The Buffalo Bills were adamant they weren’t content with an AFC East championship, that there was still a lot to play for over the final five games. Specifically, the Bills wanted the No. 1 seed in the conference.
That goal wasn’t lost in the caverns of SoFi Stadium, but the Bills have little room for error and a major concern long-term.
It hasn’t been a secret the Bills aren’t quite the same defensively as they have been in the past under Sean McDermott. Teams willing to run the ball have found success against the Bills, but few teams have been patient enough to stick to it.
Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is one of the best play-callers in the NFL and he had all the time in the world. McVay’s offense manhandled the Bills as a historically bad defensive effort negated Josh Allen’s all-time great six-touchdown performance.
The Bills allowed a season-high 457 yards in a 44-42 loss to the Rams, the most points allowed since the 2018 season opener. Buffalo’s seven-game winning streak evaporated and it begets the question about whether the Bills defense is good enough to make a deep playoff run.
“I didn’t feel like we came out very urgent,” McDermott said. “… When you come out and you don’t win the line of scrimmage, that’s not a great way to start a game. Whether we were urgent enough or we weren’t urgent enough, we didn’t come out and win the line of scrimmage like we need to early in the game.”
The Bills trailed at halftime for the seventh time this season after giving a season-high 24 points. But the Bills have always been able to rebound in the second half through adjustments, except defensive coordinator Bobby Babich didn’t seem to have any for the Rams.
When the game plan is bad, the answers aren’t going to be any better. The Bills didn’t seem to give much respect to Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp and it was too late by the time they realized that was a drastic mistake.
“I feel like we did some things in the fourth where we got a stop and played a little bit better, so maybe (adjustments) helped there,” McDermott said. “But overall, we really have to roll up our sleeves and look at it.”
The Rams, who came into the game 24th in rushing attempts and yards, gashed the Bills’ 30th ranked defense in yards per carry. Los Angeles picked up 88 yards on 20 attempts over the first three drives, forcing the Bills to commit more defenders to the run.
Despite mustering 49 yards rushing after the first three drives, the Rams still ran it 24 more times. Keeping the Bills honest allowed quarterback Matthew Stafford to pick them apart the way no one has all season.
Stafford went 23 of 30 for 320 yards and two touchdowns. Cornerbacks Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas — who left with a knee injury — have been steady all season, but were scorched by the Rams receivers.
Nacua had his way with any defender thrown at him, catching 12 passes for 162 yards, the fourth receiver in the McDermott era to surpass 150 yards in a game. It wasn’t just Nacua, though, as Cooper Kupp caught five passes for 92 yards after entering the game averaging 9.7 yards per catch.
But the Bills give up yards every week, right? But they even it out by tightening up in the red zone and forcing turnovers, but the Rams exposed what happens when the Bills meet a quarterback and play-caller just as patiently.
The Rams were 11 of 15 with three touchdowns on third down, despite ranking 30th in the NFL with 32.6% conversions all season. Not only did the Bills not record a turnover for the first time all season, they barely breathed Stafford.
Without a consistent pass rush, the Bills were forced to blitz and that’s a layup for a quarterback with Stafford’s talent and experience. By the end of the game, the Rams didn’t respect the Bills on defense.
Instead of attempting a field goal to go up six with 3:53, McVay realized the Bills provided no indication they could stop them. They picked up 11 yards on fourth and 5 and scored a walk-in touchdown three plays later.
“They had some great schemes, but there’s time when we have to win and we didn’t,” Bills cornerback Taron Johnson said. “There’s times I have to win and I didn’t. We just have to make sure we tighten things up and get better from watching the film.”
The bright side is that the Bills proved they are never out of any game and the offense is good enough to make up for glaring defensive holes most of the time, something that wasn’t always evident the last time they gave up 400 yards in their first two losses against the Ravens and Texans.
Once down 17, Allen got the Bills within three with 8:49 to play. He became the first player in NFL history with three passing and three rushing touchdowns in a game, but the Bills offense was forced to be nearly perfect.
Because the Rams only punted twice — one on the final play of the game and the Bills not only didn’t try to block it or return it, but didn’t have 11 players on the field — three punts by the Bills was too many. One was blocked and returned for a touchdown in the team’s latest special teams gaffe, while the other two came when the Bills had a chance to double dip before and after halftime and came away with nothing.
“If you lose by two or you lose by 100, it doesn’t matter, you’re still losing,” said Allen, who passed Jim Kelly for most 300-yard games in franchise history (30). “Offensively, we have to find ways to score before the half and score after the half. So we didn’t do our part either.”
Tying a season-best with 445 yards of total offense and Allen’s season-highs in the air (342) and ground (82), the offense did enough to win the game. In fact, it was only the second time in franchise history, the Bills scored 40 points and gave up 40 in the same game, with the other being a 47-41 overtime win over the Houston Oilers in 1989.
But two plays after Allen hit Mack Hollins with a 21-yard dime to cut it to 38-35, the Rams crossed midfield.
The Buffalo offense is still due to get receiver Keon Coleman and tight end Dalton Kincaid back from injuries, but significant help isn’t coming for the defense. The Bills face their biggest challenge of the season against the 12-1 Lions in Week 15 and it may reveal whether or not they are legitimate Super Bowl contenders.