Buffalo Bills vs. Atlanta Falcons | NFL Regular Season | Week 6 | Madden NFL Prediction
From MercedesBenz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, this is the National Football League. We’ll see Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons taking on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. First opened in 2017. There’s a look at the beautiful state-of-the-art MercedesBenz Stadium here in Atlanta, GA. Happy to be on hand. I’m Brandon Gone with Charles Davis. And before we kick, partner, your keys to the game, please. Well, my keys are on the defensive side of the ball for both teams. And the big one, making sure you avoid giving up the big play. These safeties are going to get tested all game long. Their job, keep the ball in front of them, tackle people, make them run extra plays in order to try and score. Tyler Bass about ready to get us going. And we are underway from Atlanta and able to take it past the 25 and up to the 28 yd line. [Applause] So, here come the Falcons now to get the football for the first time. Leading them out as their 6-2 quarterback who was a fourth round pick back in 2012, Kirk Cousins. And one nice thing you can always say about Kirk Cousins is that he’s consistent. Always puts up nice numbers each and every year. If there is a downside to his game, it’s been the lack of playoff success. All in all, though, a formidable starting quarterback at a time in the league where it’s tough to find your franchise guy. And the first play of the drive there is incomplete. Darnell Mooney the target there. And it’s second down. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Here’s Kaz and complete to Drake London. He’ll be hit down at the 33. Five yds on the play. [Applause] Third play here this opening drive as they’re up against a third and five. [Applause] Throwing Cousins to the right sideline and it falls incomplete. Yeah, still early in the game. No sense taking a chance on third down and forcing one into traffic. So, I like the wise play he made there. Get it to the sideline out of bounds where no one’s going to have a chance at it. Now, a man who did his collegiate punting just a couple hours from here in Clemson in South Carolina, Bradley Pinion to kick. It’s a return of four following a 42 yd punt and the Bills will take over the football with a first and 10 for the Buffalo offense coming out and it is Josh Allen who is at the helm. And in this league there are many quarterbacks who have their most success running the ball while there are others who have big arms. There aren’t too many guys who can do both and at the end of many games. This guy leads his team not just in passing but in rushing as well. Allen and the Bills now with a first and 10 at their 25 yd line. That’s caught by his tight end Dawson Knox and he’ll be taken down but not before they work it across midfield. The extra effort after the catch makes it good for a gain of 26 and also a first down. One of the advantages of zone defense as I remember it is being able to see the play develop in front of you. One of the disadvantages when they find those levels where they can hit you with it. Sometimes behind the corner and in front of the safety, it makes it tough to defend from Falcon territory. Now here’s first and 10 at the 49 yd line. Allen off the play fake and they’ll get him down as he’s inside the 40. Give him 10 that time. Escaping the danger, running with it and picking up a first down. That’s an early scramble that can be viewed positively by either side. From the offensive point of view, it begins to establish him as a possibility to keep it on certain plays. And defensively, they avoided giving up a huge play in one of their first tests in containing a quarterback on the run. So, here’s a first and 10 at the 38. Man who played collegially nearby in Athens for the Bulldogs, James Cook. And he’ll be brought down just outside of the 30. It’s a sevenyd carry to set them up with a second and three. Second and three at the 31 yd line. Allen over the middle complete. That’s Cook and he’ll be a little shy of the 25 here at the 26 yd line. Six yds to pick up and that’s a first down. [Applause] motion man is Shakir. First down. Here’s the run with Cook and he’s going to get a solid gain of nine before being brought down. Second and right at a yard. brings up second and second down in the yard on play action. Allen and that’ll be incomplete. Took a pretty good shot as he tried to pull that one in. Couldn’t hang on. Third down. I know at times people think we use it too often, but you’ve got to be able to throw guys open. And when you read zone, you’ve got to stick it in there before your receiver gets to the next guy in the zone. Otherwise, you bring him into the play. And that’s precisely what allowed that defense to disrupt the pass. They’ll run it. Here’s Cook and he picks up the first down yardage as he takes it down to the 16. We ought to come up with a t-shirt and sell it that says no indecision on third and one. And we didn’t see it on that run, did we? Got his shoulder square, just got right into the line of scrimmage and picked it up. Absolutely. Picked his lane, went with it, and converted. [Applause] So the ball down to the 16 here for first and 10. Here’s Cook again. And he’ll get four there down to about the 12 yd line. He was brought down by four yd. Second and six at the yard. Second down and six now. Allen going to throw. Throw out wide is incomplete. And here you’re down in the red zone. You need to be smart, not force anything. So that’s a wise decision to just get rid of the football. So after the second down incompletion, they’ll come up now against a third and six. Allen now looks to throw. Got his man complete over the middle. It’s Cook and the Bills are going to have first and goal as they try to finish off this drive with six points. Well, it seems pretty clear on this opening drive that they want to get him involved. Not only Charles, in the run game, but in the pass game as well. And he can be such a weapon for them when they utilize him this way. And partner, you know, I’m a veteran, right? In other words, that means a little bit older. Back in my day, we used to call a guy like this a workhorse, except he carried the ball all the time. Now, they get it to him a variety of ways, but you’re right, they want to run their offense through him. Five yds from the end zone. First and goal. And they’ll turn to the power game to try to get in. And he’s going to press this one forward as they stop it right around the one. A pick up of four on first