After dropping their first game of the season to the New England Patriots in Week 5, the Buffalo Bills had a chance to steady their ship when they faced off against the Atlanta Falcons in a primetime Monday Night Football matchup. In a rare meeting between two opponents in opposite conferences, the Bills may have been hoping for their excellent offense to carry them over the hump.
However, the first half hadn’t gone according to plan. The story was their defense, which gave up 21 points to the Falcons in quick succession. But the offense hadn’t looked like a world beater either, managing just seven points in the period. Outside of a 74-yard opening script, they had managed less than 50 yards in the rest of the half. Their struggles had been contagious throughout the team, with Khalil Shakir in particular having a disappointing evening.
What Happened to Khalil Shakir?
Wildly productive through the first games of the year, Shakir was already up to 235 receiving yards and two touchdowns on the year. However, his success went beyond just the raw statistics, as he ranked 29th on PFSN’s WR Impact.
The highest amongst all Bills receivers, he had quickly become an irreplaceable part of the offense. However, going against the Falcons, his performance left a lot to be desired. He finished the first half with just two targets to his name.
Catching one of those two passes, he added 15 yards to the tally. But that ended up being his only contribution for the evening so far, as Buffalo managed just 98 passing yards in the half.
Coming out of the break, the third quarter saw Shakir’s usage go up, as he was targeted two more times, catching both passes for 18 more yards, including a first down conversion as well.
His production led to the only score of the third quarter, as the Bills trimmed the Falcons’ 14-point halftime lead to seven. Unfortunately, he was largely ineffective in the fourth quarter as Atlanta controlled the ball for over nine minutes in the final period.
.@debomalone18 for the win 😤
ESPN | NFL+ pic.twitter.com/YMA8hpuvEO
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) October 14, 2025
Adding another three points to the board, they were able to keep the Bills at bay before an interception from Allen with 51 seconds remaining on the clock brought an end to the game. The reigning MVP finished with just 180 passing yards and had two costly interceptions to go along with his two passing touchdowns.
As they fell to 4-2 on the season, an electric start to the season suddenly seemed miles away, with a clash against the Carolina Panthers, who have won their last two, becoming a tougher challenge by the minute.
