Sunday's 31-3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons was worse than expected, but I can't say I was shocked. The Bills started strong, and held the Falcons to ten points during the first half, but this week, our boys didn't wait until the fourth quarter to lose the game. It was over long before that.

Quarterback: Both Ryan Fitzpatrick and Trent Edwards were inactive Sunday with ankle injuries. That left the Bills with Brian Brohm, a second-year QB who signed with Buffalo in November. Brohm had been working with the scouting team before being called up as starter last week, giving him only a week to get into a rhythm with the offense. Considering the circumstances, Brohm wasn't terrible, but he also couldn't get the offense going, and the Bills managed only 11 first downs. Then again, going 17/29 for 146 yards with two interceptions doesn't make for that great of a Bills debut, no matter how short the adjustment period. Grade: D+

Running Backs: Before Sunday, Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson were just getting into a rhythm and I thought they had finally found their legs. Out of all the RBs, Jackson had the strongest game and accounted for the majority of the rushing yards. Unfortunately, Jackson but couldn't protect the ball well enough, evident when he was stripped of the ball in the third quarter which was returned for a Falcon touchdown. And the Bills finished with just 40 yards total. Grade: F Receivers: During Brohm's debut, he kept the passes short, but I'm not sure if that was entirely intentional. No reception by a receiver was over 15 yards, and that led to a team total of a mere 146 yards. Bright spots? Lee Evans had his biggest game since Week 10 with 43 yards and Terrell Owens finally passed the 1,000 receptions mark, finishing the game 4 catches for 39 yards. Grade: C-

Defense: I've come to expect polar opposites when looking at the run and pass defense, but both were similarly unremarkable this Sunday against the Falcons offense. The usually strong pass defense gave Atlanta QB Matt Ryan room and time to do things and gave up 250 yards. They did sack him three times, leading to two fumbles. The usually weak rush defense gave up less yards than their season average, but didn't take advantage of a rushing unit that was missing a strong starterGrade: C-

Special Teams: Brian Moorman kicked a strong 60-yard punt at the start of the fourth quarter, but out of seven punts, only one landed inside the 20-yard line and two were touchbacks. Jackson didn't have his best performance as a returner on Sunday, but it was still much better than Roscoe Parrish's non-existent performance as punt returner. Grade: C-

Coaching: Perry Fewell did his best going into Week 16 with a green QB. Unfortunately, he didn't do enough to energize the offense, and that led to yet another loss this season. Grade: D

KATIE TANG