down. It’ll be second and goal. A good solid game there on first down, but the defense has to be happy they didn’t let it pop for anything bigger. Second and goal from the one throwing now is Allen and this is caught for a Bills touchdown. Khalil Shakir there to make the grab and the Bills will jump on top with a game’s first score here this afternoon. An ideal start for them really. You force the punt and then you go down and score. And you’ve got to see a fist pump on the sideline from the head coach, don’t you? Because he’s turning to his bench. And he’s telling his team, “This is how we prepare. Force the punt, go downfield, and score.” I told you guys, it’s just like a boxer in the gym preparing for the fight. Now we get to turn it all loose. Extra point by Bass. Up and good. And that makes the score 7 nothing. So that drive 12 plays in length and it was all polished off with a Khalil Shakir touchdown catch. [Applause] after the touchdown. Bass to kick it away and the returner down to a knee and this will come out to the 30 yd line. So, for the second time in this one, we get set to see the Falcons offense and a three and out on that first drive. We’ll see if they can do better here. They should have a better opportunity because the nerve should be settled now. That first series, everybody goes out a little extra emotion. So, now they get a chance to go back out and say, “Okay, now we’re into the game. Let’s go play and play as best we can.” You almost get a mulligan then on that first drive. Sometimes it absolutely serves that way. You get a second opportunity. Nothing big happened, but then again, you didn’t commit any mistakes either. Off you go. Boy, you go three and out on your first drive, and that’s not the way you want to start this drive either. Doesn’t seem like they’re really into it just yet. No. First four plays, you don’t want to call it a disaster, but not looking very sharp. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] A loss of a yard there to start out. That leads to a second and 11. Now Cousins and his throw is going to be incomplete. As defensive coordinators around the league tell me all the time that throw is not for every quarterback because you’ve really got to drive the ball downfield. It’s going to be a tight window for him to fit that one into in this case unsuccessfully. An incomplete pass on that last play and that means they’ll need to come up with something here on third down. That one deep for London. And that will be incomplete. Well, they weren’t scared to let it fly, but it falls to the ground and brings up fourth down. Two drives won’t tell the story of this game, but you absolutely have to like how this defense has played thus far. They have yet to allow this offense to get on track in this one. So on now is the Clemson man Bradley Pinion to punt this one away. 46 on his first kick. This one in that neighborhood as well. So a change of possession here on the punt and it will be first and 10 as they take over. So here come the Bills out for their second drive. They have to be thrilled with that first drive that got him the touchdown. Now they’ll be looking to make it a two-score advantage here on the road. And you know, they spent all week in practice, in meetings, talking about taking an early advantage, being the road team, going up a score. That takes the crowd out of the game and put some doubt in the minds of their opponents. And they get him down, but not before he takes it across the 40 yd line. Good coverage downfield led to him taking off, picking up the first down on a 13 yd run. Fast, slow, it doesn’t matter. If you give a quarterback enough room to escape, he can hit you for a big gain. You’ve got to give him a little more focus moving forward. [Applause] Allen now on first down. flushed out right and he slides and covers up at the end as he’s going to be able to pick up decent yardage. Give him 10 that time, escaping the danger, running with it and picking up a first down. This early in the game, it’s all about making steady progress downfield hoping to lead to early points. And you can do it with your actual play calls or sometimes something a little more improvised as we just saw there. Backto back good plays have them on the move on first down. So they fake the handoff now. Allen that one tipped and it’s incomplete. What good hands there defensively and second down. Really nice play by the guys on the defensive side of the ball. But for the guys on the offensive line, they’re doing a nice job of trying to protect their passer. But when a guy hops in the air and goes airborne to try and knock one away, it’s difficult because you can’t reach out and grab him. That’ll be a holding penalty. So all you’re trying to do is make some type of a play on him, make some type of contact to try and get his arms out of the sky. He’ll get only three there. So it leaves him with a third and seven ahead. Here’s Allen to throw it. He’s got his target. That’s complete. And that’s going to be good for another first down as the tackles made at the Falcons 34 yd line. Give him 10 yardds there as this offense is on a roll. This drive continues to plunge forward. Well, as a coach, you absolutely love seeing your offense find their rhythm early, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen so far. They had a touchdown on their opening drive, and now they connect here for another nice gain for a first down. This offense is moving the ball well, exactly as he drew it up in practice from the 34. Now, here’s first and 10. Palmer going to go in motion left from the pistol. They run it with Cook and not a whole lot of room to operate there on the first down run. He gets maybe three. [Applause] Snap will come from the 31 on second and seven. Now Allen quick throw there is incomplete. I don’t want to blow it too out of proportion, but maybe circle this play because if they get the stop and hold him to a field goal here, that’s a pretty good job. They’re already down on the scoreboard. A stop now would be vital for them because it could save them from having to do it multiple times later in the game in order to either get back into it or maybe have a chance to win. Throwing is Allen on third and that is incomplete. This defense has certainly played well so far in this game and the coverage has been tight at just about every throw. Forced a few here so far in this game and now it brings up fourth down. [Music] [Applause] So on fourth down, off goes Allen. On comes Tyler Bass for the Buffalo field goal. This one from 48 yds away. The kick by Bass is good and the