(Josh Allen at practice Friday, Oct. 10 at the Bills’ training center. Emma Corona/Buffalo Bills photo)
By CHUCK POLLOCK, Sun Senior Sports Columnist
Bills get another test from an improving team (Atlanta)
Last Sunday night, the Bills hopes of opening the season on a 6-0 run were dashed by New England in a 23-20 loss at Highmark Stadium.
It was a galling defeat to an AFC East rival that’s clearly on the rise.
Next up for Buffalo (4-1) is another improving team when it travels to Atlanta to face the Falcons (2-2) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the first of this week’s two Monday night games (7:15 ESPN, Bills Radio Network).
And here’s the type of thing that drives coaches bonkers. Over the last six years — all playoff trips — Buffalo has lost consecutive games in every one of them … including three 13-win seasons.
So, you can be sure, Bills’ coach Sean McDermott will be reminding his team of that unsettling fact right up to kickoff.
THIS SEASON Buffalo has five prime-time games with the fate of the season finale at home against the Jets still in doubt.
And Falcons second-year coach Raheem Morris, who has an equal number of prime-time games couldn’t be more excited.
“It feels great to be the one on TV — even though there’s two this week — that everybody’s watching. These games are huge … it’s a highly-competitive league.
Everybody is having fun in this league for a reason. It’s fun to watch and be a part of these guys growing and developing. It’s fun to watch other people … I’m watching other teams to find ways to win.”
To be sure, the Falcons beat Minnesota on the road and Washington at home and lost the opener, 23-20, at Tampay Bay when the Bucs scored a TD in the final minute and Atlanta missed a potential game-tying field goal as time expired.
The only real blemish on Morris’ resume was a 30-0 evisceration by Carolina in Charlotte.
WHAT HAS made the Falcons such an interesting team is the controversial drafting of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick in 2024 after Atlanta had signed QB Kirk Cousins away from Minnesota for a monster contract.
Penix now has seven starts including every game this season.
“He knows (the offense) like the back of his hand,” McDermott said. “He’s extremely detailed in how he runs their offense, and certainly has a great running game to accompany the talents and skills that he brings to the table. Overall, they seem to be very dialed into their offense and the details of their offense.”
Morris agrees as his running back-tandem of Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier is one of the best in the league,
“We can run it on just about anybody, when we want to run it,” Morris said. “Our front has the ability to run the football. We’ve got to find a way to score more touchdowns (seven in four games).”
Still, Atlanta has undeniable talent on offense with six first-round draft choices: Penix, Robinson, tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London, tackle Jake Matthews and guard Chris Lindstrom.
McDERMOTT continued his praise of Penix.
“He gets out (on the run),” the Bills eighth-year coach said, “He just may not get out as much as some of the guys that we’ve played in the first few weeks. But you pull up the tape, and he still gets out when he needs to. And yet his throwing ability is very impressive, very accurate. He seems to have a great feel for NFL defenses already.”
Of course, Morris has his own quarterback concerns as he’ll be facing Buffalo’s Josh Allen, the defending NFL MVP.
“He’s a big man,”the former Buccaneers coach said. “He’s a problem in the quarterback run game … he can run designated runs or he can do scrambles.”
INJURY REPORT: The big news came on Saturday at 4 p.m. as Safety Damar Hamlin (pectoral) was placed on injured reserved. Also, defensive tackle T.J. Sanders (knee) was placed on injured reserve.
Outside linebacker Matt Milano (pectoral) is out for the game. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel (neck/ribs) did not practice Friday, tight end Dalton Kincaid (oblique) and defensive tackle Ed Oliver (ankle) were limited.
POLLOCK’S PICK: Bills 30, Falcons 23
