Football is a game of inches, and on Monday night, just a few of those inches were working against the Falcons.
With six seconds left in the first half between the Falcons and Bills, Atlanta had the ball on the Buffalo 40-yard line. They could have kicked an extremely long field goal, but instead chose to throw one more pass.
Michael Penix Jr. connected with Drake London on the next play. Had London immediately gone down, the Falcons could have called timeout and attempted a much more reasonable field goal to end the half. But London broke free of his first defender, looked up, and based on the space he had in front of him, believed he could make a break for the end zone.
London dove for the pylon as Bills safety Taylor Rapp dove to push him out of bounds. The play was initially ruled as a touchdown on the field, but after review, it was clear that London had just barely stepped out before crossing the plane.
DRAKE LONDON NEARLY SCORES AS TIME EXPIRES 😱
— ESPN (@espn) October 14, 2025
Stepped out at the 1-yard line 😮 pic.twitter.com/4aKWaePoXa
While the play ultimately cost the Falcons a shot at getting three points up on the board, it’s hard to fault London for his decision. His belief that he had a path to the end zone was correct, he just barely missed his window.
Still, it’s a play that will loom large should the Bills be able to come back and win against Atlanta.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Drake London Barely Missed Out on Buzzer-Beater TD to End Electric First Half vs. Bills.
