Falcons swoop down on Bills 24-16

The Falcons get on the board quickly when Dwayne Blakley leaps high over Nate Clements for a 9-yard TD.

[Getty Images]

The Bills inability to score touchdowns while in the redzone continued Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons as they lost 24-16. This was a game where rookie quarterback J.P. Losman could have taken the bull by the horns and showed why the Bills made him their starter this season, but once again he dropped the ball.

Four times the Bills got into the redzone, but had to settle for field goals on three of those occasions. The only touchdown was made when Willis McGahee galloped 8 yards to reach paydirt.

Losman completed only 10 of 23 yards for a mere 75 yards. He also suffered his first interception of the season and was sacked 4 times. Also, when the Bills were trying to tie the game up on a last minute drive, Losman came up a couple inches short on a 4th and inches try.

JP Losman's inability to get the Bills into the endzone is becoming quite alarming. While the Bills had a similar problem the past two years under Drew Bledsoe, the kid has to get the team past the goal line and just hasn't gotten the job done in 3 games. So far the team has 9 field goals and two touchdowns, one of which was a rushing TD by McGahee.

Losman's passes were really off the mark in this one. He overthrew receivers on 4 long ball attempts, threw at the receiver's shoestrings or way wide most of the game. Outside of getting sacked 4 times and being picked off, Losman also fumbled once and his quarterback rating was a minuscule 33.8.

"It's frustrating,'' admitted Losman. "I will never be happy or satisfied until I play to a level where I want to play at. We need to get the job done.''

Willis McGahee had his best day as a pro, gaining 140 yards on 27 carries, a 5.2 yard average. However, it all went for naught as the Bills once again imploded against a team that ran the ball up their throats and the offense couldn't get into the endzone.

The Bills D lost veteran Takeo Hispanices when he injured his right Achilles' tendon in the second quarter and did not return. That, along with shoddy tackling, allowed the Falcons to move downfield, almost at will against the Bills. Michael Vick, known more for his running than his arm, had an excellent game in the air, completing 15 of 27 for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

Bills linebacker Angelo Crowell gets into Michael Vick's face and knocks off his helmet loose in first quarter action.

[AP Photo/Dan Cappellazzo]

Vick, did have one big run that setup a touchdown late in the game, when he scrambled 27 yards on third down. On the next play, T.J. Duckett plowed up the middle for a 12 yard touchdown, sealing the Bills fate.

The Bills defense, that was pronouncing itself supreme after the first game, has to look in the mirror and wonder what has happened these past two weeks. They have suddenly developed an inability to stop the run and big running backs.

Warrick Dunn carried the ball 15 times for 97 yards, with a 59-yard rumble as his longest carry. Duckett had 75 yards on 12 carries and Vick scrambled 9 times for 64 yards. Add that up and you have 236 yards that the defense gave up.

"We missed a ton of tackles,'' confessed Bills safety Troy Vincent. "I don't think we're pressing. But we didn't give the offense enough opportunities.''

The Bills go to San Antonio next week to face the New Orleans Saints. The question is whether the Bills should stick with the inconsistent Losman, who has not been able to get the Bills in the endzone or his backup, Kelly Holcomb?

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Vick had suffered a hamstring injury the week before and throughout the week, it wasn’t clear if Vick would be able to start. Vick insisted from the start that he was going to play.

"I learned a lot this week,'' said Vick. "This is a big game for me, and I think it's going to help me in the long run.''

Falcons coach Jim Mora was impressed by Vick’s determination and performance against the Bills.

"Now I don't know if I saw a different kind of quarterback, because when it got right down to it, he still was able to make plays running,'' Mora said. "But he did make some key plays with his arm. You get glimpses of these great things that he's capable of and you're going to see it on a consistent basis.''

The Bills should have taken advantage of the fact that the Falcons were playing without three of their starting players in the secondary. Eric Moulds, who has been trying to stay patient with the young quarterback, questioned the play-calling.

"`I don't want to second-guess what they wanted to do, but at some point, we have to be able to take shots down the field," said Moulds.

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