ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 29-15 victory Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons at Highmark Stadium:
1. For a half, the Bills got a glimpse of what happens when they don’t show up with their “A” game.
They gave the sort of sloppy, low-energy performance we’ve seen before this season, sinking to the level of an opponent they were heavily favored to beat. They continually found ways to allow the Falcons to stay in the game – even allowing them to take a 15-14 halftime lead – and actually believe they had a shot at coming away massive upset win.
Eventually, the Bills got serious and took command in the second half. They allowed their superior talent to do as expected and carry them to a victory that, combined with Baltimore’s loss against the Los Angeles Rams, clinched a wild-card playoff spot and the first of two wins necessary to capture a second consecutive AFC East championship.
2. This marks the fourth time in five seasons and third year in a row the Bills have reached the postseason.
“Everything we want is in front of us,” quarterback Josh Allen said.
Now, the Bills have gone from being a team that seemingly was forever on the outside looking in when playoff time arrives to one that’s expected to be playing after the regular season. They have set a high standard and are expected to maintain it.
“It’s pretty special,” safety Jordan Poyer said. “Ever since (coach) Sean (McDermott) and (general manager Brandon) Beane got here, they brought the right guys in to set that standard.”
“It’s remarkable to see where we were at when we first got here (in 2017) to see where we are now,” safety Micah Hyde said.
3. Devin Singletary is steadily emerging as the rushing force the Bills have been lacking for the better part of the past two seasons.
He ran 19 times for a career-high 110 yards (on a career-high 23 carries to average 4.8 yards per attempt) and two rushing touchdowns for the first time as a pro. Singletary became the first Bills back to rush for more than 100 yards since he did so against Denver in 2019.
His combination of quickness and explosiveness often made him too tough for the Falcons to handle. After the extra effort he displayed on a crucial first-down pickup against New England last week, Singletary earned more trust from offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to be a significant part of Sunday’s game plan.
Singletary’s running will become increasingly important through next Sunday’s season-finale at home against the New York Jets and into the postseason.
“Devin has really taken advantage of his opportunities,” center Mitch Morse said. “He brought the juice. That’s something that fuels the offense, when a guy trusts you and you just him.”
“When you can run it when they expect you to run it,” Allen said, “that’s the sign of a good offense.”
4. It was a mixed bag of a day for Allen.
As a passer, he was mostly bad. He threw three interceptions while completing 11 of 26 passes for 120 yards. He finished with a career-low passer rating of 17.0. At one point in the third quarter, his passer rating was below 10.0.
As rusher, Allen was spectacular. He ran 15 times for 81 yards and two of the Bills’ four rushing touchdowns.
It was far from MVP-caliber showing he had against the Patriots the previous week. However, to Allen’s credit, he did rebound from the three picks to prevent the Bills from unraveling the rest of the way.
5. The Bills’ defense merits credit for holding the Falcons to a touchdown and a pair of field goals – their other points came on a safety after a fumbled punt was recovered in the end zone.
Matt Ryan generally looked the part of the experienced quarterback capable of solidly managing an offense and delivering big plays here and here. He did go off that script with a silly 15-yard taunting penalty on what initially was ruled a touchdown run by him in the fourth quarter before being reversed on replay.
One maddening issue for the Bills is that they consistently miss sacks.