No matter how great a team is playing, what is up must come down eventually. The Buffalo Bills are riding a seven-game winning streak and are coming off of clinching the AFC East after beating the 49ers, 35-10. Now that they have the division locked down, the Bills are now playing for the top seed in the conference.
They will begin a tough two-week stretch in Weeks 14 & 15 and it starts with the Los Angeles Rams. Despite the Rams being 6-6, they are no pushover and the Bills can expect to be challenged.
Buffalo has been successful against the Rams in recent memory, but this is a week-to-week schedule and the Rams could easily pull off the upset against the Bills.
There are 3 huge concerns that Bills face when traveling to LA
Containing LA’s pass-rush
Even without Aaron Donald, the Rams have reinvented their pass rush with young players like Jared Verse, Braden Fiske, Byron Young and Kobie Turner. Losing Donald to retirement did hurt them, but the team has rebounded by forming a young ferocious defensive line that can wreck havoc.
Young leads the Rams with 6 sacks and Fiske is right there with him with 6 sacks too. Then Turner is right behind Turner with 5 sacks himself and Verse has 4.5 takedowns. They have pass rushers all over the place.
The Bills’ offensive line has done a fantastic job at protecting Josh Allen this year. He has only been sacked 13 times. This might be the Bills offensive line’s biggest challenge yet against the Rams.
Stopping the Rams’ rushing attack
Another week, another feeling of uncertainty about the Bills’ run-defense. They just allowed 153 yards on the ground to the 49ers and that included them not having to face Christian McCaffrey in the second half. Buffalo’s defense against the run has been sloppy all season long and while they adjust, it sometimes takes them awhile.
The Rams are not afraid to run the ball, as they have rushed for 100+ yards in six games including a high of 156 yards in Week 13 against the New Orleans Saints. Kyren Williams is just 74 yards away from clinching the 1,000 yard mark and he is averaging 77 yards per game.
If the Rams get their rushing attack going early and often, that is going to hurt the Bills when they already have to deal with players like Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua against the pass. Williams presents himself as a big threat to Buffalo’s defense and will be looking to help keep Josh Allen off the field.
Playing undisciplined football
Now that the Bills are officially AFC East champs, they no longer need to worry about anyone catching them by surprise and surpassing them in the division. They can now just focus on playing Buffalo football and try to catch the Chiefs for the No. 1 seed in the AFC. It won’t take much, seeing as how the Bills are just one Chiefs loss away from having the same record. With Buffalo defeating the Chiefs in Week 11, they get the tiebreaker advantage.
However, the Bills are playing at a high level and haven’t experienced a loss since Week 5. It’s been quite sometime since they saw heartbreak. If the Bills come out of the gates and play sloppy football and allow the Rams to get up big early on, it’s going to take a miracle for the Bills to leave SoFi Stadium with a win. Playing undisciplined football is the last thing this team needs right now.