Bills will add on to their lead. So, a touchdown on their opening drive and three more here and it adds to their first quarter lead. Yeah, everything’s going according to plan so far because the offense has moved the ball. Defense able to do their job and here the special teams unit comes through with their contribution. A field goal to make it 10 zip. [Applause] So after the made field goal, 10 nothing here early as the kicks away. And no thought of bringing this one out. He’ll go down to a knee and they’ll begin the drive at the 30. Now the Falcons offense, they get ready to head back out here. Not only are they in search of their first score, they’re in search of their first first down in this ball game as they come up first and 10. Cousins now and this is taken in by Darnell Mooney and they’re able to get this one across the 35. It’s a gain of 13 and a first down for Atlanta. But one of the ways the quarterbacks keep all the receivers alive in a play, never lock in on any one guy. Make sure you keep your eyes moving. Scan the field. And here he finds the open guy for a nice pickup. Cousins now to throw on first down. Man open. That’s Ray Ray Mloud. And he’ll be taken down as that will take us to the end of the first quarter of play. 10 nothing the score after one on EA Sports. [Applause] Second down and four. Cousins into the hands of London and he’s going to get this down to the 35 yd line. That one good for 20 on the catch and run. Of course, the catch was nice, but how about what happened after able to stay on his feet and gain all that additional yardage. So many of these slot guys, I think, have running back in their background. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] This offense finding its legs now. Here’s another first and 10. Cousins to throw it. Middle of the field. It’s Robinson and brought down, but not before they’re inside the 25. A good gain again. That’s now 31 yds combined on those last two plays. Seems as if the passing attack starting to heat up a little bit here in the second quarter. You can sense and you can see the momentum because now they’re reading their patterns downfield. They’re understanding the coverages and they’re finding the open holes in the defense and just no chance of turning the corner. He can only get back to the line of scrimmage. Second and 10 coming up. When you’re trying to create space for your running back, the first thought is how physical is the offensive line. Sometimes it’s just positioning. On that play, it didn’t matter about positioning or being physical. The defensive front, they outlevered him and won the battle to throw Cousins. That’s complete to Mooney and able to get him down, but he does reach the five. 19 yds on the pickup there. And now they’ll have it first and goal. Fired that one in there. Able to make connection on a nice in route with those faster passes when they’re going that fast. Any hesitation as a quarterback that the deflection if you miss might be bigger and lead to an interception. Yeah. And the deflection works both ways. Maybe a defender gets a hand in the way and it pops in the air. And sometimes you throw it so hard your receiver can’t handle it and he pops it up in the air for the defenders to grab as well. But a moot point there as they were able to connect. They’ll run with Robinson and he’ll get him a bit closer as he’s down to the two yd line. It’ll be a three yd pickup and it brings up second and goal. And B, they went to a nickel defense and that’s a surprise this close to the goal line cuz ordinarily you use the back end of the end zone, the sidelines as extra defenders and you want bigger people on the field to try and help against the run. Robinson again and he will take it in for a Falcon touchdown. Bean Robinson taking it in from two yds out and the Falcons are back within a score and certainly some credit there for that touchdown goes to the offensive line. They never get the credit they deserve in the stat sheet, but they are the reason that they got the points. Excellent job up front clearing the way for the score. Point after here coming up and they’re back within a field goal. It’s 107 now. So that drive in total eight plays. And it was Bejan Robinson who took it home with a touchdown run. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] following the touchdown. Here’s Coup to kick off. Johnson now returning. Now here’s Johnson and a decent return out to the 27 yd line. ladies. Here’s the Buffalo offense now as they get set to take over here. And they’re not going to play this conservative. I don’t think they had a field goal last time and they’re up, but they’re looking to put a drive in the end zone. Oh, I agree with you totally. No one is goes out on the field and says, “All right, let’s just settle for three.” Except in certain situations, trying to ice a game, that sort of deal. Most of the time it’s endzone and that’s what you’re thinking. And I believe that’s exactly what they’re thinking as they begin this one. Yeah. No quarterback ever goes out there saying, “Hey, let’s get three.” Right. Not one that I’ve ever met. Give him 13 yds on the opening play of the drive and also give him a first down. Cook up the gun and he maneuvers up the middle for three. And it’s second down. He’s backed up by Ernest. A three yd kick brings up second and seven at the 43 yd line. Second and seven. They run it again with Cook. Call it a gain of five there on the run, but they’ll remain a yard or two short here with third down coming up. [Applause] Up the middle. It’s Cook. He’s going to be a yard short. needed two but only got one. Fourth down. And partner, when you run the ball on third and two, you’re telling the whole world you got nothing but confidence in your offensive line and your runner and you expect to get it. But they were stuffed on that play. Only got one yard. Great job by the defensive front, the linebackers. Everyone got involved to force a fourth down. Fourth down. So Jake Kamarda is out there. Back deep. Ray Ray Mloud. And he’ll get off a fairly short kick here as this is toward the sideline. And this will do the job nicely as that’ll be out of bounds just inside the 10 yd line. Let’s go old school there. That’s absolutely a great coffin corner punt. Someone’s put some time in working on that, hasn’t it? Seems like every year these guys get better and better. It’s amazing how they can command that football through the air. Yeah, they used to actually practice with hula hoops where they place them and try and put them there. Now a lot of guys use barrels on the sidelines