Bucknackt's Sordid Tawdry Blog: Atlanta Falcons

Showing posts with label Atlanta Falcons. Show all posts

01 October 2017

Bills 23 upset Falcons 17 in huge road win 1OKT17

OH YEAH YOUS BILLS MAKE ME WANT TO SHOUT!!!!!! YOU GUYS DID IT, PLAYERS, COACHES, TEAM!!!!! YOU WENT TO ATLANTA AND REFUSED LET THE SPORTS TALKING HEADS DETERMINE THE OUTCOME OF THIS GAME AND IT IS JUST SO COOL HOW YOU PULLED THIS OFF! WAY TO GO BUFFALO, THANK YOU!!!!!

American Football Conference - 2017 Regular Season
AFC East Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf	Pct	Non-Conf	Streak	Last 5
Buffalo Bills	3	1	0	.750	73	54	19	5	2-0	1-1	1-0	1.000	2-0	1.000	1-1	2W	3-1
New England Patriots	2	2	0	.500	129	128	1	12	1-2	1-0	0-0	.000	1-1	.500	1-1	1L	2-2
New York Jets	1	2	0	.333	52	72	-20	5	1-0	0-2	1-1	.500	1-2	.333	0-0	1W	1-2
Miami Dolphins	1	2	0	.333	25	57	-32	2	0-1	1-1	0-1	.000	1-1	.500	0-1	2L	1-2

Bills upset Falcons in huge road win

The Bills came away with a big win in their Week 4 game against Atlanta.

Location: Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA

Regular season records: Buffalo (3-1), Atlanta (3-1)

In a nutshell:The Bills put forth a whale of an effort against the defending NFC champions. The defense kept it a low-scoring game and forced three turnovers. The offense mixed the run and pass well and provided a pair of long distance field goals for the second straight week. It all fit together for an improbable 23-17 road victory over Atlanta.

Winning the turnover battle by a margin of 3-0 proved crucial in the win as Buffalo scored 13 points off turnovers in the six-point win. Down 10-7 at the half Buffalo got a defensive touchdown when Tre’Davious White returned a Matt Ryan fumble 52 yards for a touchdown.

The Bills outscored the Falcons 16-7 in the second half as the defense time and again turned Atlanta’s high-powered offense away, including a 4th-and-1 play at the Bills nine-yard line with under a minute remaining.

The win lifts Buffalo to 3-1 on the season and into sole possession of first place in the AFC East.

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Bills vs Falcons - Week 4

How it went down:-The Falcons scored first in the game. After a scoreless first quarter, Atlanta got great field position on a drive that began near midfield. A 29-yard run by Tevin Coleman got the Falcons into the red zone, but Buffalo held Atlanta to a 28-yard field goal by Matt Bryant with 10 minutes left in the half (3-0).

-Buffalo took the lead on a good-looking eight-play 67-yard drive. After converting a 3rd-and-5 on a scramble, found deep down the right sideline for a 44-yard pass play to set up 1st-and-goal at the nine. One play later Taylor found in the back left corner of the end zone for a touchdown with seven minutes left in the half (7-3).

-Atlanta was able to re-take the lead capping an 11-play 78-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run by Devonta Freeman with 18 seconds left in the half (10-7).

- forced a fumble on a sack of Matt Ryan early in the third quarter. The loose ball was recovered by Tre’Davious White and he returned it 52 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-10 Buffalo with 11 minutes left in the third quarter.

-Buffalo widened their lead with a long, sustained drive that resulted in a 24-yard field goal by Stephen Hauschka (17-10). The 19-play drive took more than 11 minutes off the game clock.

-Atlanta answered as Matt Ryan found Justin Hardy just inside the goal line for a three-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 17 with seven minutes remaining.

-The Bills regained the lead when Stephen Hauschka bombed a 56-yard field goal with just under five minutes remaining (20-17).

- then came up with his second interception of the game on the ensuing Falcons possession and it led to a 55-yard field goal by Hauschka to put the Bills up six with just over three minutes left in regulation (23-17).

