ORCHARD PARK - Thanks to a 14-point rally in the fourth quarter Sunday afternoon, the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20, a result that at least on the surface should please the Buffalo Bills.
That Rams win on the road, fueled by a ferocious defense, Matthew Stafford’s 317 passing yards and Kyren Williams’ two touchdown runs in the final four minutes which capped drives of 98 and 79 yards means that for the third week in a row the Bills won’t be playing a desperate team with its back pressed against the wall.
Sort of.
There’s still going to be a little bit of the desperation factor because the Rams, who certainly seemed to find themselves in Philadelphia after a sluggish 1-2 start, are still trailing the unbeaten 4-0 San Francisco
49ers by two games in the NFC West, not to mention they’re a game behind the 3-1 Seattle Seahawks. They need to keep winning for sure, but the difference next Monday night when Buffalo visits Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium is that for the first time in the early going, the Bills also need to play with a little desperation.
Having blown a golden opportunity in their 29-26 loss to New England to bury the Patriots three games in arrears in the AFC East, chew on this for a moment: If the Bills lose to the Rams, a very real possibility, and the Patriots beat the Raiders at home, voila, New England is in first place in the division.
That’s how fast things can change in the NFL standings; the Bills were flying high and in the span of eight days they might be staring up at their arch rival, just like 2025 when this exact scenario played out.
Linebacker Bradley Chubb tried to downplay how losing to the Patriots greatly altered the standings, saying the most important thing is, “How we respond. You want to be leading the division, doing all this, but at the end of the day, man, it's about how we respond. It happened. And this team, I know the brothers I got, man. I know what type of people we have in this locker room, we're gonna respond, and that's all it's about.”
In theory, that all sounds good and yes, responding will be important Monday night in Los Angeles, but the standings mean way more than Chubb was willing to admit and here’s why: One of the key reasons why the Bills have not made it to the Super Bowl since January 1994 is because they have not been able to earn homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, and never has that been more obvious and more painful than in the Josh Allen Era.
That endeavor took a serious hit Sunday, losing a game they had no business losing no matter how desperate the Patriots were, and that’s exactly the kind of loss that has come back to bite the Bills at the end of the season.
Buffalo Bills key to victory
Stop making stupid mistakes because if they play as sloppily as they have the last two weeks, the Bills will get blown out of SoFi Stadium by a Rams team that before the season was the overwhelming betting favorite to win the Super Bowl. In the last two games, the Bills have suffered seven turnovers and committed 15 penalties, their defense has allowed 46 first downs and 753 total yards, and an offense that looked unstoppable in the first two games suddenly looks and feels disjointed.
Los Angeles Rams key to victory
Throw, throw, throw. The Bills’ defense is pitifully susceptible right now to the passing game because their secondary is overmatched and can’t cover anyone. If CB Christian Benford can’t play, the Bills will roll out struggling 2025 first-round pick Maxwell Hairston and 2026 rookie second-rounder Davison Igbinosun on the boundaries, and lackluster-to-date free agent signee Dee Alford in the slot, assuming he can even play because he did not finish Sunday’s game due to an ankle. Imagine the horror show that could await the Bills with Matthew Stafford throwing to the likes of Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
Bills vs Rams matchup to watch
The Bills offensive line against the Rams defensive front seven. The Bills’ big men had their worst game of the season against the Patriots, especially the left side where Dion Dawkins (six pressures allowed) and Alec Anderson got worked over by the Patriots blitz and stunt packages.
They won’t have to deal with injured Rams superstar edge rusher Myles Garrett who is on IR, but they will likely be up against future Hall of Fame DT Aaron Donald who is expected to return after sitting out Week 4 with a minor back injury, plus excellent interior players Kobie Turner, Braden Fiske and Poona Ford.
Given their defensive deficiencies, the Bills may not want to get into a shootout with the Rams because pass protection may be an issue, so getting James Cook going early and often on the ground will be important, and to do it, the Bills’ offensive line needs to be in top form.
Who wins? Rams 30, Bills 24
The mismatch between the Rams passing game and the Bills defense is too glaring to ignore and the reigning 2025 NFL MVP Stafford, and his prime targets Nacua and Adams have to be licking their chops. Buffalo’s pass rush has been highly inconsistent because while the Bills are getting some pressure, nothing is really coming from it because opposing QBs are escaping and finding open receivers against a secondary that is completely messed up, the problems going beyond the inadequacy at cornerback.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson made a big pick against the Chargers, but what else has he done as a veteran leader at safety? Same for Cole Bishop who was supposed to rise into stardom this season after impressive growth last year but has been non-impactful. Alford has been not been very good in his role in the slot, and the craziest thing is that Benford, who is the best DB the Bills have, is actually their lowest-graded player in coverage per Pro Football Focus through four games.
What time does the Bills vs Rams game start?
Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. at SoFi Stadium.
Who is favored to win Bills vs Rams?
The Bills have opened as a 2.5-point underdog for the game. The money line is Bills plus-125 (bet $100 to win $125) and Rams minus -150 (bet $150 to win $100). The over-under is 53.5.
What channel is Bills vs. Rams game?
Cable/Network TV: ESPN. The game will be available on Spectrum channel 24 in Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Binghamton, Utica and Elmira, and channel 30 in Buffalo.
How can you stream Bills vs Rams game?
Online streaming services: With your TV subscription you can watch on your phone or tablet on ESPN.com, the ESPN mobile app, and ESPN Deportes. You can also watch games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet.
TV streaming: You can also stream if you have subscriptions to Spectrum, DirecTV Choice, Fubo Sports, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTubeTV + NFL Sunday Ticket.
On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs Rams game
You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on channel 193 (Bills feed) and channel 192 (Rams feed), and on traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. Chris Brown has the play-by-play, Eric Wood is the analyst, and Steve Tasker is the sideline reporter. The network includes:
- Rochester (WAIO 95.1 FM);
- Buffalo (WGRF 96.9 FM);
- Syracuse (WSKO 1260 AM);
- Albany (WOFX 92.5 FM);
- Utica (WKLL 94.9 FM);
- Dunkirk (WDOE 1410 AM);
- Hornell (WKPQ 105.3 FM);
- Elmira (WMTT 94.7 FM);
- Jamestown (WWSE 93.3 FM);
- Olean (WPIG 95.7 FM);
- Ogdensburg (WQTK 92.7 FM);
- Watertown (WOTT 94.1 FM);
- Bradford, Pa. (WBRR 100.1 FM);
- Cortland/Ithaca (WIII 99.9 FM);
- Auburn (WAUB 1590 AM);
- Geneva (WGVA 1240 AM);
- Binghamton (WENE 1430 AM);
- Newark (WACK 1420 AM);
- Cobleskill/Schoharie (WSDE 1190 AM);
- Williamsport, PA (WRAK 1400 AM);
- Erie, Pa. (WRKT 104.9 FM);
- New York City (WEPN 1050 AM);
- West Palm Beach, Fla. (WESP 106.3 FM);
- Montreal, Canada (CKGM 690 AM);
- Ottawa, Canada (CFGO 1200 AM);
- Toronto, Canada (CHUM 1050 AM).
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Pressure shifts to Bills ahead of Rams showdown