to try and put the football in one. Cousins on first down and that is incomplete. Oh, the coverage a little too good there. And it’s second down. Drake London, the intended receiver there. That’ll bring up second down. [Applause] Throwing is Cousins. Able to complete this one to Mloud. That’ll leave him with a third and two coming up. They got eight yds there. Don’t worry to throw. Cousins able to find the open man. That’s complete and he is going to have a Falcons first down as they’re able to get the third down conversion. That was simply snap, rock, and fire. I mean, they didn’t take long at all. Slant route, and I loved where he put it. He put on the body of the receiver low so only he can catch it. Yeah, I don’t think there was any magical formula there defensively. That’s just tough to defend. Very much so. And that way it allows the receiver to keep his body in front of the defender and not allow him to go through him to knock the ball away. to the air again. It’s Cousins over the middle. Caught by London and they get him down, but not before he takes it across the 40 yd line. Another nice gain. 13 yds that time and another first down. And maybe that touchdown on the previous drive has re-energized this offense a little bit. They’ve been kind of sluggish until then, but they’re showing signs of life here. And they get good yardage that time and a first down. Two first downs have them up to the 41 now for first and 10. Now Cousins. This is caught by Robinson and he’ll get it into enemy territory just across midfield at the 49. And we see another pitch and catch there to the running back. This position just continues to evolve. They become just as critical to the passing attack as a lot of receivers, tight ends, because their ability to make people miss in the open field can really generate big plays for an offense. Second down and a run by Robinson. And the running lanes non-existent in this first half as they’ll stop him behind the line. That backs him up one yardd and brings up third down. The running lanes have definitely not been there for him here in the first half. And I don’t think it’s all been his fault. His offensive line hasn’t given him much space. A loss results there. The offense on third down. Just one for three thus far. They’re up against a third and one situation. Cousins now from the 50 and is caught pushing his way through and he’s got a first down as a tackle made at the Bills 30. Forget the run on third and one. They shock the D and rip off a pretty big play. You can see the time and effort and thought that they put into their passing game because it was evident right there. It looks like a simple pitch and catch, but you and I both know that they have planned for this and worked hard to make it happen. So, first and 10 now from the 30. They go play action. Cousins. This is caught. Touchdown Jarnell Mooney 30 yds and the Falcons have taken the lead. Coupon now for the point after and that makes it 14-10. So that drive goes eight plays and finishing it all off was Darnell Mooney with a touchdown reception. Yeah. Heat. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Following the touchdown, here’s Coup to kick off. Returning it, Johnson. Here comes Johnson on the return. And they’ll get him down inside the 30 at the 27. The Bills ready to take over as we eat closer and closer to intermission. Charles, remember last time out they punted. They would love to get points here, especially if this is going to be their final possession of the first half. Yeah, and this is what close games feel like because the pressure is on both sides, but sometimes the pressure is a little bit higher. Oh, he tried to fit it in on the slant and it’s intercepted. Picked up by Jesse Bates. Oh, timing is everything on a route like this. He tried to drive that football into a tight spot. And if you’re a little early or a little late, chances are there’s going to be someone there. And sure enough, this one’s going the other way. Darnell Mooney and the rest of this offense ready to go again. He’s the star wide receiver and he’s doing his thing so far here into the second quarter. And how you get distinguished as a star is each and every week performing to a high level no matter what they throw at you because you’re always wanting to take him out of the game if you’re a defensive team. How do you press him, double him, triple him, all those things, but the best players show up each and every week? Solid games and some spectacular ones. And he has showed up time and time again. [Applause] at the 40 yd line [Applause] on first and 10. Cousins high throw but the catch is made and the Falcons are looking at first and goal as he’s tackled all the way down at the two yd line. Charles to move the chains that time. They had to complete it into double coverage and they got it done. And it’s never easy overcoming multiple defenders, but he sure made it look simple. Found the right spot to exploit and won his one-on-one matchup. [Applause] [Music] Creeping up on a minute to play in this first half. Robinson will score. Touchdown, Atlanta. And that’s certainly an important score right there because they gave themselves a two-score cushion heading towards halftime. Now you got to force the other team out of their comfort zone and it changes the way you approach the second half as well. How you want to do things on offense and your defense feels much better too having that lead. Coup for the extra point. It’s good. And it’s 2110. The drive there only spanning three plays and it was Bejan Robinson who took it home with a touchdown run. following the touchdown. Here’s Coup to kick off. and he’ll wisely just take a knee here and this ball will come out to the 30 yd line. The Bills going to take over now late in this first half and with a little under a minute remaining they may try to put something together here just to try to cut into that deficit. [Applause] They go back to the air here after the INT on the last drive. This one complete to Carter Samuel. Now the Bills are going to use the first of their timeouts as they get the stoppage with a little over 50 seconds to go in the first half. A first and 10 here. And you know, if they could just get three out of this, something about whittling it to a one-sore game at half that might provide a psychological boost. His throw incomplete. They certainly thought he had an open book beyond the first down marker to his receiver, but they just couldn’t connect. And that will send them back to the drawing board. [Applause] [Music] Now a second and 10. Now Allen and that nearly intercepted, but it’s incomplete. And remember, he had a pick earlier, but couldn’t reel that one in. And nearly another interception there. That would have been two drives in a row with a pick. He’s got to start taking care of the ball way better than what we’re saying. Interestingly, that throw was probably worse than the one he threw the interception on last drive, but fell incomplete. And again, it’s Allen setting up the screen for Cook. And he’ll take this to the other side of midfield before going out of bounds. 