Bills 2025!!

Bills notebook: Brady again pushes back on 'too cute'; Babich on halftime adjustments​

Bills notebook: Brady again pushes back on 'too cute'; Babich on halftime adjustments

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady is once again having to answer for a questionable play call that resulted in a fumble.

buffalonews.com

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady is once again having to answer for a questionable play call that resulted in a fumble.

In the Bills’ 24-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, Brady and the Bills were facing third-and-1 at their 48-yard line in the fourth quarter. Brady called for an end around from quarterback Josh Allen to wide receiver Elijah Moore. Though Moore recovered the resulting fumble, the Bills lost yards and had to punt.

“Obviously, it didn’t work,” Brady said over Zoom on Tuesday. “Not a good play call, not a good timing of the game.

“Like we said earlier in the season, we needed to have those elements to our offense to be able to get the ball in the perimeter, as opposed to just packing everything in at all times. But we’ve gone two straight weeks where we put the ball on the ground. That can’t happen.”

The previous week, a botched handoff from Allen to tight end Dawson Knox resulted in a fumble. The consecutive fumbles have Brady reflecting, and head coach Sean McDermott is looking for answers, too.

“And so, obviously, have to look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, are we working that enough in those situations?’ Take the whole situation out of it,” Brady said. “Are we working enough for us to even put the ball on the ground? But in that situation, with the way that the game was going, much better play calls than that one right there.”


Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady walks in the tunnel before the game Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News

But while Brady evaluates over the bye week, he still pushed back on the idea that some play calls may have been “too cute” this season.

“Yeah, again, I don’t see it as cute stuff,” Brady said.

Last year, the Bills were dominant when they used the tush push until the AFC championship game. But Brady wants the Bills to have other options when it comes to short-yardage situations.

“We’ve given a lot of sweeps to Elijah Moore this year, and they’ve been good for us,” Brady said. “But there’s timing in the situation with it. … We came out last year and we did a lot of just QB sneaks and teams packing it up in there. And we knew that was going to have to be another element to our short yardage was being able to get the ball out on the perimeters.”

Everyone will continue to eat​

Brady also defended the Bills wide receivers and their “everybody eats” mantra, even though the offense was unable to sustain drives on Monday. No Bills player had more than three catches. Allen completed just 15 passes.

After starting the game without wide receiver Curtis Samuel (neck/ribs), the Bills lost wide receiver Joshua Palmer to an ankle injury during the game. Palmer’s 60 receiving yards led the Bills, even after he was unable to finish the game.

With the receiving corps being a topic of discussion all offseason, Brady was adamant in his stance.
“I think you guys think I’m lying when I say that I’m good with our guys, like I have confidence,” Brady said.

Brady stressed urgency – but not panic – over the bye week as the Bills work to make adjustments. But those adjustments will come on the field, rather than on the roster, Brady intimated.

“I have nothing but confidence in the guys that are out there,” he said. “And it’s my job. I have to do a better job of putting in a position to have success.”

Different game​

McDermott praised defensive coordinator Bobby Babich for what changes the defense was able to make after a messy first half. Babich said the corrections were rather basic.

“There was a few adjustments,” Babich said. “But the biggest thing, I think, was the message of comes down to fundamentals. It comes down to our tackling. It comes down to doing our 1/11th.”

The Bills defense allowed 335 yards to the Falcons’ offense in the first half before tightening things up. Babich said the message to players both Monday at halftime and on Tuesday following the loss was that each player simply has to do his particular job.

“I don’t know what it was, certainly we’re all in this together,” Babich said. “But you know, it was a different game in two halves. And yes, we made a few adjustments here, there, but it was nothing astronomical to impact the game that way.”

 

[HipKat]

The Bills are a broken contender and it’s really difficult to ignore the reason why

In back-to-back losses, including Monday vs. the Falcons, the once-explosive Bills offense has been completely zapped.

www.nytimes.com

It was a Monday night of firsts for the Buffalo Bills, and certainly not of the good kind.

Heading into 2025, the Bills had never lost two straight games heading into their bye week under head coach Sean McDermott.

Then Atlanta happened.

The Bills haven’t been any worse than first place in the AFC East since the end of the 2023 season.

Then Bijan Robinson, Drake London and all 396 of their yards for the Falcons happened, dropping the Bills to second in the division behind the New England Patriots.

