National Football League
Buffalo 29, Atlanta 15
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 2, 2022
Where: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
Temperature: 25°
Head Official: Land Clark
Attendance: 64948

On a snowy afternoon in Buffalo, Devin Singletary ran two second-half touchdowns Sunday as the Bills retained their lead in the AFC East race with a 29-15 victory over the visiting Atlanta Falcons.

With the win, Buffalo (10-6) remains tied with New England atop the AFC East but owns the tiebreaker edge on the Patriots. The Bills can capture their second straight division title with a win next week at home against the New York Jets.

On a day when Atlanta (7-9) intercepted Josh Allen three times, Singletary rushed 23 times for 110 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 6-yard run in the third quarter. Allen followed with a 2-point conversion pass to Cole Beasley for a 22-15 Buffalo lead.

The next time the Bills got the ball, they drove 65 yards for another score, a four-yard run by Singletary with 10:46 left that made it 29-15.

Atlanta responded with a drive and Matt Ryan scored on an apparent 7-yard touchdown scramble with 6:07 remaining. But Ryan was called for taunting on the play and a video review determined that Ryan had slid short of the goal line, anyway. Atlanta had to try to jumpstart the drive first-and-goal at the 16 and Buffalo stopped the Falcons on downs to clinch the game.

Buffalo had appeared on its way to a routine victory in the first half as Allen scored a pair of touchdowns on short runs a 14-2 lead. But the Falcons changed the game with three interceptions.

Buffalo was on the verge of building on its lead in the first half when Duron Harmon picked off a batted pass in the end zone. On the next snap, Ryan and Kyle Pitts hooked up for a 61-yard completion that led to a a 1-yard touchdown carry by Mike Davis.

On the Bills' ensuing possession, A.J. Terrell picked off a pass with 1:06 left in the half, giving the Falcons possession at their own 44. A 24-yard completion from Ryan to Russell Gage Jr. set up a 24-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo that gave the Falcons an improbable 15-14 lead at the intermission.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Atlanta   Buffalo
Mike Davis Player Devin Singletary
8 Attempts 23
42 Yards 110
5.2 Avg Yards 4.8
1 Touchdowns 2
13 Long 20
Receiving
Atlanta   Buffalo
Kyle Pitts Player Stefon Diggs
2 Receptions 5
69 Yards 52
34.5 Avg Yards 10.4
0 Touchdowns 0
61 Long 15
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Atlanta 265 96 169 1 2 3 1.0 1
Buffalo 351 233 118 4 0 0 5.0 1
Upcoming Games
  • Buffalo will play their next game at home against N.Y. Jets. The Bills have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .833 after a loss.
  • Atlanta will play their next game at home against New Orleans. The Falcons have a W/L % of .143 after a win and .667 after a loss.