David defeats Goliath. The Atlanta Falcons take down the Buffalo Bills in primetime. Josh Allen faced the best defense he’s seen all year and crumbled. Bijan Robinson put on a show in primetime, and the Falcons are above .500 for the first time this season.
Jeff Ulbrich’s defense put on an exceptional performance tonight. In total, the team recorded four sacks, two interceptions, and held the Bills to 2-of-9 on third-down conversions. While the offenses flailed in the second half, his defense stood tall, delivering drive after drive and effectively neutralizing the best quarterback in the game.
The defense was able to overcome the loss of Billy Bowman due to an outstanding bounce-back performance by Dee Alford, and he wasn’t the only reserve player to make an impact in this performance. Sam Roberts had a sack, and DeAngelo Malone had the game-sealing interception with help from Zach Harrison’s pass rush. We’re seeing players from all levels of the depth chart perform and execute.
After a promising opening half, Zac Robinson’s offense lost its rhythm and didn’t get it back until late in the fourth quarter. The loss of Jake Matthews cannot be understated, but the issues go beyond his injury. The team still shows signs of an identity crisis in spurts. It is tempting to shy away from the pass when Drake London is performing at a high level, but ZRob is too quick to go away from the run and will try to put the game on Penix’s arm more than he should.
That doesn’t mean becoming one-dimensional, but the shots have to be calculated, and those plays began to feel reckless as the game wore on. The team doesn’t want to neglect Penix’s development, but learning and understanding when to be a game manager is just as important as knowing when to call your shot.
The Falcons have little to no confidence in their kicking game. They bypassed the opportunity to go up three scores in the first half and allowed a blocked kick (that looked doomed based on exit trajectory) when they finally did settle. It’s troubling that a 2024 issue has lingered into the 2025 season, but the Falcons have to find a way to manage. They could start by not giving defenders easy opportunities at blocks.
The team has said it’s always holding an open competition at kicker, but the reality is that once they give up on Romo, going back to him won’t be an option, the way it wasn’t with Younghoe Koo. Riley Patterson taught this team that even if you try, you cannot hide your kicker in a must-have-it game in winter.
Falcons fans shouldn’t be shy about saying it anymore; no one is playing the running back position better than Robinson. There’s an argument that there isn’t any offensive player (non-QB) having a bigger impact...