After four straight victories and looking like they were on top of the NFL world, the Bills look like a shell of their former selves after a 24-14 loss to the Falcons on “Monday Night Football.”

Now with a 4-2 record and the bye week ahead, the Bills are suddenly a broken contender.

That doesn’t mean the Bills will be broken forever, though. This loss, like when the Bills began last season 3-2, may just be a learning moment that becomes a catalyst for another winning streak. But even last year, a two-game losing streak forced the Bills into immediate action to improve their roster.

This time around, the term “self-scouting” for the bye week is only scratching the surface. McDermott will be akin to a fossil hunter combing miles upon miles of terrain to find the answers. Is it scheme? Is it play calling? Is it fundamentals? Is it personnel? Is it all of the above?

The defense had its fair share of issues, specifically in the first half — and we’ll get to them. But it’s really difficult to ignore the 5,000-pound elephant in the room.

The once explosive Bills offense has been completely zapped. The can’t-be-stopped rushing attack has been bottled up twice in a row. And it’s left the Bills out of answers against two teams who look primed to be in the playoff mix by season’s end.

After the game, once quarterback Josh Allen had grown tired of looking at his phone, he took a deep sigh and sat in the chair at his locker room stall. Practice-squad quarterback Shane Buechele sat in a chair facing Allen, just to his right. Then backup Mitchell Trubisky took a seat facing Allen, just to Allen’s left. Before long, offensive coordinator Joe Brady walked up, put his luggage behind him, pulled up a chair squarely in front of and facing Allen. It was a diamond formation, attempting to decode why the Bills were unable to move the ball consistently for a second consecutive game.

This wasn’t the despondent Allen that we’ve seen in the past after losses. He was frustrated, but eager to figure things out with his inner circle.

And when you begin to analyze where it all went wrong, it’s hard to look anywhere else but the production, or lack thereof, from the boundary receivers.

The Falcons were challenging the Bills to beat them down the field and with their receivers outside the numbers. They went after Allen with blitzes all night, daring the offense to find the answer down the field.

Spoiler alert: The Bills couldn’t and didn’t.

The Bills can talk about how much they love their wide receivers all they want, but they are actively telling us differently by how they deployed their offensive personnel when they needed to string drives together in the second half.

Before the Bills fell behind 24-14, effectively ending the game, they were on the field for a total of 25 offensive plays, including penalties. They were in 22 personnel — meaning one receiver, one running back, one fullback and two tight ends — on 56 percent of those plays. They were averse to 11 personnel, because it took their best chance of moving the ball off the field.

The Bills have seen teams shut down their boundary receivers, like Keon Coleman, in recent weeks.Todd Kirkland / Getty Images
If that doesn’t paint the picture enough, here’s some more.

Over the last five games, the Bills’ boundary receivers — meaning everyone not named slot receiver Khalil Shakir — have averaged 89 yards per game, collectively. That group hasn’t gone over 100 yards since Week 2 against the Jets, and even in that game, they barely went over with 104 yards. Against the Falcons, they could only manage 98 yards — and that’s including the bogus garbage-time yards near the end. London had 60 more yards than Keon Coleman, Elijah Moore, Joshua Palmer and Tyrell Shavers combined.

In the buildup to the game, we analyzed how the Bills have a clear wide receiver problem again in 2025, just as they did in 2024, and it’s coming to the surface through both a lack of separation from their boundary targets, and an overall shocking aversion to throwing the ball 20 or more yards down the field. Allen, despite having an incredible downfield throwing ability, is attempting those passes at one of the lowest rates in the NFL.

It all left Allen, facing a ton of blitzes and pressure in his face, to pull a rabbit out of his helmet time and time again on Monday. There were no easy answers to the test.

“It was too hard — too hard tonight on our quarterback,” McDermott said. “It doesn’t need to be that hard all the time where he’s having to run out of the pocket.”

It’s really difficult to see where those answers are going to come from with the receiver room as it’s currently constructed.

After a great second half against the Ravens in Week 1, Coleman has gone from a potential breakout candidate to a barely average receiver in the five games since. Palmer had a pop play to begin the game for 45 yards, but that was the extent of their successful downfield throwing. However, he has been wildly inconsistent all season and left the game with an ankle injury.

The only other receiver who didn’t play on Monday was Curtis Samuel, and after more than a season of evidence, the Bills certainly aren’t going to convince anyone that he’s a big part of the solution.

