ATLANTA — Big plays from Bijan Robinson and Drake London and mistake-free leadership from Michael Penix Jr. made the Atlanta Falcons look like a playoff contender.
A lack of big offense and more miscues from Josh Allen provided more reason to question the Buffalo Bills.
Robinson matched a career high with 170 rushing yards and gave Atlanta an early two-touchdown lead with the NFL’s longest run of the season, and the Falcons denied Allen’s comeback attempt to beat the Bills, 24-14, on Monday night.
Robinson’s career-long 81-yard touchdown run in the second quarter put Atlanta (3-2) ahead 21-7.
“We’ve been waiting for that moment,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said.
Robinson got his 170 yards on 19 carries. He added six catches for 68 yards for a career-best 238 yards from scrimmage. Morris said Robinson “is the best player in football; I’ve said it multiple times.”
For Robinson’s big game to come against Allen, last season’s MVP, was meaningful because he paid the same compliment to the Bills quarterback.
“I think he’s the best football player in the NFL,” Robinson said. “Shout out to our defense. They made him uncomfortable the whole day.”
London had 10 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown. Penix threw for 250 yards, including a 9-yard TD to London, while completing 20 of 32 passes without an interception.
Allen threw two touchdown passes, including a 16-yarder to Ray Davis to open the second half.
Allen and the Bills (4-2) were stopped on fourth down near midfield late in the third quarter. They failed to take advantage of another opportunity when Greg Rousseau blocked Parker Romo’s 37-yard field-goal attempt early in the fourth.
“Blocking the kick I thought was big for us,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “Obviously, I thought we had some momentum coming out of that. … So overall, opportunities, just not good enough and getting the result we want.”
Allen and the Bills again failed to capitalize. The Falcons secured the win with a 14-play, 5-minute drive that included Penix’s 23-yard pass to Robinson. Romo’s 33-yard field goal extended the lead to 10 points, and the Bills were left with 1:47 on the clock and no timeouts.
“They had a good plan,” Allen said of the Falcons. “Looks like they came off the bye week and got to game plan us quite a bit. Again, I’ve got to be better in seeing the things they’re trying to do to us and make adjustments accordingly.”
Atlanta linebacker DeAngelo Malone intercepted Allen’s last throw with 41 seconds remaining. Allen completed 15 of 26 passes for 180 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, giving him four interceptions in his last three games. He had only one pick in his previous 12 games, including the playoffs.
Tyler Allgeier scored the Falcons’ first touchdown on a 21-yard run.
Allen had the support of a strong contingent of Buffalo fans who were so loud that Penix was forced to use a silent count on an early possession.
The Bills’ loss added more reasons to doubt their 4-0 start. Those wins came against teams that are now a combined 3-21: Baltimore (1-5), the New York Jets (0-6), Miami (1-5) and New Orleans (1-5).
“We’ll work hard at it,” McDermott said. “We’ve got to figure it out. It’s not going to be easy, but we got to figure out it out and work our tails off to get it done.”
