Atlanta Falcons (3-2, 0-2): Knock off the Bills in prime time

The Falcons had an early bye in Week 5, plus an extended weekend, playing in Monday Night Football, and they took advantage of every moment to prepare. They now sit at 3-2 after knocking off the Bills (4-2) by double digits: 24-14.

Josh Allen didn't receive a moment of peace the entire night. He finished 15-26 for 180 yards with two touchdowns, but also two interceptions, while taking four sacks. It's the first game since Week 10 of last season that Allen has been picked off multiple times. It is also the most sacks he's taken in a game since Week 1 of the 2023 season.

"Every week is a test, and every team in the NFL is good. Right?" Falcons inside linebacker Kaden Elliss said. "So, it wasn't the first test, but it's obviously a very good team that it was a test — and we showed up."

The Falcons' defense was able to tee off since the Bills were working from a deficit most of the night. The Bills never led, and by halftime, Atlanta had a 21-7 lead. That was due to the dynamic duo of Drake London and Bijan Robinson.

The former brought in 10 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown. London was targeted on nearly half of his routes against the Bills, and accounted for 74.3 percent of the Falcons' team air yards on the night, according to Next Gen Stats.

"When we button up all the stuff and we execute right, we're a force to be reckoned with," London said.

Then there's Robinson, who put on a masterclass in offensive production. He rushed 19 times for 170 yards and a touchdown—the most notable being the 81-yard scamper down the sideline. His rushing mark moved him into second in the league in rushing with 478 yards on the ground. He also brought in six passes for 68 yards. Raheem Morris called him the best player in football afterward.

"There are some people who are just born to be a certain athlete," Drake London said. "Like you have certain people who are born to be basketball players, such as LeBron (James). You have people who are born to be football players, like they have the perfect body shape for it. Now, (Robinson) goes out there, and it's like art. It's amazing to see."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1, 1-0): Baker's MVP campaign takes off

The Bucs moved to 5-1 with a 30-19 win over the 49ers, and by the game's end, fans were chanting "MVP" to voice their support for Baker Mayfield. The quarterback went 17-23 for 256 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, including a 45-yard bomb to rookie Tez Johnson that precipitated the MVP chants. Mayfield is one of only nine quarterbacks in NFL history to complete at least 82 percent of his passes and average at least 11 yards per pass attempt over multiple games in a single season. He now has 12 touchdowns to one interception on the season.

"It's Week 6," said Mayfield of the chants, before pointing out the Bucs have a Monday night showdown next week against the Lions. "So, got a big one next week. It's awesome to have the support, don't get me wrong, but we're just getting started."

Johnson stepped in for the injured Emeka Egbuka, who left the game with a hamstring injury.

Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (fibula) were both out again in Week 6. Godwin has only been able to appear in two games this season (Weeks 4-5), while Evans only suited up for three (Weeks 1-3). Reports say the Bucs could return Evans to practice this week.

The Bucs defense smothered Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers, holding CMC to 54 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Kendrick Bourne was able to get out for five receptions for 142 yards. But San Francisco scored only one touchdown (the CMC score) thanks to Tampa Bay sacking Mac Jones six times and intercepting him twice.

"[They were] just determined to get off the ball," said Bowles of his pass-rushers. "It all starts up front for us. If we can get off the ball, and you don't have to blitz, and you can go with four, and they work together, we're a pretty good defense. They did that yesterday, and they did a good job."

New Orleans Saints (1-5, 0-0): Rattler has best game of his season, but Saints fall

The Saints found themselves on the wrong end of a one-score game for the third time this season, falling 25-19 to the Patriots. It was a back-and-forth game, but ultimately, settling for field goals two of the three times the Saints made it to the red zone made a difference. The only touchdown came on a Taysom Hill run. The fourth quarter began with a field goal, but was punctuated by a turnover and a punt.

"Great battle of a football game," coach Kellen Moore said. "New England made more plays than we did. I thought our play style, I thought our guys played fast, played physical. At the end of the day, we didn't take advantage of opportunities that were presented to us. Every game is going to have those opportunities, and we have to take advantage of them.

"They won the turnover ratio. They won some situational stuff, and that's how this game was decided. We didn't make enough plays. I have to find a way for myself to coach better and put ourselves in better situations to be more successful as a football team. There's too much good and not enough in those little margins. Medically, I think we are OK. Nothing really drastic coming out of the game. We just have to get better and keep moving."

Rattler finished 20-26 for 227 yards with no interceptions, but no touchdowns. The Patriots fumbled twice, but the Saints' defense was unable to recover either, and Drake Maye threw three touchdowns, with no interceptions.

"I think it speaks volumes for us," cornerback Alontae Taylor said of the close losses. "Teams ain't just blowing us out like we're just trash. I think we're right there, and we've just got to find that hump and just stay consistent with that and try to get some wins under our belt."