The Buffalo Bills fell to the Atlanta Falcons 24-21 for their second loss in as many weeks. Following the loss, the New England Patriots moved into sole possession of first place in the AFC East for the first time in five years.
As was the case last Sunday, mental errors and self-inflicted wounds cost Buffalo the game. They were three for ten on third and fourth down combined. They also lost the turnover battle and gave up four sacks.
The Falcons had no problem moving the ball down the field on the opening possession. After a fumble on the first offensive play of the game was taken off the board by an offsides penalty on the Bills, Atlanta marched down the field in 2:45 to score a touchdown on a 21-yard rush by running back Tyler Allgeier for a 7-0 lead. That was Allgeier’s second TD in as many games.
The Bills and quarterback Josh Allen had a perfect response when he threw a 46-yard pass to wideout Joshua Palmer to get to the Falcons’ 28. Even though they were pushed ten yards back by an offensive holding, Josh Allen still threw a 19-yard TD pass to tight end Dawson Knox for a 7-7 tie. That was Knox’s first touchdown catch since Week Six of last season.
For the second straight week, penalties proved to be an issue for the Bills. Despite getting a third-down stop, a defensive pass interference kept Atlanta’s third series of the evening alive. That miscue set up a touchdown catch by wide receiver Drake London on a 3rd and goal for a 14-7 Falcons lead. Buffalo was flagged eight times for 64 yards in this game.
Falcons running back Bijan Robinson continued to bolster his campaign for the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year award. After a Bills punt, Robinson broke off an 81-yard rushing touchdown to increase Atlanta’s lead to 21-7 in the second quarter. He finished the game with a career-high 238 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown.
In the shadow of their own end zone, the Falcons managed to get all the way down to Buffalo’s 33, where they were faced with a 4th and 3. However, the pass attempt was broken up, allowing the Bills to take over on downs.
Buffalo’s offense struggled after its opening drive touchdown. They only gained 48 yards of offense after that first series.
The Bills got the ball back with 15 seconds left in the half and one timeout. Instead of going into halftime down 14, Josh Allen threw an interception that was returned to Buffalo’s 49 with just ten seconds on the clock.
Atlanta came inches away from going up by 21 points at the break. On the last play of the half, Drake London took a slant pass to the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown. However, replay review determined that London’s foot touched down out of bounds just before he dove across the goal line, so the TD was nullified, and Atlanta had to go into halftime with a 21-7 advantage.
The break appeared to do wonders for the Bills’ offense. They put together a nine-play, 73-yard scoring drive that ended with a 16-yard catch-and-run by running back Ray Davis for a touchdown to cut the lead down to 21-14. That was Davis’ first TD of the season and his first touchdown of any kind since January 19th, 2025.
After an Atlanta punt, the Dirty Birds shot themselves in the foot on Buffalo’s next possession, when they were flagged three times for defensive holding. That eventually led to a 4th and 2 near midfield, which the Bills failed to convert.
Once again, penalties killed Buffalo. They were flagged for defensive pass interference on a third-down stop, which set up a 20-yard catch-and-run by Bijan Robinson on the very next play to get the Falcons into the red zone. The drive died out at the 19, leading to a field goal attempt that the Bills blocked to keep the score at 21-14 with 12:24 to go in the game.
After the blocked field goal, these teams combined for three three-and-outs before the Falcons got the ball back at their own 17 with 6:43 to go in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. found a wide-open Bijan Robinson for a 23-yard pickup to get onto Buffalo’s side of the field. Drake London then made an 11-yard catch to get down to the Bills’ 33. On a 3rd and 1 and two minutes to go in the game at the Buffalo’s 14, the Bills were flagged for encroachment, which gave Atlanta a fresh set of downs. Though they wouldn’t reach the end zone, they forced Buffalo to burn all of its timeouts before hitting a field goal for a 24-14 advantage with 1:43 to go in the game.
As one would expect, the Bills didn’t go away quietly. Josh Allen picked up 21 yards through the air before breaking off a 24-yard run. In the end, though, a Josh Allen pass was tipped and intercepted in the red zone to secure the win for the Falcons.
With this victory in hand, Atlanta moved to 3-2 on the campaign.
*Author’s note: all information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
