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The Buffalo Bills traveled south to Atlanta and held the Atlanta Falcons’ offense at bay for the better part of the day last Sunday. Coming into the game, the Falcons could have been expected to have a few players log strong fantasy performances; however, after another strong performance from Buffalo’s defense, those numbers were not quite what some had predicted.
RB Devonta Freeman
The Falcons’ starting running back scored a touchdown on the ground, but didn’t do much else on the day. He carried 18 times for 58 yards and that touchdown, adding 2 receptions for 18 yards to bring his fantasy scoring total to 14.8 points. Teammate Tevin Coleman also had a decent, as Coleman carried 9 times for 79 yards and caught 4 passes for 65 yards on the day. Overall, the Falcons’ backfield combined for the most points allowed to running backs by the Bills this season.
QB Matt Ryan
Matty Ice didn’t look so hot on Sunday, throwing two interceptions and losing a key fumble in the third quarter that turned the tide of the game when Tre’Davious White scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown. Overall, Ryan was 24-of-42 (a 57.1% completion rate, his worst on the year by 10 percentage points) for 242 yards (also a season low) and a touchdown. Ultimately, his day was undone by the three turnovers, and he scored a season-low 10.48 points.
WR Julio Jones
Atlanta’s all-world wide receiver came into the game nursing a back injury, and he left it with a groin injury in the second quarter. He caught 3 passes for 30 yards prior to leaving with the injury. With number two receiver Mohamed Sanu leaving with a hamstring injury (and himself scoring only 1.2 points on the day), it was Justin Hardy who led Falcon receivers in fantasy scoring. He had 2 receptions for 12 yards and a touchdown on the day.
K Matt Bryant
The veteran kicker didn’t do much, as he scored 5 fantasy points on the afternoon. He made two extra points and a short field goal, but he didn’t have the same kind of opportunity or impact that his counterpart, Stephen Hasuchka, did.