Bills at Rams: Good and bad from Buffalo’s Week 14 loss

The Buffalo Bills fell short to the Los Angeles Rams, 44-42 in Week 14 on the road.

The Bills offense put up a valiant performance against the Rams but the defense could not stop the Rams offense from scoring with ease. The Bills tack on their third loss with this defeat and move to 10-3 on the season, and have a record of 4-3 in away games this year.

The Bills remain in first place in the AFC East and inside the top three in the AFC. They are still fighting for the number one seed in the AFC. Buffalo looks ahead on their schedule as next up they take on the 12-1 Detroit Lions who have been on a tear, beating their last 11 opponents. The Bills defense will look to learn from their lackluster performance and strap up for Detroit, and the Bills offense will look to keep performing as they are, with a great performance despite the loss.

The Good

QB Josh Allen

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen had a stellar performance against the LA Rams. Allen put up 342 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in their loss. Allen finished 22 of 38 passing with a quarterback rating of 117.2. Allen also ran the ball well, leading the team with 82 rushing yards on 10 carries and tacked on three rushing touchdowns.

Josh Allen could not do it all despite his great performance but put up a night to remember, reaching multiple accolades. Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history to have three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in one game. On top of that, Allen surpassed Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young for most two passing touchdown and two rushing touchdown games in NFL history with five career games hitting that mark.

Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes, with one going to wide receiver Khalil Shakir, one going to wide receiver Mack Hollins, and one of them going to running back Ty Johnson. Allen put up a special performance and one that will most likely be forgotten due to the loss.

WR Khalil Shakir

The young stud wide receiver Khalil Shakir had himself a great night in LA. Shakir finished the game with five receptions for 106 receiving yards, leading the team, and a receiving touchdown. Shakir was a difference maker for the Buffalo Bills offense and flipped the field when Buffalo needed to score quickly. Shakir has become one of Allen’s most reliable targets and this game is a great example of Shakir being where he needs to be to change the course of a game. While the Bills did not win this one, Shakir only continues to prove himself to his star quarterback and the rest of the team.

WR Amari Cooper

“Newly” acquired receiver Amari Cooper now has five games under his belt with the Buffalo Bills and is starting to be the receiver the Bills hoped he would be for them. Cooper finished the game with six receptions for 95 receiving yards. Cooper made some tremendous grabs that helped the Bills offensively and was a big factor for the Bills pulling the game within two points. The Bills hope Cooper will build off this performance and help them win a big game next week against the Detroit Lions.

RB Ty Johnson

Buffalo Bills running back Ty Johnson has become one of the Bills most reliable pass catchers when given the opportunity. Johnson has been used in the receiving game a ton this season for Buffalo and has made magic happen when the ball is in his hands. Johnson finished the game with no rushing stats but in the receiving game Johnson had two receptions for 55 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Johnson took a screen pass from Josh Allen to the house, for a 41-yard touchdown.

K Tyler Bass

Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass had a clean game against LA. Bass went six for six on extra point attempts yet had no field goal attempts. Bass helped the Bills in every way he could, banging all the extra points up and through. Bass will look to continue to make all his extra point and field goals tries next week against the Lions.

The Bad

Defensive Line

The Buffalo Bills defensive line put up a very lackluster performance against the LA Rams. The Bills had no pressure on Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, as the Rams offensive line kept Stafford clean and allowed zero sacks to the Bills defensive line. The Bills got gashed against LA’s run game, allowing star running back Kyren Williams to rush for 87 yards on 29 carries, and score two rushing touchdowns. Rams backup running back Blake Corum out of Michigan also had a solid performance with eight carries for 34 rushing yards. Rams receiver Puka Nacua even got involved in the run game with five carries for 16 rushing yards and took one in for a touchdown on a jet sweep.

The Bills defensive line will have to clean up this sloppy performance that they put up against the Rams as they look forward to facing off against the Lions and their wrecking crew running backs, in David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Defensive Backs

The Buffalo Bills defensive backs were no better than the defensive line was in their loss to the Rams. The Bills were getting torched all game long against the Rams leading receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. The Bills defensive backs could not find an answer for the Rams passing game as quarterback Matthew Stafford put up 320 passing yards and passed for two touchdowns. Wide receiver Puka Nacua had a field day against the Bills secondary, finishing the game with 12 receptions for 162 total yards, leading the team, and he finished the game with a receiving and rushing touchdown. Cooper Kupp had five receptions for 92 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown tacked on. The Bills also allowed Tutu Atwell to come in clutch for the Rams, converting on fourth down to end the game.

Buffalo cannot have this type of performance against the Lions next week or they will fall short once again. The Lions have a great offense with weapons all around in players like wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and wide receiver Jameson Williams. The Bills secondary must learn from their mistakes against LA and correct what they did wrong if they want to beat the number one team in the NFC.

Punt Unit

The Buffalo Bills punt unit had a horrible performance, getting a punt blocked by LA and allowing a scoop and score touchdown to make the game 17-7. The Bills punt unit had bad blocks and allowed LA to score an ill-advised touchdown that could have easily been prevented.