The Bills are back on the road as they head to Los Angeles for a game against the Rams. This will be one of three final away games left on the regular season schedule for Buffalo.
Here are five things to know about this Week 14 matchup.
đ§ 1. Two gurus facing off
Bills head coach Sean McDermott and Rams head coach Sean McVay are gurus on their respective sides of the football. The two both took their head coaching jobs in 2017 and since then have put an offense and defense in place that rank amongst the best.
McDermott is known for his defense that takes away the football at a high rate and doesn't allow big plays. Since 2017, Buffalo's defense ranks first with 212 takeaways, first allowing only 396 plays of 20 or more yards and second allowing an average of 19.7 points per game.
McVay turned the worst offense in the league into the best when he took over in LA. He's known for his creative use of motion and zone schemes. Since 2017, LA's offense ranks sixth averaging 25.17 points per game, fourth averaging 247.5 passing yards per game and ties for fifth with 520 plays of 20 or more yards.
The two have earned a lot of respect due to the product they put on the field in a short amount of time. McDermott's teams have made it to the playoffs in six out of the seven full seasons he's been a head coach and have earned the AFC East title in five straight seasons. McVay won Super Bowl LVI (2021 season), and his teams have punched the ticket to the postseason in five out of his seven full seasons as head coach.
đ2. Stopping Kyren Williams
The Rams have a rushing attack that can be hard to stop at times. While they only rank 18th averaging 112.9 rushing yards per game, they have a running back in Kyren Williams who is tough to stop.
Williams has the fifth-most rushing yards this season with 926. The RB also has 12 scrimmage touchdowns through 12 weeks of play, good for fourth-best in the league.
"Kyren Williams is fantastic," ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky told One Bills Live. "He's a great zone back. Blake Corum who they took out of MichiganâŠis their other back that comes in. Both of them are great in their zone scheme."
Buffalo's defense ranks 18th when it comes to stopping the run, allowing an average of 121.9 rushing yards per game. When it comes to stopping L.A.'s ground game, Orlovsky thinks it starts with setting an edge.
"It's going to be paramount for the edge to be set defensively," Orlovsky said. "Those second level defenders whether it's going to be Taron, they're going to try to run at Taron Johnson. It's just the philosophy of that offense. I think the secondary is going to have to set edges and tackle really well."
đ3. From bottom 10 to top 10 on 3rd down
Buffalo has made drastic improvements in its third down offense since the start of the season. The Bills currently rank as the eighth-best converting third down opportunities 42.7% of the time.
Over the last four games, no team is better than Buffalo when it comes to converting third downs. The Bills are doing so 52.9% of the time.
Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady says this type of success has to do with the offense getting in a groove.
"I think a lot of it is just as the season gets on, you kind of get in the feel of how defenses are playing," Brady explained. "And Josh (Allen) having a great understanding of kind of who our guys are and getting them in certain spots. He's doing a great job with his legs. And, when the plays aren't there, extending it.
"Every play is not going to be perfect on third down, and our guys just at the end of the day, sometimes just go and make plays."
Converting at a rate of more than 50% over the last four games is a big improvement compared to the beginning of the season. Heading into Week 6, Buffalo was converting third downs just 32.1% of the time. That put them at 25th in the league, which ranked bottom 10. Since that week, the Bills started chipping away at improving in that facet of the game and are now top 10 in that category.
đȘ4. Can't do it without the offensive line
Buffalo rushed for 220 yards in their Week 13 win over the 49ers. Running backs James Cook and Ray Davis were important to the team's success as they each had a rushing touchdown and averaged more than five yards per carry.
Those performances wouldn't have been possible without the help of their offensive line.
The group has done a fantastic job this season of keeping the pocket clean for their quarterback Josh Allen and opening lanes for their running backs. Buffalo has the 11th best rushing offense right now averaging 127.6 rushing yards per game.
Buffalo has used six offensive linemen far more than any other team this season. They've done so on 108 plays. To put this in perspective, the Broncos have used six offensive linemen at the second highest rate but just on 61 plays.
When six offensive linemen are on the field, Buffalo's averaging 5.3 yards per rush (2nd) and 10.1 yards per pass attempt (3rd).
"If you can protect and keep your quarterback clean, you're going to have a chance to have success," offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. "It's very important to our guys. You watch all the little things of how they are when picking up ball carriers, or when Josh (Allen) does get touched with running and picking him up. Everything is important to those guys, and they do a great job together as the five and six when Alec (Anderson) is in the game.
"I love that group and love how they're playing."
The group will be charged with going up against a few young and hungry pass rushers. The Rams have two rookies in outside linebacker Jared Verse and defensive end Braden Fiske who rank top three in sacks among rookies. Fiske has the most of any rookie with six and Verse has four and a half. Verse has the most tackles for loss of any rookie with 11.
"The main thing is you cannot let this group rush the passer," ESPN NFL analyst Orlovsky told One Bills Live. "You can't. It's the best young defensive line in football, it's deep. They've got a lot of athleticism."
Outside linebacker Byron Young and defensive end Kobie Turner deserve their credit too. They were both drafted in the third round last year and have combined for 11 sacks and 17 tackles for loss this season.
"The mindset for Joe Brady and this offense (against L.A.) is they're not going to allow this pass rush to get going," Orlovsky said. "They're going to get at you runs, they're going to force this young unit to handle the double teams."
đ5. A chance to keep these streaks alive
The Bills have several streaks going that can stay alive with a complete game over the Rams.
Buffalo has won the last seven in a row and can make it eight straight with a victory over Los Angeles. They're also 3-0 against the NFC so far this season.
The offense has scored at least 30 points in six straight games. Buffalo's defense has a takeaway in every single game (12) this season and tie for second most this season with 24.
Buffalo is 11-0 in December and January games since 2022 and 20-2 in those months since 2020. Allen leads the NFL over that span with 60 total touchdowns.
