McDermott: Bills must use bye week to start over

ATLANTA -- The Buffalo Bills participate their bye week connected a two-game losing streak aft a 4-0 start, and manager Sean McDermott said aft Monday night's 24-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons that the squad has to "start from crushed zero."

"We'll fig retired things connected offense, defence and peculiar teams," McDermott said. "We've got to commencement implicit and commencement from crushed zero and fig this happening retired and enactment our tails disconnected to bash it."

With the nonaccomplishment to the Falcons, the Bills dropped to 4-2 to autumn down the New England Patriots successful the AFC East. McDermott repeated aggregate times successful his postgame quality league that the effort was "not bully enough."

The Bills besides anticipation the bye volition let immoderate players to retrieve from injury, but McDermott noted determination are nary guarantees connected however galore they volition get back. Tight extremity Dalton Kincaid (oblique) missed the game, antiaircraft tackle DaQuan Jones popped his near calf successful pregame warmups and couldn't play, wide receiver Joshua Palmer (ankle) near successful the archetypal fractional and linebacker Terrel Bernard (ankle) did not play successful the 2nd half.

The defence struggled early, allowing 335 yards successful the archetypal 2 quarters, the astir the Bills person allowed successful the archetypal fractional of a crippled since 2001. Most of those yards went to 2 players -- 152 to moving backmost Bijan Robinson and 147 to wide receiver Drake London. McDermott said the defence volition proceed to enactment connected fundamentals, adding, "It's got to improve."

While the defence stepped up successful the 2nd half, giving up lone a tract extremity and 1 thrust implicit 35 yards, the discourtesy struggled passim the crippled to find immoderate consistency against 1 of the league's apical statistical passing defenses, punting six times. Quarterback Josh Allen threw 2 interceptions arsenic the Bills mislaid the turnover conflict for a 2nd consecutive game.

Allen besides was sacked 4 times, completing 15 of 26 passes (57.7%) for 180 yards and 2 passing touchdowns, some of which came connected the unit's opening drives of the 2 halves. He rushed for 42 yards connected six carries.

Allen said his manus was not injured successful the crippled and that helium is healthy, portion McDermott said helium was not informed of immoderate injuries to Allen but did accidental the crippled was "too hard" connected the quarterback, successful presumption of the presumption helium was enactment in. Allen's 12 sacks connected the play are 2 distant from his full successful the 2024 regular season.

Allen was pressured connected 47.1% of his dropbacks, his highest complaint since the 2020 AFC Championship Game (47.4%). According to NextGenStats, the Falcons blitzed Allen connected 55.9% of his dropbacks, the highest blitz complaint helium has faced since Week 8 successful 2021. When blitzed, Allen completed 8 of 14 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown but was pressured connected 9 of 19 blitz dropbacks and was sacked 3 times. Answers for the discourtesy were hard to travel by.

"I deliberation conscionable spell backmost to the drafting board," close tackle Spencer Brown said. "Technique wise, signifier har...