Just as it looked both during and at the end of the 2024 season, the Bills are missing another piece to put their receiver room over the top. And the last time it looked this way, general manager Brandon Beane sprang into action with an in-season trade.

For now, Allen and Brady look out of options. Brady has his crutch plays that make the Bills, at times, predictable. It’s all about manufacturing yards after catch rather than pushing the ball down the field. He wants to run the ball, and run it a lot behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL — and who could blame him?

The offensive line can only do so much. They and James Cook remain the best thing about the Bills offense right now outside of Allen’s heroics, but without anything scary outside the numbers to keep the defense honest and off-balance, they’ll just continue to see the same approach that they’ve seen the last two weeks. Stacked boxes and daring the Bills to win down the field.

Even with that accounted for, Brady isn’t doing Allen any favors by going back to the well one too many times with his favorite calls. If one play is working, he’s known for hammering it until it doesn’t work anymore. But when it stops working, the Bills get behind in the down-and-distance game, and don’t have the consistent air attack to bail them out like they used to.

They are quick to say what worked last year can’t be depended on. Well, here’s a prime opportunity heading into a bye week. Ty Johnson was a great third-down back last year, but he hasn’t had the same effectiveness. Any snaps with Cook off the field, especially in high-leverage situations like third down, aren’t challenging enough for a defense.

The Bills couldn’t have asked for many more opportunities on offense. The defense was horrendous in the first half, and they allowed only three points in the second half. They went from allowing 9.3 yards in the first half to the inverse of those digits, allowing merely 3.9 yards per play in the second. Heck, the Bills even blocked a field goal attempt to keep it a seven-point deficit.

The Bills had three drives in a row with a chance to tie the game at 21, and they gained a combined 31 yards on those three possessions — 2.2 yards per play, for those wondering.

That’s not to excuse the defense, but we knew they’d have their issues. It was a snakebitten day right from the start. On a day they knew the Falcons would test their run defense, the Bills lost a starting defensive tackle, DaQuan Jones, to a pregame injury in which he unpromisingly “popped” his calf. The Bills were down to a three-man rotation, and then lost middle linebacker Terrel Bernard to boot.

Even with all of that, allowing nearly 400 yards to only two players is outright embarrassing. The Falcons, ridiculously, didn’t complete a single pass to a wide receiver other than London, but it didn’t matter. The tackling issues against Robinson were on full display all game long, too.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1977890429174755551

Even with all that, a Bills offense with Allen as its quarterback should be able to score more than 24 points in a game. And that’s what the Bills have to swallow on their way to a week off from football practices and a game.

If you’re a Mr. or Mrs. Brightside, there’s at least something to rest your optimism on as the week away approaches.

The Bills haven’t lost more than one game to NFC opponents per year since the Allen playoff streak began in 2019. The Bills take on the NFC South Carolina Panthers in Week 8. On top of that, the Bills are a whopping 8-0 coming out of the bye with McDermott as head coach.

If those two trends get bucked like the ones that were uprooted on Monday night in Atlanta, this may go from a teachable in-season moment to a much, much deeper problem not even halfway through the regular season.

What defines a season is not the individual sections of a year, but what a team learns from them and how they evolve. And the 2025 season is far from over, with plenty of time for the Bills to figure themselves out.

As for now, the Bills have nothing to do but stew on another game they had every opportunity to steal in the second half. A game that championship-level teams often win, when everything else screams that it should be a loss.

The Bills just haven’t been that team the last two games.

“I mean, it’s gonna eat at me the next two weeks,” Allen said.

Something tells me Josh won’t be the only one.

 

[Bill Polar]

The Bills are Josh Allen, Dalton Kincaid, James Cook, sometimes Shakir, occassionally Coleman, and an assortment of fat slobs and lazy overpaid bums. That's why this team is the way it is. They are a godawful team with terrible coaching. Frankly, I wouldn't mind them losing out if it meant an end to McDumbass.

 

[Victor7]

The Bills are Josh Allen, Dalton Kincaid, James Cook, sometimes Shakir, occassionally Coleman, and an assortment of fat slobs and lazy overpaid bums. That's why this team is the way it is. They are a godawful team with terrible coaching. Frankly, I wouldn't mind them losing out if it meant an end to McDumbass.

Coleman? Even with the ocassionally I think you are being generous. Keon is a straight up disappointment and part of the issue. Ditto for Kincaid who is hurt all the time. The only reliable players are Allen, Cook, the OL and at times Shakir. That's it.

