‘Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford and Rams receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua were too good for the Bills’ zone schemes on Sunday. It all added up to one of the worst days for the Bills’ defense in the McDermott era. It was the most points allowed by the Bills since the 2018 season opener.’
BillsBeat - December 9, 2024
Ryan O'Halloran: Bills defense better get things squared away after no-show effort against Rams
‘Welcome to the worst nightmare for the Buffalo Bills’ defense, a performance that put a dent in the team’s hopes for winning the AFC’s top seed and created questions entering the final four games.’
Bills quarterback Josh Allen sets league record in Buffalo's loss to Rams
‘Allen threw for 342 yards and picked up a team-leading 82 rushing yards on 10 carries.’
Three questions: Run defense looms as recurring worry for Bills
‘The Bills’ defensive tackles as a collective group aren’t playing disruptive enough, and the Bills didn’t get into enough advantageous third-down pass-rushing situations. Five of the Rams’ six third downs in the first half were third and 4 or less, and 11 of 15 overall were third and 6 or less.’
Takeaways, game balls, gassers in Buffalo Bills' 44-42 loss to the Los Angeles Rams
‘The Rams’ offense carried the day. They punted once, were terrific on third down (11 of 15), rolled up 457 yards, didn’t give up a sack and didn’t commit a turnover.’
Plays that shaped the game: How Rams QB Matthew Stafford skewered the Bills' zone coverage early, often
‘The Bills were in a single-safety high zone coverage – it appeared to be a three-deep scheme – on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Kupp late in the third quarter. It gave the Rams a 38-21 lead.’
Report Card: Bills' pass defense, special teams, coaching all flunk against Rams
‘Where do we even begin? McDermott said after the game he felt like his team lacked urgency. That’s inexcusable considering what’s at stake in the conference standings. A lot of fans were up in arms about McDermott accepting a holding penalty that made it third and 16 for the Rams in the fourth quarter instead of declining it and allowing Los Angeles to make a decision about what to do on fourth and 6 from the Buffalo 36-yard line. I didn’t have much of a problem with that, but the decision to call timeout with just over a minute to go in regulation was inexcusable. At that point, the team absolutely needed to preserve all three timeouts to give the defense a chance to get the ball back. We’ve seen the Bills’ defense be on its heels before at times this season, but usually it can make the necessary in-game adjustments to correct course. That did not happen against the Rams. “Overall, we really got to roll up our sleeves and look at it,” McDermott said. The sooner, the better in that regard.’
Baskin proposes more accessibility and transparency in Buffalo Bills community investments
‘“I want to make sure that we talk about these things and not forget them,” Baskin said. “I don’t want to appear to be contentious, as much as I want to be a reminder that there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of targeted groups out in Erie County that deserve to have an understanding and clear access to how they can participate in the benefits of the agreement.”’
Bills battle back but lose to Rams in highest-scoring game of NFL season
‘“I think we’re all (ticked) off that we lost, but we’re not sitting here pressing the panic button by no means,” defensive tackle DaQuan Jones said. “How we played got us to where we are, and there’s stuff we can clean up, sure, but I’m not gonna sit here and press the panic button. We’re still a pretty damn good football team.”’
Bills report card: Dreadful defense and coaching wasted Josh Allen superhuman performance
‘Embarrassing. There is no other way to describe how a normally sound pass defense played in this game. Matthew Stafford completed 23 of 30 for 320 yards and two TDs, he was never sacked because there was zero pass rush, and he was pitching to WRs who were running wide open on far too many plays.’
Bills blow historic Josh Allen performance, fall in shootout to Rams (takeaways)
‘The Rams did whatever they wanted on third down all game, as the Bills’ defense couldn’t get off the field.’
Bills coach defends decisions to run Josh Allen, blow timeout vs. Rams on final drive
‘“We trust Sean and the coaches to put us in great positions and I thought it was on me for not getting us in the end zone there,” Edwards said. “I felt they did a good job defensively of kind of laying on us and that urgency to get up in that situation. It’s tough because you’re at the bottom of the pile and you can only control so much down there.”’
Josh Allen’s 6 TD effort wiped away by Bills’ embarrassing defensive performance (encouraged/worried)
‘Buffalo’s loss does not mean that the sky is falling, but earning the No. 1 seed in the AFC now seems like a tall task.’
Allen heroic in Bills' dramatic defeat at hands of Rams
‘The loss wasted a heroic performance from Allen, who finished 22 of 37 passing for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns passing to go with 3 touchdowns running on 10 carries for 82 yards on the ground. He became the first player in NFL history to record 3 passing touchdowns and 3 rushing touchdowns in a single game.’
Five Takeaways: Allen's MVP effort wasted as Bills 'D', McDermott cost BUF chance at win over LA
‘Sometimes, you just have to tip your cap to the opponent. That was the case for much of Sunday’s matchup, as the Rams offense was clicking on all cylinders despite the Bills defense’s best effort. Stafford put on a pre-snap clinic while delivering darts to his top two targets — wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua — throughout the evening.’