The 31-10 final score from the Buffalo Bills Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams would seem to indicate that this game was never in doubt. However, that wasn’t the case as the Bills saw a 10-point lead disappear in the second quarter due to turnovers and costly mistakes and at halftime, this game was tied.
While the Bills looked to be the better team, those mistakes allowed the Rams to keep it close and make it a game. In the second half though, Buffalo took over and scored 21 straight points and would put the game out of reach.
What was the turning point for the Buffalo Bills in Week 1?
While the Bills offense scored touchdowns on their first three drives of the second half, the team seemed to gain that momentum from how the defense and special teams made big plays on the Rams’ opening drive.
It started right from the opening kickoff of the second half as Brandon Powell attempted to return the kickoff but great coverage by Siran Neal and Taiwan Jones was able to bring him down at the 11-yard line.
With the Rams starting in the shadow of their own end zone, the Bills would force a three and out after only a two-yard run Darrell Henderson on first down, and a short reception by Henderson on second down.
The Rams were facing a 3rd and 4 when Matthew Stafford bobbled the snap and Greg Rousseau was able to tackle him for the sack.
The fact that the Buffalo Bills were able to force a bad starting field position for the Rams and then not allow them to pick up a first down. This in turn helped give the Bills’ offense great field position starting at their own 42 and in eight plays only had to go 58 yards for their first touchdown of the half.
The Buffalo Bills’ defense really played well all four quarters but the way they came out to start the second half was the turning point in this game and helped propel the Bills to their first victory.
6 observations from the Week 1 snap counts for the Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills made some notable changes to their rotations at some positions when looking at the snap counts from Week 1.