Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills took their first loss of the season last week, and they’ll try to avoid losing a second consecutive game when they take on the Atlanta Falcons. It’s Buffalo’s fourth night game in the first six weeks of this 2025 NFL season, but it’s their first appearance of the year on Monday Night Football.
In head coach Sean McDermott’s coaching career, the Bills are 5-5 on Monday nights in the regular season. With all the primetime success Buffalo has had, Monday nights have included some weird losses: The wind game against the New England Patriots and the “12 men” game against the Denver Broncos were both Monday Night Football telecasts, as was the “slip game” where Buffalo lost after failing to convert a quarterback sneak against the Tennessee Titans.
That’s not to say that we should expect something strange to happen this week, but Bills fans collectively seem to expect weird things to happen all the time, anyway. If the Bills are going to bounce back this week, they’ll need some big performances from some players who weren’t up to their usual standard last week, as well as some other friends who should be back in action. Here are our five players to watch this week.
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QB Josh Allen
Last week wasn’t his worst game, but it definitely wasn’t the reigning MVP’s best, either. Allen doesn’t need to be Superman, but he can’t be “mid,” as the kids would say, for a whole half of football, either. Buffalo’s offense needs to be sharper in general, as penalties have killed them over the last two weeks. Allen needs to trust what he sees, trust his offensive line, and take the easy money until he has clear chances for kill shots downfield.
The Falcons’ league-leading blitz rate (37%) will be something to watch, as well. Will they continue to blitz heavily even though Allen shreds most pressure packages? Or will they break their own tendency and sit back a bit more? Either way, Allen will need to be better in his pre-snap reads than he was last weekend.
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady can help by designing some quick-hitters early in the game to establish some rhythm, as well. The first offensive sequence is going to be interesting. I’d love to see Allen make a few quick passes on the way to the first of many touchdowns.
WR Curtis Samuel
Truthfully, this could be any number of receivers. It could be Joshua Palmer, whose role has been limited. It could be Keon Coleman, who was benched for an unnamed disciplinary issue last week before entering the game and fumbling inside his own 20-yard line. It could be Elijah Moore, who was inactive last week for the first time.
Someone needs to step up and be a consistent option outside of tight end Dalton Kincaid and top wideout Khalil Shakir. With respect to Tyrell Shavers, I don’t think he’s going to be that guy.
Call me crazy if you’d like, but...
