Critical second-half stretch killed Bills' comeback quest in loss to Falcons

During a span that stretched from midway through the third quarter until the Falcons put a 33-yard field goal through the uprights to put the game out of reach, the Bills were within one score of the Falcons for 10 minutes, 54 seconds of game time. But given every chance to complete an improbable comeback and steal a win, the Buffalo offense failed to muster the offensive production needed to overcome its deficit.

Over the course of three possessions while trailing 21-14, the Bills ran 14 offensive plays, totaling a measly 39 total yards. One of those drives ended in a turnover on downs, and the other two in three-and-outs.

As much as the defense struggled over the first two quarters, the Bills’ offense was to blame for the team’s second consecutive defeat. And it was its failure throughout three offensive drives between 5 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter, and 6 minutes, 43 seconds remaining in the fourth that did Buffalo in on Monday night.

The most questionable point throughout the Bills’ demise came with 11 minutes 8 seconds remaining in the game, when Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady inexplicably called for an end-around to wide receiver Elijah Moore on third-and-1 from the Buffalo 48-yard line. The play call proved costly, as the handoff from quarterback Josh Allen to Moore went awry and ultimately led to a Buffalo punt on fourth-and-5 a play later.

It was the second straight week that Brady made a call for a handoff on an end-around, with last week’s edition resulting in a botched exchange between Allen and tight end Dawson Knox. After the failure involving Knox, head coach Sean McDermott alluded to the Bills’ play-calling being a bit too cute against the Patriots. After Monday’s loss, he wouldn’t go that far, but he was clearly perturbed by another failure drawn up by his offensive coordinator.

“We need to be better,” said McDermott when asked about Brady’s call on the critical third down.

Buffalo will have a couple of weeks to regroup as they look ahead to their Week 7 bye week before taking on the Panthers in Carolina in Week 8. If they don’t get things corrected by then, it could be a long second half of the season for the Bills and their fans.

Many of the same warts the team has displayed over the past several seasons have once again reared their ugly head, including Allen’s three-game turnover streak, Brady’s poor play-calling, the lack of a true matchup beater on the outside at wide receiver and more. It seems that, unless Allen turns into Superman, the Bills’ offense is nothing more than middle-of-the-road.

And that much was proven once again on Monday night.