Los Angeles, Calif. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills fell, 44-42, to the Los Angles Rams on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, snapping their seven-game wining streak and falling to 10-3 on the season.
Here are my Arrows Up and Down, starting Down for the first time since October:
ARROW DOWN:
Calling the quarterback sneak
The Bills did a great job to not use timeouts and get the ball to the Rams' one-yard line with just over a minute left. The one thing they couldn’t do was run the ball.
However, quarterback Josh Allen attempted a sneak and was down short of the goal line, which was then followed up by…
Sean McDermott calling a timeout
Right after the play, McDermott called the Bills' first timeout. Once he did that, there was no way the Bills could get the ball back without recovering an onside kick.
If the Bills head coach didn’t use the timeout and the players hurried back to the ball, Buffalo probably would’ve burned about 10-15 seconds, but they’d still maintain their valuable three timeouts to use on defense.
When the Bills only had two remaining timeouts and didn’t get the onside kick, it allowed the Rams to run out the clock.
Nine players on defense
Once again, in a critical special teams situation, the Bills did not have the right number of players on the field.
Last year against the Broncos, it was 12 players on the field on the game-winning field goal, one too many.
This time, it was only nine players, two players too few, when their only chance to make a play was to block the Rams' punt with just 6 seconds left.
Allowing 44 points
No NFL team should lose a game in which they score 42 points, but the Bills did.
McDermott and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich were outcoached on that side of the ball by Rams head coach Sean McVay and his staff. They had no answers for the multiple formations and motion the Rams threw at the Bills.
Blocked punt for a touchdown
With the Bills already down 10-7 and punting from their own 48-yard line, the Rams got very aggressive and came right through the gut of the Bills' offensive line, and over top of long snapper Reid Ferguson, to block Sam Martin’s punt.
The Rams were able to scoop it up and score to take a 17-7 lead. It was a game-changing play in favor of Los Angeles.
Run defense
Once again, there were far too many big holes against the Bills defense, allowing the Rams to run for 137 yards.
Tackling
Too many missed tackles by the Bills, allowing the Rams to gain extra yards after it appeared they were stopped several times.
Third down defense
Los Angeles was a whopping 73.3% on third down, converting 11-of-15 chances.
Not containing Kupp and Nacua
Everyone knew the Rams would target and rely on Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua, but the Bills had no answers for them. Both wideouts were very wide-open far too often.
Combined, Kupp and Nacua caught 17 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Nacua also ran the ball five times for 16 yards and a score.
RB - James Cook
Cook could not get anything going on the ground, and wasn’t his explosive self through holes. He finished with just six carries for only 20 yards, averaging 3.0 yards per-run.
Where’s Ray Davis?
With Cook and the running game struggling, why did offensive coordinator Joe Brady not incorporate Davis into it at all?
Davis had zero touches on offense.
No sacks/no turnovers
The Bills did not have sack in this game, and they did not create one turnover.
ARROW UP:
QB - Josh Allen
Allen had one of the most spectacular performances of his entire career, despite the loss.
He completed 22-of-37 pass attempts for 342 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran 10 times for 82 yards and another three scores, combining for 426 yards of offense and six total touchdowns!
Some of his throws on Sunday in Los Angeles were pretty unbelievable.
Screen passes to running backs!
The Bills often throw screen passes to their wide receivers, but very rarely throw screen passes to their running backs.
That changed on Sunday, as it was a huge success. This included Ty Johnson taking a screen pass 41 yards for a touchdown.
WR - Khalil Shakir
Shakir caught five passes for 106 yards, including a terrific 51-yard catch-and-run play for as touchdown.
WR - Amari Cooper
Cooper caught six passers for 95 yards, including a couple of very impressive, tough grabs.
No sacks allowed
Allen was not sacked at all in the game, as the offensive line did enough to protect their quarterback.
Third down and red zone offense
The Bills were 5-for-9 (55.6%) on third downs, and converted all three red zone trips into touchdowns.
Related