11 yds and a Buffalo first down. Do I see a defensive coordinator get upset and throw his headset? This is the kind of play that’ll do it. You force third and long. This is almost sort of a give up play. You’re just hoping to get something positive and it winds up breaking big and it convert on third down. [Applause] Now Cook, he’s got it off the draw and a five yd gain gets him to the 42. Now the Bills will use the second of their timeouts as the clock will stop with 34 seconds to go before halftime. Now second and five to throw. It’s Allen. This will be caught at Samuel and that’s going to be good for another first down as the tackles made at the Falcons 21. A gain there of 21 yds. Well, we can talk about it like it’s just a basic route, but how about the timing on this one? Lined up on the right. Runs a deep in route. And how about the throw? Right on the money. Bam. Puts it right in there and on his hands. Nice completion. Really good pickup. on first down. Allen and this is incomplete with a clock showing just three seconds left. What a momentary speed bump there with that throw partner. The defense had other ideas and they’re trying to mount a small stand before this drive reaches the end zone. So 3 seconds here remain in the half on is the field goal unit to see about getting three points. He hit his first. This one from 38. The kick by Bass is good and that will do it for this first half. So, we are at halftime here in Atlanta with the Falcons out in front as we’ll send you down to Orlando and we check in with Jonathan Coachman for our EA Sports Halftime report. Coach, all right, Brandon, thanks very much. Welcome everyone to our brand new studios here in downtown Orlando and the EA Sports halftime report. It was a former Longhorn Bejian Robinson who was tough to stop in that first half. He chipped in a couple of touchdown runs as he was running with determination right from the word go. Okay, coach, appreciate it. A one-touchdown game here as we get set to resume play in the second half. [Applause] [Music] The Bills trail here, but they will get the football first as we are back underway on EA Sports. This taken in at the goal line and it’s a pretty good return here as he’ll get this up to the 29. [Applause] Out come the Bills now as they’ll go on offense first here in this third quarter. And they do trail, but they have a chance to possess the football first to try and do something about it. And that certainly makes it something of an important drive for him because is it going to win the game? No. But you have to do something to bring some life to your sideline. And they get it down, but not before he takes it across the 40 yd line. First down yardage on the first play of the drive, 14 yds. We don’t talk about it very often, but sometimes there’s a dip in intensity when you start the second half, which can manifest itself in some sloppy tackling. And how about right there? He ran right through that weak tackle attempt. [Applause] motion man is Shakir to the air. Allen has his man. It’s Shakir. Short completion just four yds and it’ll be second down. It’s now second and six at the 47 yd line. Davis running left and he’ll go down inside the 45 before going out of bounds. That one a first down pick up of eight. [Applause] Round 80. Here’s Allen and he’ll go down here at the 35 yd line. He’ll get 10 there all on his own, but it’ll be second down. [Applause] They’ll try to middle with Cook and he’ll go down at the 28. Seven yds there and a first down. I’d sure love to offer some advice to the defensive coordinator, but his guys are just getting run over by an offense that’s executing like a welloiled machine. And now they’ll throw with Allen. And he’ll protect himself at the end here as he winds up getting pretty decent yardage. Give him 10 that time, escaping the danger, running with it and picking up a first down. [Applause] Now They’ll switch it up here and look to throw and he can’t find anywhere to go with it and he goes down. It’ll be a loss of seven on the sack and it brings up second. We’ve seen how this quarterback can beat you with his legs. Saw it earlier on this drive as a matter of fact, but that time they had him covered. They really gave him no place to escape because often times they’re able to find a crack, a sliver, anything that can get them up field. On that occasion, nothing opened at all and they swarmed him. [Music] Don’t need it all back at once, but you figure they’re going to need something here. 17 yds to go on second down. And he’ll get it down this time to the 17. He turned that into a nice game. and gets him eight yds closer for third down. Partner was a definite passing down, but he was able to leak out and pick up some good yardage even though the coverage was excellent. Maybe it’s not exactly how they drew it up, but they still got a big chunk of yardage on second down. It’s been a pretty long drive. This will be play number nine. And they need 10 yards out of it on third. operating from the gun. Allen working in the middle of the field and he’s got a man complete. And the Bills are going to have first and goal as they try to finish off this drive with six points. I’ll tell you what, this offense has played a little bit of keep away right now. They’ve come out here in the third quarter, possessed the ball for quite a while and they keep on converting. Nice pitch and catch there to set up the first and goal. Cook is in. Touchdown Bills. [Applause] And we know they won’t get their names in the stat sheet, but the offensive line has to get all the credit for that touchdown run. Tremendous job of blocking, paving the way for the six points. And now Shawn McDermott’s made the call. They’ll go for two. Allen will try to throw for it. And this one incomplete. So they went for the two. They don’t get it. They made the decision to go for two. They didn’t get it. They remained down by two points. Should they have kicked it there? Third quarter, I’m okay with it. Maybe first or second, you don’t. I don’t know. What do you think? Yeah, I’m I’m