As I projected, Buffalo lost on Monday Night Football to the Atlanta Falcons, moving to 4-2 and more notably 2nd in the AFC East standings. Atlanta, on the other hand, after losing in a rough game to the Carolina Panthers, is coming off back-to-back wins against two teams that appeared in the conference championship last season and appear to be ready to make some noise in the NFC.
Game Recap
It was a mismatch from the start as A.J. Terrell completely locked down Keon Coleman, and yet again, the Bills had no answer for one of the NFL’s premier rushers. Buffalo’s Defense appears to have a spark as they started making a few stops late, even blocking a key field goal attempt, but the offense was never able to capitalize.
Injuries also continue to plague Buffalo as Matt Milano sat out again as he played in limited time last week, Ed Oliver was back but now DaQuan Jones was out, and to the shock of some, Dalton Kincaid was out but it appeared that veteran Dawson Knox was going to be fine filling in as after he got a 19-yard TD on the opening drive…but then proceeded to never get a reception the rest of the game.
All that being said, mismatches, injuries, it’s the penalties and turnovers that have been killing us. In just the last three games, Buffalo has accumulated 30 penalties for a total of 209 penalty yards. Add in the fact that we have 6 turnovers over the course of those 3 games, and it’s no surprise we are 1-2 during this stretch.
My Player of the Game
It’s obvious who I am choosing here; Bijan Robinson absolutely had his way with Sean McDermott‘s defense. Bijan Robinson, heading into the game, was 6th in total yards (584). His historic game, where Robinson had a whopping 238 total yards, propels him to 1st with 822 yards despite having one less game played already.
Time to Worry?
No, I projected Buffalo to finish the season 13-4 with losses to the Ravens in week 1, which never happened, splitting with the Patriots, although I expected to win at home and lose in Foxborough, losing to the Falcons who I am personally high on, and losing to the Bengals which is still possible if Joe Burrow is healthy come December.
I am not worried about Buffalo down the road, but I am worried about the unprecedented penalty issues we’ve had as of late, as over the years, Sean McDermott has prided himself on playing smart, clean football. For now, I’ll give the team the benefit of the doubt that it’s simply due to the extreme turnover in recent years, losing many key names on the defense and bringing in a plethora of rookies to fill the void. Thankfully, Buffalo heads into a bye, so this gives ample time for the many injured Bills to recover and for McDermott to get these penalties under control.
Is Atlanta a Threat in the AFC South?
I truly believe so. Before the season, I projected them to win the AFC South while having the same record as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers so it would be a tight battle and as they stand, the Falcons are two games behind so it will remain an uphill battle but the Buccaneers are facing some key injuries with Evans and Godwin struggling to stay healthy and Bucky Irving now missing time. So far, they’ve been able to do just fine with rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka filling in alongside Rachaad White‘s experience as a starter before Bucky Irving’s emergence last season.
The Buccaneers currently have a tiebreaker as they defeated the Falcons in week 1 in a tight 23-20 victory, but if Atlanta can split with them and continue this stretch of good football, they can still win the division, or at the very least make some noise in January when it matters most.
Upcoming Schedule
Buffalo heads into a much-needed bye week and then comes back in week 8 to play the Carolina Panthers before Kansas City heads to Orchard Park for what looks to be a key battle over AFC seeding, as both teams’ recent struggles have them sitting with multiple losses early and the 1 seed up for grabs.
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