Subplots:-Stephen Hauschka for the second straight game came up huge from distance with a 56 and 55-yard field goal to provide Buffalo with the game-winning points.

-Tre’Davious White scored his first career touchdown on a 52-yard fumble return.

-Micah Hyde posted the 10th interception of his career and second of the season in the second half.

-Buffalo scored 13 points off of turnovers in the game.

-The Bills have set a team record for most consecutive quarters without a turnover (15). The previous team record was 12 set in 2015)

-Jordan Matthews’ nine-yard touchdown reception was his first as a Bill and the 20th of his career.

-Charles Clay’s 44-yard reception in the first half was his longest as a Bill. He finished the game with 112 yards on just five receptions.

- suffered an arm injury and did not return.

- sustained a thumb injury but returned to the game a short time later and then exited for good in the second half. He was replaced in the lineup by .

- headlined the list of inactive players along with , , , , and .

Up next: The Bills travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals for a 1 pm kickoff on Sunday Oct. 8th.

What they're saying: Bills-Falcons game predictions & Bills Today: Bills may be Falcons toughest test to date 30&28SEP17

ONCE again the vast majority of the sports talking heads are predicting the Bills will loose this one, but they have done so without the usual sarcasm. This shows the Bills are growing together, players and coaching staff, into a real football team. I know the Bills are facing a hard go of it in Atlanta today, BUT I also know they have as much a chance of beating the Falcons there as any other team in the NFL! Come on Buffalo, make us wanna shout!!!!!

What they're saying: Bills-Falcons game predictions

Buffalo is looking for their first road win of 2017. Find out who the national media are picking in this week's Bills-Falcons matchup.

Pro Football Talk

MDS’s take: The Falcons are 3-0 but they’re a dropped touchdown pass in Chicago and an overturned touchdown pass in Detroit from being 1-2. If this game were in Buffalo I’d take the Bills, but I’ll pick Atlanta to win a close one at home.

MDS’s pick: Falcons 24, Bills 21.

Florio’s take: The Bills have been playing better than expected, and the Falcons could easily be 1-2. But they performed well in their new stadium, and they’re back for their second regular-season game there. The Julio Jones back injury could be a problem, but if he plays this one ends up being not necessarily easy but nevertheless a fourth win.

Florio’s pick: Falcons 27, Bills 17.

NFL.com, Elliott Harrison

The Falcons will be at home, where their offense is a completely different animal. That said, I think the Bills' defense will weather the storm well enough, forcing Atlanta coach Dan Quinn to settle for numerous field goals. This will be a Matt Bryant game. Buffalo's defense has allowed all of two touchdowns in three games. Atlanta's defense must stop so that Bills coach Sean McDermott -- who, having served as Carolina's defensive coordinator from 2011 through '16, is all too familiar with these Falcons -- can't slow this contest down to a run-based, defensive slugfest. The Bills' rush offense is down from 164.4 yards per game in 2016 to 111.3 this season, while the yards-per-rush mark has sagged from 5.3 to 3.4. They've only rushed for one touchdown, too. #BUFvsATL. Atlanta 26, Buffalo 17.

Bleacher Report, Chris Simms

The Buffalo Bills are a really solid football team. They don't have any glaring weaknesses, but then again, they don't have any overwhelming strengths either.

Buffalo is headed into a rough environment. The Atlanta Falcons may be the fastest team in football, and playing on the turf at home gives them a huge advantage. Against Atlanta's quick defense, the Bills could have difficulty scoring points.

Now, Buffalo did play an aggressive defense against Denver last week, but the Bills also benefited from multiple Broncos mistakes.