again, I keep coming back to I don’t like to chase a lot of points, but I also don’t know what kicking an extra point, being down one does for me. after the touchdown. Bass to kick it away. And here comes a return from just beyond the goal line. And his guys will get the football right at the 20 yd line. [Applause] Here comes the Falcons offense. It’s their first possession of the second half now. But Charles, they still have the lead despite their defense giving up a touchdown on the previous possession. And even though they have that lead, it feels like a back and forth ball game where to try to get momentum back. Maybe they need at least three here on this drive. I think you’re right about that, Brandon, because your game plan doesn’t change, but I do believe your urgency does because of the last score that went against your team. So what you want to do now is have your own drive and try and make sure that that momentum stays in your camp. After the incompletion, here’s second and 10 from the 20. Robinson toss play left side. Room here to run and he’ll be out of bounds but able to get it up past the 45. 25 yds the pick up there and also a first down. If they’re going to try to complete this comeback, they need more runs like that from him because until that point, he’s been virtually shut down. And based on where they are right now in this game, you would expect the ball to be in the air. But his ability to break off those types of runs, you can get big chunk plays on the ground as well. And he just provided one. [Applause] Back to Robinson now on first down. Gregory Russo able to bring him down. I think we all suspected that they were going back to him after he found the end zone on his last carry and they kept the positive momentum going there. Another nice run by him. [Applause] Ball right on the 50 yd line. Here’s second and five from the midfield stripe. They’ll look to throw and he’ll find Mloud on the right side complete and he’s got a first down as the tackle made at the Bills 39. It’s a gain of 11 and the Falcons pick up the first. That’s tough to play zone defense when they can just curl up right there in front of you. Yeah, absolutely. Well, we we talk about finding the soft spot defensively. How do you make sure they don’t find the soft spot like they did there? tough to do because what they normally will do is run routes that’ll pull you out of that spot that they want to get into. That’s what we call not taking the cheese, right? Don’t go for the mouse trap. But it’s hard to do cuz if you see a guy cutting that in that direction, you tend to go towards him. And he’s taken down inside the 30 11 yds there just like last play. You always worry about those small receivers running through that gnarly patch of land in the middle of the field, but he did a really nice job there holding on to the football and protected himself as best he could while completing the play. [Applause] On first and 10, it’s Robinson. Two yards on the carry there. It’ll be second down. They suspected that it was a power play up the middle coming at them and boy were they right. That defense got downhill in a hurry and limited them to just a couple on first down. This is second and eight. From the shotgun, it’s Cousins got a man. It’s London. They get him to the ground right on the cusp of the red zone after a pick up of five or six. [Applause] They’re trying to keep the drive going. This will be play number eight. It’s third and two on play action. Cousins and he’s going to go down here. A sack. They push him back to the 34. That’s Gregory Russo getting in there to bring him down. Well, it’s always easy to second guess a call, but maybe should have just handed it off here on third and short instead of keeping it on a playaction pass attempt. Now it’s fourth and long and just gave the defense a lot of momentum to build on for the next series. [Applause] Fourth down and the attention turns to Falcon kicker Young Way Coup on the left hash. Officially it’s called a 51 yd attempt and this won’t get there. Won’t be online either. It’s no good off to the right and that will keep this a two-point game. Here’s the Buffalo offense now as they get set to take over here. This drive here beginning probably with a pair of motivated groups. Remember the offense scored a touchdown on their last time out looking to repeat that and Charles’s defense. They were very frustrated after giving up six the last time on the field. And frankly, it’s just a battle of wills in a lot of ways because you know they’re both motivated. They both game plan for this drive and they both have specific outcomes in mind. To me, it just comes down to who can execute better and which side can step up and assert its will over the other. So, the first play of the drive lost four. Now they’ll look to move it forward here on second and 14. Allen and complete right side to Cook and just three yds on the catch there. He couldn’t get away and that’ll bring up a third and 11 situation. [Applause] from the gun. It’s Allen. And they will get this across midfield, but still well short of the first as he’s dropped at the 46. Decent gain on the scramble to six, but now it’s four. Well, there were a couple of extra defensive backs in the game, so he really had nowhere to go with the football despite his search for an open receiver. Says to take off and run for it, but he comes up well short of the line to gain. The Bills send the punter out as he’ll come on to kick this one away. And a nice job here to down this one right on the 5 yd line. That is how you flip field position. That’s an absolute bomb of a punt. Downs it inside the 5 yd line. Absolutely ideal. From that position, you’re hoping to get it down inside the 15, inside the five. Superb. The Atlanta offense out there for their next drive. Last time out, they had that long 50 plus yard field goal that they missed. And I’m sure on their sideline they’re thinking to themselves, okay, do we still want to try one if we’re in that position again? And I would dare say that the answer would be yes. They’re going to have a lot of confidence in their kicker. But just to be on the safe side, I’m sure they tell their offensive guys, can we get a little bit closer this time? Yeah. Well, you know, I’d rather get in the end zone first and foremost, but if all else fails, less of a field goal attempt for him. Now they can breathe a little easier. Some room to operate as they’ve got it first and 10 now out past the 20. Now Cousins and that to the right side and incomplete. 