I do agree 1 million percent that coaching is not ok. It amazes me how bad our defense is when our coach is supposed to be a guru in that regard and with all the assets that have gone that way. You would think we are one of those teams coached by a mad man former OC that gives no fucks about defense and he just hires any DC to take care of it.

 

[HipKat]

Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills looks on prior to the game against the Atlanta Falcons. Todd Kirkland / Getty Images

Losing back-to-back games is no big deal. The Buffalo Bills do it every year. Since they started winning AFC East titles in 2020, they have lost exactly two in a row once each season. The Bills have always avoided a three-game skid and rallied to win the division.

Historically, consecutive losses shouldn’t make fans freak out. We’ve seen it before.

Then again — historically — the Brandon Beane/Sean McDermott/Josh Allen era still hasn’t produced a No. 1 playoff seed, homefield advantage in the AFC Championship Game or a Super Bowl appearance.

We’re over a third of the way through the 2025 regular season. The Bills are 4-2 and, although their victories are over opponents with a combined 3-21 record and they are behind the New England Patriots in the AFC East because of the head-to-head loss, the Bills remain betting favorites not only to reach the Super Bowl but also to take the Lombardi Trophy on a parade down Delaware Avenue.

But how confident can people be after watching the Bills lose to the Patriots and Atlanta Falcons in such putrid, sloptastic fashion twice in a row in prime time?

You can’t help but wonder if Allen’s prime is withering on the vine. It’s been a rabid fan base’s darkest fear since 13 Seconds ruptured four years ago. This is the final season of Allen’s 20s.

The Bills almost certainly will make the “Playoffs?!” But I will borrow a different word from another incredulous Jim Mora news conference to describe how they’ve performed lately in too many areas.

Their offense has done diddly-poo. After losing to the Patriots, Allen called it “sloppy” and “bad football” and “piss-poor.” Monday night, the Bills punted six times for only the eighth time since the 2019 postseason. They had three possessions to tie the score at 21 in the second half and gained 39 yards.

Complementary football has been diddly-poo. Buffalo has held a lead for a whopping 2:47 in the past two games, all of it against New England and never once had the ball while ahead.

Pass protection has been diddly-poo. Allen was sacked 14 times last year. He has already been taken down 12 times, eight over the past three games. Pro Football Reference has charted Allen with a career-low 2.0 seconds of pocket time and 15 scrambles (rushes on plays designed to be a pass), which would put him on pace for 71 this season. His career high was 57 scrambles in 2022.

Discipline has been diddly-poo. The Bills have committed 35 penalties, 30 of them accepted for 209 yards. They drew 15 flags against the Patriots and four in the first quarter alone versus the Falcons, including a Gregory Rousseau offside that erased a takeaway and a Tre’Davious White pass interference on a third-down incompletion to extend a touchdown drive. Opponents have accepted at least eight penalties in three straight games, something the Bills haven’t experienced in four years.

Turnover margin has been diddly-poo. The one trend everybody knew Buffalo couldn’t count on forever was its kooky 25 consecutive games without a negative turnover margin. Buffalo was a minus-4 combined against New England and Atlanta.

Their run defense has done diddly-poo. Despite amassing 26 tackles for losses on runs, fourth most in the NFL, they’ve allowed 5.8 yards per carry, with 3.9 yards after contact, both league worsts. Only the Tennessee Titans, who fired their head coach this week, have allowed more than the Bills’ nine rushing TDs.

Open-field tackling has been diddly-poo. At safety, Sports Info Solutions has Taylor Rapp down for seven missed or broken tackles and Cole Bishop for three, most comically on Bijan Robinson’s 81-yard touchdown run Monday night. Also, 34-year-old Jordan Poyer is on the field again.

We are a third of the way through the season. This isn’t September anymore.

The Bills defense’s shortcomings were on display against the Falcons.Brett Davis / Imagn Images

Attacking any season as “Josh Allen and Pals” is a precarious proposition. He won the MVP despite inferior numbers to Lamar Jackson because voters were rightly enthralled by Allen as a one-man show. In a year when Buffalo’s offense was supposed to meander without Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis, and as emerging tight end Dalton Kincaid and top rookie Keon Coleman failed to develop, Allen — as I detailed in a season preview feature — is a monolith.

