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ATLANTA -- An early bye is not usually welcomed, but it will come at a good time for the banged-up Atlanta Falcons. "It timed up just right for us," Falcons head coach Dan Quinn said of not having a game next week. "We're hopeful that we'll get our guys back."
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Already without four regulars, the Falcons (3-1) lost three more in Sunday's 23-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills (3-1) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Quarterback Matt Ryan, who had three turnovers, played the entire second half without leading targets Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu.
Jones injured a hip flexor early in the second quarter and Sanu suffered a strained hamstring just before halftime.
"Obviously, those guys are a big part of what we do," said Ryan, who threw for 242 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice and lost a fumble that was returned 55 yards for a touchdown. "When you lose one of them, it's tough and when you lose two of them it's really difficult."
Jones led the NFC with 1,409 yards on 83 catches last season and came into Sunday with 16 catches for 265 yards this year. He had three catches for 30 yards before being injured.
With Jones and Sanu out, Ryan had to turn to running back Tevin Coleman and tight end Austin Hooper, who combined for nine catches. Ryan's touchdown pass went to backup wide receiver Justin Hardy.
The Falcons' defense also lost a key contributor in the first half, with defensive tackle Jack Crawford suffering a biceps injury.
The Falcons sacked Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor three times despite being without three starters.
Included among the inactive players was defensive end Vic Beasley Jr., who led the NFL with 15.5 sacks last season and strained a hamstring in the season opener. Also sidelined was safety Ricardo Allen (concussion) and defensive tackle Courtney Upshaw (ankle).
Allen joined right tackle Ryan Schraeder in the concussion protocol and both could be back when the Falcons host the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 15.
Beasley, hurt against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 10, would also be a possibility. He was projected to be out at least four weeks.
"You never know when you're going to need a bye," Quinn said. "Sometimes it's late in the season, and it's good. Other times it's early and before the season you may think to yourself, that's early.
"In our team's case this time, we're hopeful that we'll get a good bit of the guys back. ... A number of them are close to returning and that's encouraging for us.
"We'll have a look and see how the guys are that were injured today, but for the guys who were banged up, we're hopeful by the time the Miami week comes around we should have a healthier roster."
After the game against the Dolphins, the Falcons have a trip to New England to play the Patriots in a rematch of last season's Super Bowl. Atlanta certainly wants to be as healthy as possible for that.
"Any time the bye rolls around, it's an opportunity for guys to get healthy regardless of what time of the year it is," Ryan said. "We have some guys that need to get healthy, and hopefully the week to rest will allow us to do that.
"We also have to take a look at where we're at and find ways to improve. I'm sure that's something that the coaching staff will work hard on this week. From a player standpoint, we need to do the same thing."
