Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams: Three Keys to the Game

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Oct 2, 2016; Foxborough, MA, USA; The Buffalo Bills take on the New England Patriots in the second half at Gillette Stadium. The Bills defeated the Patriots 16-0. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

The Offensive Line Must Show Up

If there’s one thing the Rams are good at, it’s the play of their defensive line.

Led by Aaron Donald, the Rams feature one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL, and most certainly their toughest test yet.

The Bills offensive line has played well so far this season, leading one of the league’s best rushing attacks while keeping the pocket mostly clean for Tyrod Taylor.

Facing Donald will be a tough task for the Bills offensive line. In fact, Pro Football Focus grades Donald as the league’s best player.

"“In case it hasn’t already been clear, NFL fans should know this: Last season was no fluke, and Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is once again the best player in all of football,” PFF’s Sam Monson writes. “Winner of 2015’s PFF Dwight Stephenson award, for the best overall player in the NFL, Donald has the highest PFF grade of any player in 2016 with a score of 95.3, comfortably clear of the next-best and one of only six players to currently sit above 90 in the ratings.”"

For veteran players like Richie Incognito and Eric Wood, they’ll come ready for the challenge. However, with Donald lining up on primarily out of the left defensive tackle spot, a lot of the responsibility will fall on John Miller. The second-year offensive lineman is having a good season so far, grading out with a 72.6 on Pro Football Focus, which is an “average” score.

I expect the Bills to handle the Rams defensive line much easier during the passing game than during the run game because Los Angeles will most likely wait back and prevent Tyrod Taylor from trying to escape from the pocket using his legs. In the run game, however, the Rams are rather stout and Buffalo will need to take advantage of every opportunity they get.

It does help Buffalo that three of Los Angeles’ defensive linemen showed up on the Rams’ injury report. Defensive tackle Michael Brockers and defensive ends William Hayes and Robert Quinn all failed to practice Friday and are questionable.

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