21 yd line. [Applause] Here’s second and 10. Cousins over the middle complete. It’s Robinson and he’ll get this up to the 34 yd line. It’s a gain of 13 and a first down for Atlanta. Good route, good pickup for first down yardage. And that is a tough one to cover the angle route because a running back getting out of the back field. If you’re trying to cover that, especially if you’re in the linebacker spot and you’re seeing this play develop, he heads out towards the flat first and that often gets you to overcommit running in that direction. Then he cuts back up inside you into the middle of the field. That’s what we just saw there for a nice pickup. Darnell Mooney the target there. And now it’s second down. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Cousins again. And that’ll be off the mark. Too far out in front and it’s incomplete. I know coaches tell us all the time that having a powerful arm isn’t the number one thing they look for in a quarterback, but when you’re trying to throw inside routes and you need to put some heat on it, it helps to have the big gun. In this case, just a little bit too much. This offense on third down today. Two for five to this point. This is third and 10. Here’s Cousins. Throws to his man on the out round. It’s complete. That’s Robinson and he’s going to be out up around the 45 yd line. The Falcon passing game looking good on this drive as they get the first down. And that certainly appears to be a critical conversion right there because not only do they keep the drive going, they take valuable time off the clock as well. They have to feel really good about that last completion. [Applause] Again, it’s Cousins. This one hauled in. And again, it’s Robinson and taking it across midfield and inside the 45. consecutive catches for him. That good for 11. Brandon, a lot of times you’ll see running backs rotate in and out of the game. Whether it’s completed pass, a good run, it doesn’t matter here. Not only does he stay in, but they go right back to him and he makes another nice play. Backto back catches. Cousins now to throw on first down. That’s out wide here for Robinson. And he gets this inside the 35 yd line. 10 more there and another first down. [Applause] throwing Cousins into the hands of London and brought down, but not before they’re inside the 25. 11 more yards that go around. A first down as well. [Applause] They’ll throw again. Cousins. He’s got his passcatching tight end. That’s Pitts. Give him a gain of five on the completion. And it’s second down. Nice rhythm throw there on first down. He located his tight end. Made a nice easy pitch and catch. Hoping he can break a tackle or two. Wasn’t able to do that there, but still good yardage. Here’s a second and five. [Applause] Cousins. And that one too wide and incomplete. Well, he left no doubt about that one because even though he hasn’t left the pocket, he’s got a receiver in the area. So, it’s not grounding. Even though there’s no way that ball was going to be caught, they come up now third and five following the incomplete pass. Working out of the gun, Cousins pass taken in by his big tight end. And the Falcons are going to have first and goal as they try to finish off this drive with six points. Well, a lot of times when you get a manageable third down situation like this, you have to think about your tight end and he comes through for him picking up the first down. [Music] [Applause] So, first and goal. Six points here would go a long way toward wrapping this one up. Throwing his Cousins. This to Pitts and he’s got him. Touchdown Atlanta. A sevenyd touchdown grab and the Falcons go nearly the length of the field and finish it off with six points. So, a heck of a drive right there with a game potentially hanging in the balance. A very good drive and now a conversion to make it a two-score game and a solid lead. Now Young Way Coup for the extra point and that makes it a nine-point game. So that one a 13play drive in total and it was the tight end Kyle Pittz finishing it all off on the touchdown interception. [Music] following the touchdown. Here’s Coup to kick off. And the returner down to a knee and this will come out to the 30 yd line. Buffalo offense back out ready to go. And you figure after giving up that last touchdown, you know, they trail by two scores here in the fourth quarter. This drive becomes very critical. Allen and the Bills now with a first and 10 at their own 25 yd line. Beginning this series with a hand off to Cook and he’s going to take this ahead for right around three yardds, but no more than that. Second down. [Applause] Here’s second and seven now from the 28 throwing now is Allen and down he goes but he takes it up to the 40. Josh Allen very athletic at 65 showing the versatility picking up the first on the scramble. [Applause] Off play action, Allen. And he’s going to have to eat this one. As down he goes. The safety blitz stays to perfection that time as they sack him for a loss of six. Safety blitz. Such a fun play call to witness when it works. And the deep man can get home for a sack. Great timing by him. Interception earlier in this contest. Now a sack. He’s definitely campaigning for player of the week honors, isn’t he, partner? Work to be done here on second and 16 after the sack. Now Allen and Allen will have the first down as he’s able to slide to avoid the contact at the end. A nice pick up of 17 yds. Well, there you go. Save your best scramble of the day for a big time situation in the fourth quarter. Picking up the first. You don’t want to use it up early, right? Ivon, make sure you save it for that exact moment, that key time, and that’s what he did. Although you and I both know it wasn’t planned that way, but what a nice job using his eyes, scanning the field, and realizing when it was time to exit the pocket and go from Falcon territory. Now, here’s first and 10 at the 49 yd line. And he can only manage to get a couple. Second and eight coming up. Two yds on the picket. It’s second and the Falcons 47 yd line. Under four to go now as the clock runs and they come up on second down. Allen now looks to throw that’s going to be caught. It’s Palmer. A big play here for Buffalo. 