Beane was so cocksure Allen’s solo act would work again that the GM made only minor moves to improve the offense. Beane even seemed willing to let running back James Cook walk in 2026.

In a post-draft interview on the Bills’ flagship radio station WGR 550-AM, Beane lashed out at the hosts for criticizing his lack of attention to wide receiver throughout the offseason. The club thought Beane was righteous and entertaining enough to feature his rant — that the Bills even had to bleep — at the very beginning of their behind-the-scenes draft special. The Bills didn’t lead with material about the rookies they drafted; they wanted to ridicule.

Through six games, the receiver criticism looks legitimate. The highest draft picks haven’t made an impact, and receiver production has been negligible.

Almost a year ago to the day, with concerns over the wideouts and the Bills coming off back-to-back losses, Beane traded for Amari Cooper, and although the five-time Pro Bowl receiver didn’t light up the stat sheet, his presence was credited for opening up the offense.

To make a similar deal now, of course, would require Beane to admit he was wrong this offseason.

Coleman has been invisible at times and did something off-field to make McDermott bench him for the first series of the New England loss. Coleman fumbled away his first catch in that game, at Buffalo’s 10-yard line, gifting New England a free field goal in a three-point game.

The next day, McDermott acknowledged Coleman “has shown growth this year.” If that’s the case, then how truly immature was the player they drafted 33rd overall? McDermott last year benched Coleman for the first quarter of his third NFL game. Twenty-three games are too soon to declare anything, but Coleman already has a grimacing reputation to shake.

Veteran receivers Curtis Samuel and Elijah Moore have been healthy scratches already. Newcomer Joshua Palmer hasn’t clicked so far, and now he’s hurt.

So are Kincaid and eleventy-three others. McDermott, as was the case with Ken Dorsey and Brian Daboll before, has shown frustrations with offensive coordinator Joe Brady for being “too cute” and not using Cook enough — the same Cook who scored 18 touchdowns last year but Beane was reluctant to extend and who some daffy fans weren’t too worried about replacing with, say, Frank Gore Jr.

As much as fans are losing patience with Beane, his job is not on the line — not as long as Terry Pegula, who also owns the pitiful Buffalo Sabres, maintains peace of mind that at least one of his teams has competent leadership.

Beane, however, had better hope his incoming defensive reinforcements make a significant push to keep 2025 on the Super Bowl track. These are the priority investments he made instead of acquiring better weapons for Allen, and Buffalo’s overall roster depth is an increasing problem as injuries stack.

D-line infusions are so direly needed because Beane’s draft classes have not produced enough game-changers.

Two of Beane’s top free-agent signings, defensive end Michael Hoecht and defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, are returning from six-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver’s ankle injury improved enough to play in Atlanta, so that was good, but they lost defensive tackle DaQuan Jones to a “popped” calf muscle.

Buffalo’s secondary also needs assistance. First-round draft choice Maxwell Hairston might be back from his training camp knee injury soon. The blazing cornerback provides no guarantees, having not played an NFL down even in the preseason.

On the 15 balls thrown into White’s coverage, he has allowed 11 receptions (73.3 percent) for 114 yards and a touchdown, while also committing pass interference twice, defensive holding twice and missing four tackles. And he missed a game.

Christian Benford has surrendered an even higher passer rating, 18 of 28 attempts (64.3 percent) for 174 yards and four touchdowns with a pass interference, a defensive hold and an illegal contact.

Given all the repairs and retooling required, the bye comes at a good time. The Bills visit the Carolina Panthers in two weeks. But after that, they’ll host the Kansas City Chiefs, visit the Miami Dolphins and host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Other toughies are at the not-so-soft Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13, the revenge trip to New England in Week 15 and the Philadelphia Eagles at Highmark Stadium in Week 17.

The Bills might not lose consecutive games again this year. They should win more games than they lose. The playoffs are nearly assured.

Buffalo probably will pull out of this funk, but what then? In their roles, Beane and McDermott own the highest regular-season winning percentages in club history by a lot — and there’s the rub.

The regular-season victories will keep coming and they will keep thinking they’ve got it all figured out.

Historically, that’s what this Buffalo Bills era has been good at.

 

[sukie]

View attachment 7931

Wrong thread

 

[HipKat]

Wrong thread

Derp!

 

[sukie]

Josh was off and out of rhythm. It’s up to Brady to call simple quick routes. You know… blitz busting routes.

In many instances Josh failed to take the open safety valve