Buffalo Bills: Predicting when they will suffer their first loss in 2020
By Daniel Bruce
Week 3: Los Angeles Rams at Buffalo Bills
In a battle of 2-0 teams, this one should be tight till the very end. Hosting the Rams for the first time since 2013 and facing Jared Goff for the first time, these teams don’t have a ton of familiarity with each other.
Why the Bills win:
If the Bills can keep their offense clicking at an elite pace, there’s no reason why they can’t win this game. They sit third in the NFL in total offense and first in passing yards, amazing for a team who many thought to be driven by their defense.
The addition of Stefon Diggs has already started reaping its rewards as Josh Allen has seemed quite comfortable targeting his top target. This week though Diggs will face Jalen Ramey who is one of the best cornerbacks in the whole NFL and is sure to match up better than anyone Diggs has faced in his first two weeks.
The Buffalo Bills have one of the better receiving cores in the whole league now, so if the Rams focus on Diggs, they will be leaving John Brown, Cole Beasley, and potentially Gabriel Davis more open field to thrive. That’s a huge bonus that acquiring Diggs added to the team, now teams can’t just keen in on just one target without leaving the others to thrive. If the Bills offense can keep thriving and can score upwards of 24 points, that should be a good recipe for defeating the Rams.
While the Bills defense did struggle giving up over 400 yards to the Dolphins while Ryan Fitzpatrick sliced up their secondary. Missing Tremaine Edmunds and Matt Milano sure didn’t help and they would welcome either back in a hurry.
If at least one comes back for the game it should provide an added boost and the ability to not play A.J. Klein over 70% of the snaps, something he clearly isn’t ready for. Jared Goff struggles under pressure and is consistently a bottom-10 quarterback when he feels defenders.
In Week 1 the Bills defensive line pressured Sam Darnold on upwards of 40% of his snaps and sacked him 3 times and they also sacked Ryan Fitzpatrick 3 times in Week 2. Pressure up the middle is more effective for making quarterbacks uncomfortable and Buffalo has one of the best interior-rushers in the NFL in Ed Oliver who is ranked 5th in the NFL in pressures with 9.
Why the Rams win:
Levi Wallace struggled immensely in Week 2 and was picked on regularly by the Dolphins. With the pair of Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods coming into this week, Bills fans should be a bit worried. With Tre’Davious White not always “shadowing” opposing receivers and staying to his side on the left, the Rams would be smart to try and get as many favorable matchups versus Wallace as possible.
With the Bills linebacker situation still in flux, Sunday could be a big day for Rams tight end Tyler Higbee who had a three touchdown game just last week. The Bills struggled greatly versus Mike Gesicki last week, where he posted a career-high 130 yards and a touchdown, looking unstoppable. Getting Higbee involved should be a top priority for the Rams.
With two game-breakers on defense with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, the Bills will have to be wary of their abilities. Donald is the best defensive player in football and is leading all interior defensive lineman in pressures with 13 (surprise) and newly extended Jalen Ramsey has one of the most talented skillsets out of any cornerback in the NFL and when he’s on receivers are in for a tough day.
Verdict: Bills Win