41 yds. It’s not often that you’ll find offensive and defensive guys that’ll agree on much, but one place they find common ground, you’ve got to protect or attack the middle of the field. And no one was there. What a big play moving it downfield. Now a chance to make that big play really hurt. It’s first and goal just outside the five. They’ll run with Cook and he is into the end zone for a Buffalo touchdown. James Cook his second touchdown of the afternoon and the Bills have made it a one-score game again here in the fourth. So, how about that for an answer? They get the touchdown there and it’s back to a one-sore game here in the fourth. And that’s what these guys have done all game long because they’ve scratched and slashed their way to stay in this game. And by now, we should all realize they’re not going away. Now, the pressure again swings to their defense because they’re going to need to find some way to get the ball back. Extra point by Bass. Up and good. And now things get a bit more interesting here in this fourth quarter. Heat up [Applause] here. after the touchdown. Bass to kick it away. This taken in right around the goal line and he’ll be tackled just shy of the 25. Atlanta now coming out on the field. A little less than four minutes remaining. And the margin for error is small with this slim lead. Operate within your four-minute offense here, Charles. Definitely. Remember, the four-minute offense doesn’t always correspond to what’s up on the clock. What they need to do is play a little bit of keep away right now. Run the clock down. Make sure their opponent doesn’t get the ball back. Their dream scenario, get enough first downs, and make them eat up their timeouts so the game ends when you’re kneeling down with the football. Well, it may seem a little unorthodox to some people. Got the lead fourth quarter, yet he’s still firing away. I think he believes that’s the best way to go ahead and win the game. Yeah. A lot of coaches say, “Let’s just run the football, be conservative.” He’s sticking to his game plan. No, that is his game and that’s what they’re going to ride. A give to Robinson on the option and he’ll take this ahead for about four. Second down coming up. Now, the objective there, I mean, yes, the positive gain, that’s nice, but work some clock. Yeah, you’re exactly right. But the problem for them is still within a possession, so they can’t just sit on it running the ball. They’ll have to find a way to throw it effectively as well. Two minutes remain, and that’s our score differential as well. Two points here in the fourth quarter. So, it’s Falcon Football as we welcome you back. They’ve got a second down now as they search for a way to get this one to the finish line from the 46 yd line. A second down and six. He’s going to get it again. Just looking to get forward and protect the ball. And now right out of the two-minute break, we’ll get a timeout used defensively with a minute 56 to go. [Music] This is a big third down and you’d have to think we’d see a timeout right away if they can’t stop him here. Here’s Cousins and he’ll be hit as he releases it and that’ll fall incomplete. Putting pressure on the guy throwing the football is always good, but when you can couple that with contact on him that leads to an incompletion as we just saw there, that’s winning football. Here’s Bradley Pinion now as he’s on to punt for Atlanta. This is away, but boy headed straight for the sidelines and no return possible here as they angle this one out of bounds. Allen and the Bills now down by two. A minute 46 to go and they need about 35 yds to get in range for a winner as they come up on first down. Now Allen. Certainly rarity for all but an elite couple of quarterbacks in this league to have a 100yd day on the ground. Heck, even running backs don’t hit the mark as often as they used to. Nice to see them keep calling his number once they saw he was in line for a special game. Plenty of time and two timeouts still at their disposal. First and 10 here. That’s complete. It’s Cook and this will leave him a yard short. Nice pickup of nine yardds on first down. Nice. Well coached a team that understands what’s going on. They still have time to work the middle of the field as they just did there. Here’s second and a yard. Allen That’s caught by Kane working the middle of the field and that’s going to be good for another first down as the tackles made at the Falcons 36. Pardon, you got to like what they’re doing right there. Little by little, they’re getting closer. Another good pick up. Here’s first down. To throw is Allen. And that one going to be off target and incomplete. Let’s face it, this defense has had it share of struggles all game long and they know that they can put it all behind them if they defend well here in the two-minute drill. Excellent coverage right there to force the incompletion. 26 seconds, all that’s left in this football game. Here’s second down. Here’s Allen. That is caught by Shakir. They still got two timeouts. Got to start using them, don’t they? Yeah, absolutely have to. You save them for this situation. But you have to use them. Now the Bills will use the second of their timeouts as they’ll stop it with 11 seconds remaining in the ball game. The sound reverberating here in the dome. This is third down. throwing Allen. Another tote for the workhorse this afternoon. It’s Cook and he’ll follow his blockers there all the way down to the 23 yd line. And now with 6 seconds remaining, they’re going to burn their final timeout. So all eyes now on Tyler Bass. So now with 6 seconds remaining, we get a timeout on the field. And now this game’s going to come down to the right leg of their kicker. Two for two on the afternoon and a third would win. and his kick is good. And it’s celebration time on that sideline as they have taken the lead in the final seconds. [Music] [Music] So he’s able to come through in a hostile environment and you’d have to imagine that’s the game winner. Yeah, how about that? And the way that this game’s gone, you think they really wanted to get to overtime and take their chances there. They wanted to get this thing done. When you’re the visitor, you don’t want to play into overtime. You want to knock it down, get it done, and go home. So, after knocking through the field goal, here’s Bass to kick it away. Well, this one partner was fun down at the very end. They got the points late right before the whistle. Then the ensuing kickoff. They were hoping for magic on the other side, but couldn’t get that spark. Fun if you won and fun for us because we got to watch it and call it. That magic that you were talking about didn’t occur at the end, but what a game all the way through. So, that’ll just about do it for Charles Davis. I’m Brandon Gordon. You’ve been watching the NFL on EA Sports. For more, log on to easports.com. Till next time, we say so long from Atlanta.
Buffalo Bills vs. Atlanta Falcons | NFL Regular Season | Week 6 | Madden NFL
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