Bills at Rams Recap
The Bills came up short in a 44-42 shootout to the Los Angeles Rams, ending their seven-game winning streak and leaving them with a 12% chance at the number one seed in the AFC. The Rams started the game with a 12-play, 70-yard scoring drive, where they went 3-3 on third down with little resistance or pressure from the Bills’ defense. This drive would serve as a precursor for what we would see the rest of the game. The Bills responded with their own 70-yard scoring drive to tie the game, but that was the closest they would get. The Rams’ came back with a field goal, a blocked punt touchdown, and back-to-back touchdown drives to start the second half while building a double-digit lead that got as high as 17 points early in the third quarter. Buffalo made it interesting in the 4th quarter with three touchdown drives but ultimately ran out of time before being able to complete the comeback.
Bills at Rams Sunday, December 8, 2024
Preview Hits and Misses
I'm adding a new section to the recap blogs to tie in my previews while reducing the introduction. If you’re reading this, you watched the game. You don’t need me regurgitating the play-by-play on how the game got to the end. In my preview, I have my players to watch, as well as my matchup of the game. What did I hit on, and where were my misses?
Hits
Unfortunately, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Puka Nacua had a field day against the Bills’ secondary. This was my matchup of the game, and I was shocked to see the Bills not have an answer. The duo hooked up with Stafford on 17 of their 22 targets for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air, 1 on the ground for Nacua. They accounted for 79% of the team’s receiving yards, 74% of the receptions, and 73% of the targets. Kyren Williams was another player to watch that I had for the Rams, and he was crucial on the Rams’ first drive with 7 carries on the 12-play drive, resulting in a 3-yard touchdown. He finished the game with 29 carries for 87 yards, wearing down the Bills’ defensive line and preventing any pass rush from being established.
Khalil Shakir arguably had his best game of the season. Finishing with 5 catches for 106 yards, a touchdown, and a season-high 21.2 yards per reception. I had Shakir as a player to watch due to his YAC abilities, and he came through with an impressive 51-yard catch and score to give the Bills some life early in the third quarter.
Misses
James Cook and Von Miller were players I had to watch for the Bills, and they were no-shows. Cook and the ground game as a whole were never able to get anything going. The Bills eventually abandoned it when the Ram's lead made them one-dimensional on offense. Cook finished with 6 carries for 20 yards and brought in 2 catches for 9 yards in the passing game. It was a big disappointment after the Bills' success running the ball last week. I thought Miller would show up against his former team, and outside of 1 tackle for a loss; he was invisible on the field like the rest of the Bills’ pass rush. Miller has 1 sack in the 6 games he’s played since his suspension.
5 Things I Liked
Bills Passing Attack - Josh Allen had a season-high 342 passing yards, eclipsing the 300 mark for only the second time this season. In doing so, he moved into first place in Bills’ history with his 27th career 300+ yard passing game. He completed 22 passes to seven different receivers, with four receivers having 50+ yards and two having 95+ yards. The Bills needed it as they relied heavily on Allen in the passing and running games. Allen wasn’t sacked for the third consecutive game and has taken a league-low 13 sacks on the year.
MVP Performance - Josh Allen put the cape on and showed why he is the league's MVP. 424 total yards to go with 6 total touchdowns. Allen went from -250 at kickoff to -450 after the loss, extending his lead as the favorite over Saquon Barkley. The six touchdowns were the most by a player in a game this season. Allen moved into second on the all-time Bills list in rushing touchdowns with 60 in his career, exceeded 3,000 passing yards for the sixth consecutive season (Bills record), and passed Cam Newton for the most games, 23, with two passing touchdowns and at least one rushing touchdown in NFL history.
Resiliency - The Bills were down from the game's first series, at one point by 17 points. They didn't give up and clawed back from 17 and 16-point deficits in the third quarter to within 3 points late in the fourth quarter. It wasn't the result we wanted, but the offense did its part, putting up 42 points, 28 in the second half.
Allen to Cooper Chemistry - Allen targeted Cooper 14 times on his 32 snaps. Cooper hauled in 6 of those targets with 5 going for first downs for a season-high 95 yards. I dug deeper on the poor catch-to-target ratio, and according to Fantasypros only 6 of Cooper’s targets were catchable. Throws like this take some confidence in your arm and your receiver.
Red Zone Offense - Buffalo went 3-3 on their trips to the red zone. All 3 of the scores were 1-yard sneaks by Josh Allen.
5 Things I Didn’t Like
No Running Game - Buffalo was never able to establish a run game early on against a defense that was giving up the sixth most rushing yards in the NFL heading into Sunday. James Cook had 6 carries to go with Curtis Samuel’s one. The rest of the rushing attempts belong to Josh Allen.
No Defensive Adjustments - I expected Bobby Babich and the defense to regroup at halftime and make an adjustment to slow down the Rams’ passing attack and generate some pressure on Matthew Stafford. I didn’t see anything different from the first to the second half. If there was an adjustment, I was unable to notice it, and it didn’t seem to affect the Rams’ ability to march down the field at will.
Third Down Defense - The Rams converted 11 of their 15 first downs. The Rams entered the game 30th in third-down percentage and had their highest conversion rate in a game against the Bills Sunday evening. The 73.3% success rate is the fourth-highest for a team in an NFL game this season.
Pass Rush - The Bills defense was held without a sack in a game for the first time this season. PFF credits the Bills with 6 pressures and 3 QB hits on Stafford. He completed 17-of-21 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns for a 143.3 passer rating when operating from a clean pocket. He picked them apart.
Blocked Punt - Reid Ferguson was pushed five yards back by Jacob Hummel before falling and giving up the block that led to a scoop-and-score touchdown. This proved to be a play the Bills couldn’t overcome.
Critical Plays From the Game
There were penalties called and not called that contributed to yesterday's outcome, but to me, the blocked punt was the game-changing play that led to the Bills’ demise. I have never seen a long snapper pushed back 5-6 yards the way Ferguson was before toppling over for the player to block a punt. The Rams’ ability to overwhelm the middle of the formation is something that the Bills need to resolve before it becomes a recurring failure.
The Bills’ failure to score points on their last possession of the first half and their opening drive of the second half is hard to overcome when you defer the opening kickoff. The goal of deferring is the opportunity to double-dip, but the Bills were unable to succeed against the Rams in doing so. I don’t expect the Bills to move away from this strategy, but how the Rams game unfolded is the perfect example of how it can come back to hurt the team.
Stat(s) of the Game
BillsBanter Group Chat Quote of the Game
“Feels like a Josh Superman game from the get go.”
Postgame Quote of the Game
“We feel like the offense kept us in the game the whole way through, gave us the opportunity and we just couldn’t get it done. So we’ll go back, look at it, watch the tape, learn from it, and get better and move on.”
Postgame Perspective
I may be in the minority with my feelings following the loss to the Rams. I do not blame Sean McDermott, I am not blaming the refs, and I don’t think the accepted penalty or scoring on the first sneak attempt changes the outcome of last night’s game. The Bills came out a bit slow and were met by a team ready to go and clicking on all cylinders. That was the best game the Los Angeles Rams have played in the last two seasons. They hadn’t eclipsed 40 points since Christmas Day in 2022. Buffalo still had a chance towards the end and lost by 2 points. If a team needs to have their best performance in over two years and block a punt to beat you. You are a good football team. The coaches and players will learn from the numerous mistakes and be better from this moving forward. Fortunately for them, they will face another good offense next week to make their adjustments with. Go Bills!
Up Next: Buffalo at Detroit Lions - Sunday, December 15th 4:25 PM
