Running back Bijan Robinson had a career performance as the Atlanta Falcons toppled Josh Allen and the Bills 24-14 on Monday Night Football, inflicting a second straight defeat on Buffalo.
Robinson rushed for a joint career-high 170 yards on 19 carries and produced a spectacular 81-yard touchdown run in the second quarter as the Falcons started to pull away.
The long run was the 23-year-old’s longest-ever rushing touchdown, while he also posted a career-best 238 yards from scrimmage on the night – the highest single-game total by a Falcons running back in franchise history, per the NFL.
After seeing his team improve to 3-2, Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris was understandably full of praise for Robinson.
“He’s the best player in football. I’ve said it multiple times, I can’t say it enough,” Morris told reporters. “You can always have your pick, you can always go out there and figure out who you want to vote for, but in my opinion, he’s the best player in football.”
On the opposing team was a player who many would consider to be one of the best in the game right now: reigning MVP Josh Allen. However, the Bills quarterback was stifled by a stern Falcons defense at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, throwing 15-of-26 for 180 yards with two touchdowns and two picks.
The defeat was compounded by a surprise loss to the New England Patriots in Week 5, with the Bills slipping to 4-2 on the season ahead of their bye week.
“They had a good plan,” Allen told reporters. “It looks like they came off a bye week and got to game plan us quite a bit. Again, I’ve got to be better in seeing the things that they’re trying to do to us and make adjustments accordingly.”
As for the Falcons, they had raced into a 21-7 by halftime lead thanks to a stellar offensive performance. According to ESPN, their 335 yards in the first half were the most that any Falcons team has amassed in that period since 2009.
Wide receiver Drake London had 10 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown, while Michael Penix Jr. threw 20-of-32 for 250 yards and a touchdown.
The highlight of the game was Robinson’s surging run in the second quarter, breaking through the Bills defense to stretch the Falcons’ lead to 21-7 by the half.
Buffalo was unable to mount a comeback from there. Allen found Ray Davis with a 16-yard touchdown pass near the start of the second half but failed to capitalize on Greg Rousseau blocking Parker Romo’s field goal attempt at the start of the fourth quarter.
“Overall, (we had) opportunities, just not good enough and didn’t get the result that we want,” head coach Sean McDermott told reporters. “We’ll work hard at it, we’ve got to figure it out. It’s not going to be easy but we’ve got to figure it out and work our tails off to get it done.”
In Monday’s other game, Jake Moody earned instant hero status with the Bears as he nailed a game-winning, 38-yard field goal to help Chicago beat the Washington Commanders 25-24.
Moody was playing his first game for the Bears after being cut by the San Francisco 49ers last month, but stepped up as time expired to hand Chicago a third-straight win under first-year coach Ben Johnson.
“It feels amazing,” Moody told ESPN having been mobbed by his teammates at the end of the game. “To get all of that support after the game from all my teammates – I got here not too long ago, but for everybody to embrace me and take me in as one of their own, it’s an amazing feeling.
“It’s always good to have a fresh start and I always believed in myself, believed in my teammates.”
The Commanders held a slender two-point lead late in the fourth before Jayden Daniels and Jacory Croskey-Merritt became victim to the slippery conditions, fumbling the ball on third-and-1 with 3:07 remaining to give the Bears possession and the chance to drive up the field.
Chicago QB Caleb Williams did exactly that, allowing Moody – who was added to the game-day roster after an injury to Cairo Santos – to make his fourth field goal from five attempts.
Running back D’Andre Swift rushed for 108 yards on 14 carries and had 67 yards through the air – including a 55-yard catch and run for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to cut the Washington lead to two – while Williams threw 17-of-29 for 252 yards and a touchdown.
After two consecutive wins on the road, the Bears are 3-2 and host the lowly New Orleans Saints (1-5) on Sunday. The Commanders (3-3) continue to flip between wins and losses and travel to Texas to take on their NFC East rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, later in the day.
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