ATLANTA — Rejoice, Bills fans.

There now is only one game left in one of the most miserable seasons in Buffalo Bills history.

That's about the most positive spin that can be taken from the Bills' 31-3 loss Sunday to

the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome.

The Bills fell to 5-10 and close the season at home Sunday against Indianapolis. What

little luster that game might have held dimmed when the Colts lost to the New York Jets. The

Colts (14-1) will not be gunning for a perfect season when they visit Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The next development of significance Bills fans have to look forward to will be when the

team starts interviewing candidates to be the new general manager. But that will not start

until after the regular season ends.

Fans looking for significance from the first NFL start by Bills quarterback Brian Brohm

probably were disappointed.

Brohm showed he can get a team in and out of a huddle and looked like he belonged on an NFL

roster. However, it was hard to draw many other conclusions about him given the dire

circumstances surrounding him.

Brohm, signed by the Bills off Green Bay's practice squad Nov. 19, had too little time in

the pocket to throw in order to make a big impact.

The former second-round draft choice completed 17 of 29 passes for 146 yards with no

touchdowns and two interceptions.

"I feel like I handled myself fine," Brohm said. "Honestly, even though the results weren't

good, I walk out of this more comfortable and more confident in myself. Even though it didn't

go the way we wanted it to, for me personally, I think it's a good place to build from."

"For a guy that came in three or four weeks ago, 30 days ago, and was thrust into a

starting position, I thought he handled himself OK," said interim coach Perry Fewell. "He was

put in a tough position. He tried to answer the challenge. I think he's got a future. More

reps. More work. There's some promise there."

Brohm did not look overwhelmed. He was a three-year starter at Louisville who went 24-9 in

his college career. He made quick decisions, completing five passes to Lee Evans and four to

Terrell Owens.

The Bills' plan was to get the ball out of his hands quickly.

"We obviously didn't have a lot of time for me to get comfortable with the playbook," Brohm

said. "So we thought the best way to go was to utilize the short passing game, and hopefully

get some good work out of the run game and be able to nickel and dime it down the field."

"When you have a young quarterback like that, you expect pressure," said Fewell. "You

expect not to let the guy throw it down the field. We thought if he got the ball out quick, it

would give him a chance to have success."

The Bills have started eight different offensive line combinations this year, and were

forced to adjust again when left tackle Jonathan Scott went out late in the first quarter with

a sprained ankle. Pressed into service as his replacement was Andre Ramsey, an undrafted

rookie out of Ball State whose only action this year was one play in last week's game.

"With our injury situation, we have become numb to the fact that a guy goes out and the

next guy has to step up and play," Fewell said.

With the Falcons ganging up on the running game and sending extra rushers in passing

situations, the Bills were able to mount only three drives that traveled more than 20 yards.

Brohm's first interception came on a deep pass for Owens that was underthrown and not far

enough outside. The second pickoff came on a short sideline pass late in the game.

"I think the couple shots [downfield] that we did dial up, I was able to get them off,"

Brohm said. "One I kind of threw it too far [inside] to Terrell down the ... sideline. I threw

the other one a little bit too far inside down the right sideline. So I had some opportunities

and didn't take advantage."

Overall the Bills finished with a season-low 40 rushing yards and 178 total yards, the

second lowest total of the year.

Atlanta (8-7) held the ball for 34:25 and had 157 rushing yards. Falcons QB Matt Ryan was

18 of 35 for 250 yards passing.

The Bills are relying on their sense of pride to get them through the final stage of the

season.

"It's definitely about pride," said defensive tackle Spencer Johnson. "This is our

livelihood. ... It's definitely tough, man, and if you allow it to, it can get you down to the

point where you don't even want to play anymore.

"But this team is not like that. We continue to fight through all the injuries we've had

and all the distractions. We just try to stay focused and play ball. This is what we do.

You've got to fight through adversity, and this is an adverse time."

"I thought our guys fought," Fewell said. "We just didn't have enough firepower."