The Buffalo Bills looked almost picture-perfect until the Atlanta Falcons showed up. Back-to-back losses have exposed several cracks in the squad, revealing areas where the team is falling short. As the Bills head into their Bye Week with heavy hearts, head coach Sean McDermott faces mounting pressure to address one major issue before it’s too late.

Joe Buscaglia, in his report, called out the Bills’ wide receiver issue by pointing out the common link between the Falcons’ and New England Patriots’ defense strategies against the team and the quarterback, Josh Allen. “The Patriots played a heavy amount of man coverage while blitzing most of the time. The Falcons blitzed frequently and played mostly zone coverage,” Buscaglia reminded.

“The commonality between the two, whether that’s the Patriots believing their one-on-one coverage was superior to the talent across from them, or the Falcons taking a coverage piece off the chessboard without fear of repercussions of getting beaten, all comes back to the Bills’ receivers.”

The 24-14 defeat by the Falcons has erased all the doubts, if there were any, for coach Sean McDermott. The Bills were already missing their tight end, Dalton Kincaid. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel ruled out. And wide receiver Joshua Palmer, who had the longest gain, a 45-yard catch, also went down in the second quarter with an ankle injury.

Following Palmer, wide receivers Elijah Moore and Tyrell Shavers couldn’t step up in a way the Bills would have wanted. Even though quarterback Josh Allen has a strong arm, he doesn’t have dependable receivers open downfield to take advantage of it. It was tough for the QB.

The Bills’ passing game clearly lacked depth as the offense struggled. Another factor that the offensive coordinator Joe Brady believed to have contributed to the loss is running back James Cook’s late involvement. In the fourth quarter, Cook hardly touched the ball, as the Bills went three-and-out on consecutive drives, when they desperately needed big plays.

But games like this show it’s never just one side to blame. The Bills’ defense was a mess early, giving up 21 points to Atlanta before tightening up after halftime. Ed Oliver and Deone Walker deserve credit for stepping up, especially without DaQuan Jones, who went down in warmups. Still, that ugly first half can’t be ignored – 335 yards allowed in two quarters says it all. And once the defense found its rhythm, the offense fell flat again. It’s the same story as last week: no balance, no rhythm, and no real sense of complementary football.

While Sean McDermott will try to fix the issues soon and Brady looks to involve Cook more, the Bills might also explore available WR options.

Saints’ Chris Olave might intrigue Sean McDermott’s Bills

The New Orleans Saints player Chris Olave is one of the hottest names in trade talks right now. With several hits to the Bills’ WR room, Buscaglia believes Olave fits this need perfectly, excelling in route-running, separation, and earning targets at an elite rate.

The WR checks a lot of the Bills’ trade target boxes. He’s still young, and they’d have control over him past 2025, which matters if they’re giving up a top draft pick. The Saints already picked up his fifth-year option for 2026, so he’s only $15.5 million next year.

That gives Buffalo a year and a half to see if they want to commit long-term, as around the same time, they’re thinking about a deal for wide receiver Keon Coleman.

But by adding Olave, “Most importantly, it would give Josh Allen his most legitimate receiving target,” Buscaglia wrote, “since Stefon Diggs, and as we’ve seen this season, that’s mightily important to the health of their offense.”

However, not just Olave, several other names, including Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver A.J. Brown, are also in the conversation. Safe to say, the Bills are on the move, whether a trade for WR happens or not.