The Falcons, on the other hand, should be able to score. The Bills have a good defense, but they don't have cornerbacks who are well-suited for man coverage. Buffalo has to be able to give at least the occasional man look. Otherwise, Matt Ryan and Julio Jones are going to find holes in the zone and pick it apart. Falcons 31, Bills 27

Sports on Earth, Will Leitch

The Bills could legit be 3-0 right now. But the Falcons are 3-0 and already have one of the best home-field advantages in the sport. ATLANTA FALCONS (3-0) over Buffalo Bills (2-1)

CBS Sports, Pete Prisco

Falcons 30, Bills 17

Sporting News

Falcons 34, Bills 17

Rotoworld, Evan Silva

Falcons 30, Bills 23

Bills Today: Bills may be Falcons toughest test to date

Here’s the Bills news of note for Sept. 28th.

1 - Bills may be Falcons toughest test to date
The Atlanta Falcons have soared through their first three games this season to be one of two undefeated teams in the league. They haven’t trailed a single second so far this season. But with Buffalo’s convincing 26-16 win over the Denver Broncos some think the Bills can dethrone the Falcons.

SiriusXM NFL Radio discussed the Week Four matchup.

“The 3-0 Atlanta Falcons fully anticipate a tremendous challenge to remain unbeaten when they face the 2-1 Buffalo Bills at home Sunday. It could very well be their toughest game to date, mainly because Falcons coach Dan Quinn anticipates how hard he sees the Bills playing under first-year coach Sean McDermott,” SiriusXM NFL Radio’s ‘Movin’ the Chains show.

Falcons head coach, Dan Quinn, is just a third-year coach. He certainly has hit the ground running early in his NFL coaching career. He led the Falcons to an NFC championship last season. Quinn and Bills head coach Sean McDermott have a good relationship. It stretches back to 1994 at William & Mary, where Quinn was a coach and McDermott was a safety for the team.

“I’ve known him forever, all through his time in Philly and Carolina and just for years,” Quinn told show hosts Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan. “I was so impressed by how hard the defense that he was associated with played… and now you’re really getting to see that transfer into the whole team. And you feel that type of energy from their team all the way through.”

The Bills may be the toughest test thus far for the Falcons, but it will certainly be the toughest test so far for Buffalo as well.

2 - McCoy willing to be decoy if that means winning
A strong running game is what the Buffalo Bills have prided themselves on over the past few seasons. The main source of that success has been running back .

The past two weeks have been a struggle for McCoy. He only tallied a total of 30 yards rushing in the games against Carolina and Denver. The numbers are meaningless to McCoy, as long as the Bills keep winning.

“At the end of the day I’ll do whatever it takes for success. I’m willing to be the decoy on offense if that means the team gets a win,” McCoy said.

Though Shady hasn’t found his groove on the ground, he’s been a factor in the passing game. McCoy was the team’s leading receiving in the Carolina game. Last week against Denver he backed it up with seven receptions for 48 yards. McCoy and have found ways to keep the ball moving when the ground game isn’t there.

“We won the game and that’s important… shows the types of players we have on the offense. Tyrod really exploded and took over the game,” McCoy said.

3 - Taylor in elite company early into the season
When you’re just behind Tom Brady and Drew Brees, and ahead of Matthew Stafford, you know you’re doing something right.

According to Pro Football Focus, Tyrod Taylor is the third highest graded quarterback through three weeks. The top four quarterbacks are: Brady (88.8), Brees (88.7), Taylor (85.4), and Stafford (82.4)

Taylor has been a relatively conservative quarterback in his three years in Buffalo. It’s working, because he’s only turned the ball over once this season.

“Taking care of the football is definitely a big factor in this league. If you look across the league, week to week, takeaways are something big that determines the game,” Taylor said.

He gets what it takes to be a successful quarterback in the NFL. One of the keys is not putting the offense in situations they can’t handle.

“Our big thing is third down conversions. It starts with first and second down for us. We keep it to manageable situations,” Taylor said.

The offense really took a step in the right direction against the Denver Broncos as almost half of their 16 third down opportunities required six yards or less for a first down.

“We’re continuing to grow as an offense,” said Taylor. “We’re going to continue to do that.”

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